Frequently Asked Questions

The Baby Room (0-2 years) has a minimum ration of 1 adult to 3 children. Children who are 2-3 years old have a ratio of 1 adult to every 5 children and children who are 3-4 years have a ratio of 1 adult to every 8 children, unless the adult has a Level 6 qualification or higher and then the ratio increases to 1 adult for every 13 children.

We ensure that we always have additional staff to ensure the safety, consistency and continuity of care for the children.

We work closely with parents to ensure that weaning is successful for children and meets all needs. All of our food is freshly prepared using natural ingredients.

We are open Monday to Friday from 8am – 6pm. We do offer an early start of 7.30 am. Please be aware that this incurs an additional charge. We are closed for bank holidays.

We recommend that you come and visit our lovely setting. This will provide you with the opportunity to see us in action, meet the staff and ask any questions you may have. You will then have the opportunity to complete an Expression of Interest form. If you are unable to visit the nursery you can register your interest on line. Places are allocated according to availability.

We have a secure play area at the rear of the Nursery and we aim to go outside each day.

Key workers are members of the nursery team that nurture and care for specific children to support their development across all of the areas of learning. Your child’s key worker is your first point of contact and they will track and monitor your child’s progress and development and answer any questions or queries that you may have.

Before your child starts at nursery, we offer a number of ‘Stay and Play’ sessions. Both you and your child will be invited to visit us and explore the nursery, meet the key worker, share information about your child and ask any questions. We can tailor this to meet your child’s individual needs as we want the transition to nursery to be smooth and successful for your family.

Children will have access to fresh drinking water all day. They will be encouraged and supported to help themselves as is appropriate as this will support the development of self-help skills.
We will provide a choice of cereals and milk for breakfast.

A mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack will consist of fruit or raw vegetables.

Our hot lunches and light teas are cooked, prepared and delivered by the Care Kitchen company who are based at Carlton. Care Kitchen work with a number of other companies, as well as Willow Day Nursery. We have worked closely to develop menus that meet the dietary needs of children and these can be found on our website.

For babies that are weaning, meals will be blended. Any meals that are not suitable for blending will be changed to a suitable replacement to ensure the children receive the nutrition required
The mashed potatoes do not include any dairy products and all vegetables are fresh, and therefore do not contain added sugar.

If your child has any allergies or special dietary requirements, please inform the nursery and we will accommodate these as and when needed. 

Please be aware there is an additional cost for food.

We do understand that life happens. If you are going to be late, please contact us as soon as you know and if possible, let us know how late you are going to be. For every 15 minutes that you are late there will be an additional charge to cover legal staffing requirements.

Please notify us as soon as possible. If your child has vomited or had a bout of diarrhoea, we ask that you keep them at home for 48 hours after their last bout of illness. This helps to prevent the spread throughout the nursery.

Please notify as soon as possible when you have a planned holiday. This allows us to inform the children’s key workers.

Our staff are fully trained to administer medication that has been prescribed by a doctor. Please see our Administration and Medication Policy for more details.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old. All schools and Ofsted-registered early years’ providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes.


On your ‘Stay and Play’ sessions your child’s key worker will inform you of anything you need to bring along with you. Where applicable, this would include formula or breast milk, nappies and wipes. It’s always good to have a change of clothes as they will be taking part in lots of activities which may get messy. Also, any comforters they may need dummy, cuddly toy or blanket. 


Yes please. You can bring in a bulk supply which we can store for you or if you would prefer, please include them in their bags daily. 


If your child has an accident whilst at nursery, we would record all of the details onto a digital form on the FAMLY app and you will receive a notification for you to read and sign. If the accident is significant, we may decide to give you a call to inform you directly.

If your child is hurt or injured at home, please inform us when you arrive at nursery. We will ask you to complete an existing injury form to explain that this happened at home. We do have a duty of care to safeguard all children within our care and we are duty bound to receive this information.

Biting is very common within early years and can happen for a variety of reasons., We understand that biting can be very distressing for both the children and parents involved so we will inform you if this happens within the day. Where biting becomes a regular occurrence we will invite you to meet with our designated nursery SEN/Behaviour Practitioner who will support you and your child.


We provide opportunities for rest and sleep within our nursery. We will ask you about your child’s sleep routine during the ‘Stay and Play’ sessions.

In the first instance, updates will be provide via the FAMLY app to include things such as the activities your child has taken part in during the day, what they have eaten, their nappies, how they have sleep etc. Staff will also be available to speak to for a quick catch up. If you require a longer discussion than a mutually convenient meeting time can be arranged.

Yes, all of our food is freshly prepared. As part of the registration process, we will gather all of this information from you and liaise with our food provider.

Children who become unwell during their session will be made as comfortable as possible and be cared for by a member of staff until a parent or a carer can collect them. The parent or carer will be contacted via phone call to collect the child or make suitable arrangements for collection as soon as possible. If the parent cannot be contacted, nursery will contact the child’s emergency contact. Please see our Illness and Infection Control Policy for more detail.

You can book additional sessions if the space is available. These are charged at the usual nursery rate and are payable in advance of attending the session. You would need to speak with the management team to arrange these. 


If you have any concerns at all please inform the manager as soon as possible. You can do this by speaking to them or by email if easier for you. Contact information can be found on our website. 

The welfare of the children in our care is paramount and we have a duty to record and act on any information that we feel puts your child at risk.
Our Safeguarding Policy highlights key areas for keeping children safe. Please feel free to view our Safeguarding Policy for more details. 


Your child will be taking part in a lot of different activities; children also have more independence to explore a wide range of activities which may get them wet or messy. We would encourage you to dress them in clothing that you do not mind getting wet, dirty, or stained. We do ask that you send children with a full set of spare clothes, that are labelled with their name and in a bag that can be hung on their peg.