What’s Exclusive?
Find out more about the learning journey:
Follow us as we take you through the greatest learning journey your child will ever make…
Local Offer
Accessibility and Inclusion
We have a large carpark located to the front of the Nursery which has wheelchair access.
Our building is based in a refurbished school and offers full day care for 0-4 year olds. We also offer Holiday Club during the school holidays for children ages 4-11 years. This is all on one level and we strive for all our children to meet their milestones whilst at nursery.
Our staff are confident in how they support children with additional needs. Essentially this means including all children with diverse abilities, for example: those who are from different backgrounds, those with SEN/Disabilities, those who are disadvantaged or have different learning styles.
Signs/pictures are used to support the routines of children in the setting and provision mapping is in place to ensure that the setting is used to its full potential to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Policies
Our Policies and Procedures are displayed in our ‘Welcome Area’ for parents to browse at their leisure.
Our website also contains information about our setting.
Signs around our setting are displayed in different languages and six of our staff are bi-lingual in Punjabi, Spanish and Urdu.
Resources are available for children who do not use English as their first language, and additional resources can be ordered on admission to nursery to meet a child’s/family’s needs.
Staff
Qualifications
All our staff hold formal qualifications in childcare, ranging from level 3-6, Foundation Degree, BA Honours, Early Years Teacher Status, all who carry a high level of experience working with children and have grown with Smartypants over the years.
Recruitment
We take the recruitment of staff seriously, having a robust recruiting procedure in place ensuring all staff are DBS checked and qualifications are up to date and relevant.
Ratios
We ensure excellent ratios, working in small keyworker groups. This we believe is the only way to achieve the best quality care education and individual child development.
Turnover
We have a low turnover of staff, and a long established management team who inspire with their leadership to create positive attitudes and close teamwork.
First Aid
All current staff are qualified first aiders as we strongly believe the care of our children is of the upmost importance.
Chef
We also employ a qualified cook who follows DFE guidelines to provide healthy balanced meals and snacks which are all freshly cooked. All our children’s allergies and dietary requirements are catered for.
Staff Training
Our Nursery Manager is fully qualified ICAN trainer which has allowed her to train our staff in essential training such as Makaton. Makaton encourages lots of early talking stills within the setting. We strive to ensure our staff are up to date with training to allow them to meet all children’s need. We do this by not only offering training through Lancashire County Council but all staff have in house regular mini bitesize training including all SEND training that is required.
Training undertaken by staff members is then cascaded to other staff members in the form of staff meetings. Specific training would be accessed if it would be beneficial to the needs of a child.
Our Environment
All our rooms are expertly designed with inviting interiors and multi activity themed indoor rooms that encourage children to thrive until they start Primary school. All children have access to a large well equipped outdoor area and also a large enclosed field where lots of Forest School activities take place. We also have a large school hall with a fully equipped catering kitchen where the children enjoy healthy snacks and homemade meals that are freshly available daily and provided by our fantastic onsite chef. The hall is also a haven for lots of fun, physical activities, games, parties and Holiday Club during school holidays.
Early Years Foundation Stage
The Prime areas within the EYFS are:
Communication & Language Development
Physical Development
Personal Social and Emotional Development.
It is our responsibility to ensure that all children thrive to the best of their ability.
We are required to support children in four specific areas through which the three prime areas are strengthened
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned and purposeful play and through a mix of adult/child led activities for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, think critically, problem solve and relate to others around them.
This Government Framework sets standards of care and learning that all childcare providers are expected to deliver.
The EYFS (The Early Years Foundation Stage) consists of a series of early learning goals that set out what most children are expected to achieve by the end of their reception year.
The keyworkers continually plan, observe and assess the children which then enables staff to record learning in all areas.
This will ensure all children will be provided with effective learning opportunities to be sure their needs are met.
Teaching and Learning Part 1 – Practitioners and Practice
Each child in our setting is supported by their own ‘Key Worker’. The role of the Key worker is to support their ‘Key Children’ by observation, assessment and planning to identify if the child’s development and progress is at the correct age and stage on the EYFS tracker. Baseline assessments are carried out on the child’s entry to nursery or after the transition to a new room. Provision mapping is used to ensure that the environment is accessible to all and resources are suitable to meet the needs of all children.
Enhancements/additional resources may be purchased if the SENCO/Key workers feel that this would be beneficial for a child. Activities may be differentiated to meet the needs of a particular child and all activities planned are done so with a child’s interests in mind. Photos are placed in areas around the nursery which allow children to make choices about activities they wish to participate in, what they would like for snacks and also to ensure that they know what to expect with regards to routines. Staff attend courses where available which can offer them support with regards to certain needs that a child may have, allowing them to support the child confidently in the setting.
Teaching and Learning Part 2 – Provision & Resources
The setting works closely with the AIS (Additional Inclusion Support) Team to ensure all children’s special educational needs are met. Other agencies such as Speech and Language Therapists, Paediatrician, Education Psychologist etc. work closely with the setting’s SENCO and practitioners and spend time in the setting helping staff to devise strategies to support children and implement them into Targeted Learning Plans.
We try to ensure that trips outside of the nursery are accessible to all children, with additional staff being included when necessary. Trips are assessed beforehand to ensure that they are accessible for all children or can be differentiated to include all children.
