Following a survey in October 2019 of all parents and carers of children attending Castle Lane Day Nursery, we are delighted to announce a number of helpful improvements, which we feel will make a positive difference to those attending our setting.
2019 Survey of Castle Lane Day Nursery
Always keen to look for new ways in which to improve our offering, in October 2019, we conducted a survey of parents and carers of children attending Castle Lane Day Nursey in Market Harborough.
This included parents and carers of children in our Baby Room, our Toddler Room, our Tweenies Room and our Pre-School Room.
We were particularly interested to find out how we could improve our communication with parents as well as the activities we provide for the children.
Encouraging participation from parents and carers
We were greatly encouraged by the level of participation from the parents of children in all our rooms and are grateful to those who took the time to complete the survey.
Once we analysed the results, we took time as a team to have a think about how we could implement some of the suggestions, to ensure we continue to provide the highest levels of childcare.
Adjustments to our menus in accordance with our Healthy Tots accreditation
Castle Lane Day Nursey is already accredited by Healthy Tots, which means that we are constantly working towards ensuring that all children receive the correct nutritional value in their meals. Not least because we are passionate about making sure we provide high quality, nutritious food.
It was clear from the survey responses that some parents and carers felt that this could be further improved and so we sat down with Mike, our chef, to make some adjustments to the menu, including the reduction of sugar in some of our puddings.
Please note that allergies and dietary requirements will continue to be catered for.
Castle Lane’s latest menus are available on our website as well as via our app.
Improvements to how we communicate with parents and carers
Online journal Tapesty used to record each child’s progress
Castle Lane Day Nursery currently uses Tapestry, an online journal, to help record all the learning and fun of children’s early years education.
We were greatly encouraged by the positive feedback from parents and carers about the new Tapestry system. Parents have reported being very happy with the interactive process and the ability to view their child’s progress whilst at nursery.
It is worth reiterating that parents and carers can also enter observations about their child from home, which is a brilliant means of improving two way communication between parents and the nursery.
Parents can also view reports on their child which are produced by the nursery every 6 months.
Castle Lane on Facebook
Castle Lane is also making a concerted effort to upload more photos to our Facebook page, which allows parents to see their children at nursery enjoying the wide variety of activities on offer.
Please therefore follow us on our Castle Lane Facebook page, for weekly updates. You might also like to follow our Forest School Facebook page.
‘Our School App’ to improve communication with parents
Our survey confirmed that Castle Lane Day Nursery communicates well with parents, providing them with valuable information about their child’s time at the nursery.
We are always looking for ways in which to improve our communication with parents, as part of our strategy to build strong relationships with both parents and carers.
We would like to remind all parents to download our App “Our School App” to their smart phone (via play store or Apple store depending on your smart phone device).
It is a free download and is very easy to use. Once you have installed the app you will need to enter our nursery postcode which is: LE16 7DE.
This will then bring up our individual nursery page, where you will find a wealth of information, including special dates for the diary, trips and much more.
Should you require any help with the app, please ask a member of staff.
Introduction of monthly Stay And Play sessions
Castle Lane Nursery has decided to offer monthly ‘Stay And Play’ sessions for parents and carers.
These sessions will be held once a month and are an opportunity for parents and carers to come into the nursery setting and spend valuable time with their child.
These sessions will run on different days each month to try and encourage as many parents as possible to attend.
Morning sessions will run from 09.00-10.30hrs and afternoon sessions will run from 13.30-15.00hrs. Dates are available from the office.
Please note that you may only attend a session that you child is attending. Please book your space with your child’s room as places are limited.
More children to be taken on more trips
Some of the survey feedback asked that we try and take the children on more trips.
This is something that we also feel is important and we are therefore planning to take them out of the nursery on more visits.
Being able to access such trips is a vital learning experience and allows our children to further develop their understanding of the wider community.
We have started a weekly visit in the Pre-School Room to a local residential care home, Lenthall House. Please be assured that whenever we leave the building for these kind of visits, we always take additional staff to increase our staff to children ratios.
If you have any suggestions for future trips. please speak to our staff in your child’s room.
Improvements to invoicing
Parents have informed us that they feel that our invoicing can sometimes be unclear. We agree that the formatting of the invoices could be improved.
However, unfortunately, we are constrained by the accounting software we use at present as we are under contract with them for a fixed period. We will of course review this once this term has expired.
Nevertheless, we are keen to ensure that parents have complete transparency with our invoicing processes. And therefore ask that any issues or concerns are directed to Emma in the office.
Security at Castle Lane Day Nursery
Safeguarding our children is a huge priority at Castle Lane and a key reason why it is not possible to enter the premises without being identified and then buzzed in via our intercom system.
We have had feedback that the intercom system can be slightly frustrating as it requires waiting for the door to be released by a member of staff. We do apologise for any delay and will make an effort to answer the door as quick as possible.
However, it is important to remind all parents not to hold the door open for other parents. The intercom system is in place for the safety of your children.
Contact Castle Lane Day Nursery
Our children remain our top priority and we are always interested in parent feedback about how we can improve our services.
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Castle Lane Day Nursery and speak to one of our team.