Little Barn Owls Day Nursery in Horsham

We are open Monday – Friday 51 weeks of the year from 8am – 6pm excluding bank holidays. We offer an early drop off service from 7.30am when booked by prior arrangement.

We aim to ensure that your child settles in to nursery as quickly and happily as possible. You will have received a phone call from your child's key worker by this point to give us lots of information about them so we can be prepared with their favourite toys and activities on their first settler session. As your child is introduced to children and staff and beginning to play, you will have time to fill in the care plan about them and talk to the key worker and other staff.

Every child is different, but all children are treated with the same personal care and attention to help them settle quickly. Some children settle in straight away, others take a few days and very few can take longer. It's reassuring that all children we care for have settled happily with us and continue to greet staff with smiles and hugs as they come in the door. Settling at nursery is often more worrying for parents than children, so we aim to make your experience just as stress-free by giving you lots of opportunity to play with your child in nursery and ask lots of questions before you leave them with us.

As we are fully inclusive and provide all meals, snacks, drinks, nappies, wipes and sun creams, we just ask that you bring the following in a clearly labelled bag:

A warm coat and hat in winter

Wellies (if applicable)

A sun hat during warmer months

A dummy or favourite teddy they would have at home to go to sleep with (if applicable)

Uniquely, we are an Inside–Out nursery with free-flow gardens leading from open doors in both our 0-2's and 2-5's nursery rooms, so your child will not be allocated garden time, but will be able to choose to play inside and outside as often as they like all day long. All areas are fully staffed at all times.

We have woodland areas on both sites of our nurseries and children visit them often adopting an adaptation of the Forest Schools initiative. Read more about that here. We also utilise the local area for outings e.g. walks, a trip to the shops, park or library. We also explore the wider environment and have made visits to Horsham Park, garden centres, theatres and cafes.

We use the Early Years Foundation Stage (0-5 curriculum) as the foundation for our play and learning. We incorporate this with our children's changing interests to form the basis of our activities. We provide a range of activities to support every area of development and the children have access to the outdoor area continually throughout the day. We have messy/exploratory/arts activities every day and opportunities for large and small group work to enhance social skills. We ensure age and stage related ICT opportunities are available in both nurseries; this includes push button toys through to a computer and digital cameras and video cameras for the children to use.

In the event that you do not collect your child from the nursery at the agreed time, and no contact has been made with the nursery to inform them of the alternative arrangements for collection, every attempt will be made to contact you. If we are unsuccessful we will contact your nominated emergency contact and request that they collect your child. The nursery will remain open to allow time for the contact person to arrive. Late collection is charged at the extra hour rate of £6.

As children develop physically, particularly in their early walking stages, accidents can occasionally happen. In this event the nursery has several staff trained in Paediatric First Aid on site at all times. If your child has had an accident at nursery you will be informed upon collection of your child and asked to sign an accident form. In the event of a bump to the head you will be informed by telephone. Your child will be monitored and in most cases will be able to continue with their day at nursery. In the event of a bump to the head causing concern you will be asked to collect your child and a visit to your GP will be recommended. You will be given a copy of the accident form and a head injury advice form. Should your child have an accident whilst at nursery which requires further medical support you will be contacted immediately and the necessary action will be taken. In extreme cases this could involve calling for the support of a paramedic. If your child has had an accident at home which has resulted in a physical injury, no matter how small, we request that you inform the staff so this can be documented and is not mistaken for an accident at the nursery.

Parents are always best placed to decide if a child is not well enough to attend nursery. Common colds and coughs are not a problem, apart from if the child has a high temperature with it, in which case they should stay at home until the temperature goes down without medication. There is a full list of potential illnesses and the amount of time children should be kept away from nursery, but the most common are as follows.

Loose nappies or diarrhea – 24 hours or until toileting returns to normal

Temperature above 38 degrees – 24 hours or until temperature returns to normal without the need for medication.

Conguntivitus – 24 hours after drops have been administered.

If your child is on medication we are happy to administer any prescription medication at nursery on the condition that your child appears well enough to attend. All medicines brought into the nursery will need to be recorded on the nursery medication form and we will require your signature to authorise its administration. Any medication brought into the nursery must be in its original container and labelled with your child's full name, the dosage required and the date it was prescribed. Any medication that does not meet these criteria and is not prescribed by a General Practitioner will not be administered. Nursery staff are not able to administer the first dose of medication, therefore any child requiring medication must have had the first dose a minimum of 24 hours prior to coming into nursery. Managers are able to use their discretion where they are aware that a child has been given the same course of medication in the past. We are able to administer long term medication such as an inhaler. The nursery retains its own supply of temperature control medication (Calpol) and will administer this in the event that a child's temperature suddenly rises. We can only administer this if we have prior signed authorisation from you to do so (this will be in the initial information pack that you will complete when your child starts at the nursery) and you will be contacted via telephone prior to medication being given. External medications such as eczema creams can be applied with your written consent. In all cases if a child is deemed unwell you will be asked to keep them at home until they are in general good health.

Many children, particularly under the age of 3 years, will require a sleep during the day. The nursery has ample sleeping facilities and children are offered a rest period during the day, usually after lunch if they attend for the whole day. Young babies will follow their own home routine for sleep times as discussed with you. We will at all times try and encourage your child's natural routine, however as they get older children tend to fit into routines according to the group. We are happy to offer your child a sleep time but we cannot make children sleep. Children who do not sleep will be provided with other restful activities to occupy them. Sometimes when a child hasn't had their sleep they start to become tired towards the end of the nursery day, staff are not able to keep children awake if they are tired and will allow them to sleep if they need to.

Yes, all our healthy meals are freshly cooked on the premises by our qualified nursery cook, Diane Kench using organic fresh fruit and vegetables wherever possible, and keeping processed foods to a minimum. Full details are available on our Healthy Eating page.

We operate a comprehensive SEN and Inclusion policy. We have a nursery SENCO that has a great deal of experience. We will work collaboratively with parents and other professionals to and individual play plans will be put in place to ensure their needs are met.

We open 51 weeks per year only closing for bank holidays and Christmas week until after New Years Day. Bank holidays up until Christmas week are charged as normal but are offered back in lieu to use as additional sessions whenever you like within six months. You would need to email Faye with dates you would like to use them, and your first preferences are allocated providing space is available on that day.

Keeping children safe relies on a safe premises, safe people and safe policies and practise. Please read the Keeping Children Safe page for more information.

Fees are calculated as your child's weekly fee x 51 weeks / divided by 12 months of the year, giving an equal monthly figure. Most parents pay by standing order ,but cheque, cash or electronic transfer 1 month in advance by the 1st of each calendar month is accepted. Please note that all sessions booked must be paid for, regardless of whether the child attends. Unfortunately refunds cannot be given for sessions missed due to sickness or holidays. Full details and prices are available on our fees page.

As childcare professionals, we have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The nursery has trained members of staff who are responsible for the implementation of our safeguarding policies and procedures. In extreme circumstances, if we deem a child to be at risk, we are duty bound to contact the local Children's Safeguarding Board to raise our concern without seeking consultation or permission from the child's parent. All staff in the nursery are aware of their duties regarding child protection matters and have regular training in our safeguarding policies and procedures. To ensure our own staff are suitable to care for children they undergo an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check prior to being given unsupervised access to children. These checks are updated every three years. In addition to this a member of staff will not commence employment at our nursery until two suitable written references have been obtained.

The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) is the governing body who set the standards for care and education for all children's day care settings including schools and nurseries. Our most recent Ofsted report awarded us a GOOD grading with 4 OUTSTANDING judgements. It is available for you to read here.