How does your waiting list work?
When you apply for a place at The WonderWorks, we may not always be able to confirm your place immediately. This maybe because the days you need are unavailable, or you maybe applying far in advance (Over a year away). In these instances we will ask if you would like to be added to our waiting list, and we will try to guide you as to how long it may be before a place is likely to become available. Unfortunately this can only used as a rough guide as availability of places can be hugely dependent on changing demand and the information we use to allocate places, as per our Admissions Policy. We review our waiting lists regularly to see what families we can offer confirmed places to, and use our Admissions Policy to promote fairness and our decision making. We recommend anyone wishing to apply for nursery place familiarises themselves with our Admissions Policy which is available on our Policies Page. Throughout your time on our waiting list we will try our best to communicate an UpToDate picture of availability, so that you are able to make decisions for your family. You are very welcome to discuss this with our team at any time.
What is the difference between standard and production billing?
Standard places are non-refundable and are billed in advance at the end of the month. An invoice will be sent to you electronically. If you have any queries, please contact the nursery office where a member of the team will try and help you.
Production places are billed retrospectively as they will need to be adjusted to capture the sessions used by parents. These invoices will be sent to you electronically at the end of the month. If you have any queries, please contact the nursery office where a member of the team will try and help you.
We encourage parents to stay on either a standard or production place, to avoid the chance of having two bills within a short space of time.
Do I still pay for the days not used or if my child is sent home?
On standard places full fees are payable for any sessions booked by you, whether they are used or not. If the nursery cannot provide childcare due to an emergency there will be no charge.
On production places you will not be charged for full sessions you do not use as these will be paid for your production or used by another production parent. If your child leaves part way through a session for example due to illness the full session charge will be invoiced to you.
Can I swap my days and how much notice do I need to give?
Standard places can be permanently changed, but only if they are available. Once changed there is no guarantee that the original space would be available to change back to. We ask that parents give us as much notice as possible (1 month is ideal) and put a request in writing by emailing their request to leavesden@thewonderworks.co.uk. Generally, requests to change sessions are looked at on a weekly basis, so if you need an urgent response, please state this in your e-mail and will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Production spaces offer flexibility and are designed for families who are working on a Production and need ad hoc and flexible childcare. These places can be changed (subject to availability) at relatively short notice. Please e-mail or telephone the nursery office where they will try and meet any request you have. At The WonderWorks we do understand that when working on a film Production you need us to be more flexible and to allow changes with short notice, we will always look at any request you have and if staffing and space allows you will be able to change or add. Please do not turn up at the nursery without having your booking confirmed by the nursery office, as there is always a possibility, we would have to turn you away if we did not have the space or the staff to care for your child. Ideally, we ask that any requests for childcare are made at the latest by 5.30pm the day before, so that we can confirm back to you before the nursery closes. If your request comes in after that time, there is no guarantee that we will see it before the following morning. We are currently looking into how we can be even more responsive, even late in the day or evening when Production call sheets are issued.
Production Spaces- Do I have a guaranteed space?
To access a Production space, you must be working on a Production at WBSL and the Production must be signed up with us and have a ‘live’ contract in place.
For the duration of your Production contract with us, we will prioritise our spaces for you. We are a registered childcare provider and therefore do have strict limits on the number of children we can care for at any one time and this is depending on their ages and the staff we have available. From time to time and due to unforeseen circumstances or demand we may have to turn down a request for a place. For example, if we have unexpected staff absence, we may be limited by the number of children we can care for. We will always try to help and will look for ways to provide you with the care you need when you need it.
Can we use childcare vouchers?
Yes, we do accept childcare vouchers, please let us know who they are with as we will need to register with them first.
Can we use tax free childcare?
Yes we are set up to receive Tax free childcare, please talk the nursery office
How can we use our government funding with you?
Yes if your child is eligible your will be asked to complete a funding claim form with us and we can claim these hours back from the local authority. If your child is eligible we will need you to provide a valid code to us. If you would like more information, please talk to the nursery office. All of our funded spaces are delivered under ‘the stretched offer’ which means the hours we claim are spread out over the year; sorry but we are not a term time only setting.
How the nursery places/fees are allocated if they're production or non-production
Please take a look at our admissions policy, this should answer any questions you have. If not please talk to the nursery office.
How will my nursery support my child’s development?
The nursery approach to learning centers around play, fun and exploration. The Teachers in the nursery teach by a range of methods such as: communicating and modelling language, showing, explaining, demonstrating, exploring ideas, encouraging, questioning, recalling, providing a narrative for what they are doing, facilitating, and setting challenges. We do not use formalised ‘top down’ teaching methods as we believe children learn best when they feel relaxed and listened to. We like to enjoy learning with the children and often set about learning around projects and interests together. Undertaking research and asking lots of questions.
Teachers at The WonderWorks assess what children like, what they know, what they understand and what they can do in order to plan a range of activities. At this age babies and children use all their senses to learn about the world around them and so we use lots of sensory experiences to spark new connections in the brain and help children to learn.
