Doors at 7:30am, breakfast until 8:30, outside by ten, lunch at 11:30, tea at 4:30, doors at 6pm
The day
The same shape every day, so children know what comes next: breakfast for the early ones, group time at nine, outside by ten whatever the weather, lunch at 11:30, sleep or quiet time after it, a cooked tea at 4:30 and stories until the last parent arrives. The full routine for each room is on the day page.
A nursery day works when it has a rhythm, and the rhythm here has not changed much since 2011: doors, breakfast, group time, outside, snack, activities, lunch, sleep, more activities, tea, stories, home. Babies run on their own clock inside that shape; the Oaks run on it to the minute, because that is what school will ask of them next.
The doors open at 7:30am and the first hour is breakfast and a slow start: toast, cereal, fruit and milk at the long table downstairs, children from every room together, then up to their rooms by 8:30 when the second wave of staff arrives. Drop-off is at the stable door of each room; you hand over to the key person or whoever is on the door, say the two things that matter (how they slept, what they ate), and go. We do not do long goodbyes at the door, because they are harder on the child than on you.
Nine o'clock is group time in Saplings and Oaks: register, the day's song in Welsh and English, the weather, who is here, and what is planned. Then free play in the room until ten, when every room goes out: the garden for the babies and twos, the garden or Forest Farm for the Oaks. Snack at 10:15 is fruit, vegetables and a breadstick or oatcake, and water or milk; there is no juice in the building. The late morning is the planned activity for each room, which the room lead writes up on Friday for the week ahead from what the children have been interested in.
Lunch at 11:30 is cooked by Maureen from the four-week menu: a main and a pudding, served at the tables in each room with the staff eating the same food. After lunch is sleep for the babies and most of the twos and quiet time for the Oaks (stories, puzzles, the book corner), then the afternoon activity, which is usually the messy one. Tea at 4:30 is a cooked meal, not a sandwich, so a child collected at six has eaten properly. From five it is stories and quiet play until home time, and the doors close at six.
Every child under two has a written daily diary (sleep, feeds, nappies, what they did), handed to you at pick-up; the twos and Oaks have a weekly summary on the app with photographs, and anything that matters is said to your face at the door. Medicines are given only with a signed form, and accidents are written up and signed by two staff before you collect.
What is included
- Breakfast 7:30 to 8:30 for anyone in early; included in the day fee
- Group time at nine in Welsh and English, then outside by ten every day
- Lunch at 11:30 and a cooked tea at 4:30, all made in the kitchen
- Sleep after lunch for the babies and twos; quiet time for the Oaks
- A daily written diary under two, a weekly summary with photographs after
- Doors close at 6pm; late collection £10 for every fifteen minutes
What it costs
A full day is 7:30am to 6pm with every meal included: £68 in Acorns, £64 in Saplings, £60 in Oaks. Half days are 7:30 to 1 or 1 to 6. The fees page has every rate side by side and a calculator for your days with the 30-hours offer applied; the day page has the routine and this week's menu.
Questions about the day
What if my child will not sleep at nursery?
Most do within a fortnight, because the room goes quiet and everyone else does. Until then they rest in the quiet room with a book and a member of staff. We follow your sleep routine where we can: a comforter, a sleeping bag from home, a particular song.
Can I bring a packed lunch?
You can, though almost no one does once they have seen the menu. For allergies and faiths Maureen cooks an alternative from the same menu; eleven children currently have one. Nothing with nuts comes into the building.
Do you do half days?
Yes, 7:30am to 1pm including lunch, or 1pm to 6pm including tea, at £40, £38 or £36 by room. Most half days are mornings; the afternoon half is popular with parents on a school run.
Come and see it running. Tuesday to Thursday, forty minutes, bring the child.
Tell us your child's age and the days you are thinking of, and we reply within the working day with a time to walk round every room while it is open, the garden, the kitchen and the fees. No pressure and nothing to sign; the waiting list is free to join afterwards. Or ring Bethan.