Two staff members are qualified up to Level 5 in Early Years and one member off staff is qualified to Level 6. These members of staff are always available to share their expertise with other practitioners should they require extra support. Staff members have also accessed additional training to support children with additional needs such as:
Support children and their families with SEN
Talking Together Training
Encouraging Language Development in the Early Years
Makaton Training
Identification and Intervention
Staff work closely with their Key Worker groups, observing, assessing and planning for the needs of their ‘Key Children.’
Needs are identified early to ensure that children are given a high level of support before their entry to school.
Parents are encouraged to speak to practitioners on a regular basis and to share information regarding their child’s development so that the correct support can be put in place.
A ‘2 year check’ is in place to assess each child before their entry into the Pre-school room. All information is shared with parents on a regular basis through our ‘MYFAMLY’ app and day to day hand overs.
The setting’s SEN Policy is followed closely and the setting is confident in working with the local authority and requesting the correct type of support which a child may need.
The SENCO works closely with Key Workers to support them in implementing Targeted Learning plans for children who we identify as needing additional support.
Parents are fully supported during these processes and included in all decision making. Wherever possible the child’s view is sought when putting strategies in place, ensuring their opinion and likes/dislikes are fully respected.
Babies and 2 year olds have a daily sheet to take home which informs parents of all times of nappy changes, sleeps and activities which their child has taken part in throughout the day.
We discuss and share your child’s experiences, achievements and progress daily and keep parents up to date with anything relevant to your child.
When a child is ready to transition from one area to the next their keyworker will assist them on each settling in visit until the child feels confidently secure to make that move.
All traditions, cultures and religious beliefs are valued and respected by all staff, and this is seen through our long-term planning.
Parents as Partners
Smartypants aims to form a partnership with parents to support and enhance the development of the children. Our prime importance is the understanding of your child. Nobody knows your child better than you do. We know from years of experience that by having a two way sharing information policy with parents that children thrive further. We ensure parents feel confident to approach staff to discuss any concerns from the minute they walk through the nursery doors.
Parents are kept up-to-date in all areas concerning their child by My Family App, daily sheets (0-3 years) ,daily feedback newsletters, weekly learning experiences, information on notice boards and home links. We strongly believe in forming secure relationships between key workers and parents.
Funding Hours
The government provides funded childcare to millions of families across the UK. You can find out about all the options online. Visit Early years and childcare - Lancashire County Council for more information and how to apply.
We provide 15 Hours free funded sessions for babies the term after they turn 9 months and 2 years depending on eligibility.
From April 2025, 30 hours will be available to all eligible working parents for all age groups.
All 3 year olds are eligible for 15/30 hours funding the term after they turn 3 years.
Fees
We are one of the most competitively priced nurseries in our area.
We offer flexibility by providing a variety of session times, for example short sessions are charged at an hourly rate whereas full time fees are fully inclusive of all meals and snacks.
Smartypants operates all year round but we also offer the flexibility for parents to bring their child on a term time only basis.
If you would like to request a Price List, please use our contact form.
If you require information regarding our fees, please call the Nursery on 01282 931310
Terms
Smartypants Exclusive Childcare is a private childcare establishment for children aged 0-11 years of age.
The opening times of the nursery are 7.30am – 5.45pm Monday to Friday. We are open all year round except for Bank Holidays and over the Christmas period.
A morning/afternoon snack is provided which consists of milk, milk shake, huge variety of fruit, biscuits, toast oat cakes etc. Drinking water is available throughout the day.
Children must be collected by 5.45pm promptly as an extra charge will be payable to cover the cost of over-time incurred by members of staff having to stay behind.
If a child is to be collected by someone other than the authorised person(s) on the enrolment form, the nursery must be informed, a name given and a description with a password. We cannot let your child leave nursery with someone who we do not know.
All fees must be paid on a weekly or monthly basis on the first day of the week/month that your child attends nursery.
A retainer of a full weeks fees is payable in advance to secure a place at the nursery.
Any child who is absent from nursery due to illness MUST still pay their full fees, as costs of staff wages have to be met.
Terms and Conditions
Administration Fee
There is a one off administration fee of £25 to be paid upon accepting a place.
Payment
All fees to be paid 1 week in advance. Late payments are not acceptable unless particular circumstances arise and this has been approved by management. Payment can be made by BACS, cash, Childcare Vouchers or standing order. Please note that if 2 weeks of arrears is accrued, we reserve the right to deny your child childcare until this has been cleared.
Funded Children
Funded Children to pay £40 per term per child for 15 Free hours and £70 for 30 Free hours to cover snacks and celebrations.
FAMLY App
All parents agree to use FAMLY as a source of communication and information on the Nursery and children.
Lunches, snacks and tea
All meals are charged as Government Funding does not cover food. £3.00 per lunch and £1.80 per afternoon tea. (If paying for the full week, food is included.)
Sessions
Term time only contracts are available.
Allocated session times must be adhered to and parent/carer agrees to our late fees if enforced. Changes to session times to be informed/requested in writing 4 weeks in advance.
Holidays and Sickness
Holidays: Private parents are entitled to 2 weeks holiday at half price, to be arranged with Nursery.
Sickness: Any sickness, absence, allergies, medication, contact details changes to be informed at earliest.
Dress Code
Children will be dressed appropriately (waterproofs/sunhats). All children’s clothing should be labelled.