Your Keyperson will share with you how they are doing at nursery and will ask you to work in partnership to help identify and work through anything they are finding more difficult. Not long after your child turns two your keyperson will share with you something called the two-year progress check. This provides a good place to pause and think about any specific needs and strengths your child has.
How will you support my child to get ready to go off to school?
School readiness is about providing children with a broad range of experiences, knowledge and skills to set them up ready to learn in the next stage of their education. Our children leave us and join reception year at school which is still part of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Formalized teaching does not usually start until year one in primary school. Until then we all are providing the foundations for lifelong learning through play and exploration.
Nursery helps children to enjoy the rewards of friendship. The ability to socialize and work with others are both essential skills for future happiness and success.
Research shows that children who have enjoyed the benefits of a good nursery perform better socially and emotionally at school, so much of our focus is about working with parents to provide a safe and secure environment where children’s wellbeing is prioritized and where children will thrive.
As soon as you know what school your child will be attending, please let your Keyperson know so they can start to work in partnership with the school on a transition plan for your child.
What will my child do when they are nursery?
Have fun, make new friends, learn, and go on new adventures!
We listen to children and follow their lead. They will play inside and outside; they will have the option to choose where they want to play and who to play with. They will have access to some activities which have been planned for, and set up by our wonderful Teachers, we call these proposals and provocations.
Children will also be able to choose from a range of resources and play freely and independently. Children will be able to sing, paint, pretend, listen to stories, dance, use glue, clay, water, and sand. They will be able to climb, run, jump and explore the natural world outside.
The nursery day will offer a good balance, offering children different ways to learn. We refer to this as the “THE FOUR P’s”
PROPOSALS- An adult planned activity to perhaps engage children in developing a particular skill, or to explore a new idea or concept which needs an adult to set up and support. For example this might be an outing, cooking, craft, photography or story telling.
PROVOCATIONS- An adult planned ‘invitation to play’ but the children can explore and use it in any way they choose. The provocation is often planned to extend and support childrens interests, but can also help Teachers to understand a bit more about what those interests and fascinations are. The provocation usually involves the opportunity for a sensory play experience and learning some wonderful new vocabulary.
PROJECTS (The Burrow )- Children will work in small groups to explore a question, concept , fascination or interest in more depth. They will have the opportunity to use and explore through a variety of ‘languages’ or media. For instance they may use technology, fabric, clay, paint, song, dance, story, photography, music, light or sound. This project work can last a few days, weeks or even months and will usually moving onto other, new projects over time.
PLAY- Where children can have the freedom to choose, have fun, relax, research, experiment, test out ideas, practice skills, feel joy and satisfaction in a safe and stimulating environment.
Will my child play outside every day?
Yes, they will have access to the outdoors every day, exploring all weather types. Please make sure your child has appropriate clothing according to the time of the year and the weather. We ask that every child (and baby) has a named, warm, waterproof rain suit in nursery every day. And a named sunhat for the summer. For our walking children please provide a named pair of wellies. We also take children on short local outings and walks; we will talk you through these when we settle your child in.
What if my child isn’t feeling well, can you keep them inside?
We follow the child’s lead and if they wish to play outside, we would not usually discourage this. Our nursery believes that outdoors promotes good health and there is plenty of research that suggests that fresh air and being outdoors has no link to catching colds etc. If your child is feeling unwell and doesn’t want to play outside that’s ok too. But if your child is feeling too poorly to play and join in with activities, we will ask you to keep them at home until they are feeling better.
Can you give medication to my child?
Yes, but please read our medication policy to understand what we can, and cannot give children and the paperwork we will need to give medication. We can give prescribed medication as this means a doctor has risk assessed that the medication is safe for the child. If your child is unwell, we would always ask you to keep them at home until they are feeling better, sometimes attending nursery when under the weather than result in picking up another infection or making recovery take longer.
We do have Calpol (paracetamol) in nursery which can be administered if a child’s temperature is high and other means such as removing clothing, fresh air and a drink of cool water hasn’t helped. If your child has a high temperature and is given Calpol we will usually ask you to come and collect them. This is because the Calpol will now be masking the cause of the temperature. Your child may have an infection which needs monitoring closely and they may need a medical professional.
Can Teachers baby sit for my child?
We have been asked this a lot and so we are developing a baby-sitting policy to support both families and our team to manage this safely. We understand that having one of our team babysit, must be a reassuring thought. After all, they have gone through safer recruitment checks, they are qualified, they are trained and most importantly your child knows them, and they know your child. But we do want to make sure our teachers are not overstretched, and they feel supported in any choice to babysit privately. We have a babysitting policy and procedure which helps us to navigate this with families. Further information is available on request.
Where can I park to drop off and collect my child?
We have some dedicated parking spaces in the car park right next to the nursery. The WonderWorks DROP OFF AREA is a parent friendly area with extra wide spaces, on the ground floor covered from the elements and right by the nursery. When your child starts with us we will provide you with a secure access code so you can park there safely and conveniently for drop offs and collections. Please supervise your child whilst in the car park and entrance areas, as these can become very busy, especially at the start and the end of the day. There is a zebra crossing right outside the car park and nursery and we ask that children are safely supervised at all times whilst crossing the small access road.