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What are your opening hours?Our standard day is 08:00 - 18:00 , but we also offer the extended hours of 07:30 - 18:30, with the added 30 minutes available on either side payable on a pay-as-you-go basis.
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Can I choose to bring my child in later, or pick-up earlier, than the nursery hours?Your nursery fees will cover the standard nursery hours your child is booked in to attend, but if you wish to bring your child in a little later, or pick up earlier then that is absoltely fine! Please do remember to let your key person know.
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What times do half day sessions end?We offer two half day sessions; morning sessions are between the hours of 08:00 - 13:00 and afternoon sessions are between the hours of 13:00 - 18:00. Please note that afternoon session do not include lunch.
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How do I enquire about a nursery space?In order to enquire about a space at Tall Trees please use the contact form on the home page, or feel free to call, email or pop-in. One of our team will then book you in for an introductory call, viewing, or meeting to talk through your requirements and availability. We will need to know certain information about your child, including date of birth, medical needs, the month and year that you would like them to start and the number of days per week you would like them to attend. In order to secure your space we will require a completed registartion form, a registration fee and deposit.
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Can I book a visit?Yes, we are currently offering viewing to potential parents. Plese click here to book a visit.
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What will happen if I don't collect my child by 18:30?We set our opening and closing times based on feedback from our parents and as such it’s exceptionally rare that a child will be at Tall Trees after 18:30. If you are running late and it looks likely that this will be the case for you, we just ask that you give us a call and let us know at the earliest possible instance. We would only escalate & start following our late collection policy if we hadn’t yet heard from you.
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What do my nursery fees cover?Fees include all meals, snacks, formula for infants, bottles, nappies, extra curricular activites and trips. Fees are due in advance, and we issue invoices on the 20th of each month for the following month. Unfortunately, there can be no refunds for sickness or holidays. Fees are calculated based on the 51 weeks of the year that Tall Trees is open, averaged into 12 monthly payments. Tall Trees is closed between Christmas & New Year – please note you will not be charged for this period. Fee increases may be applied in April and are calculated on the previous year’s running costs.
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If I wish to use the Early / Late Session how will I be billed for this?We offer an extra half hour of flexibility either side of the day – this is charged at £5.00 per session. If possible we ask that you provide 24 hours notice of this, but of course, we understand if you’re running late due to overrunning commitments, and as such we’d just ask you to let us know you’d be dropping off earlier/picking up later as early as possible. If a child is not booked in to the Early / Late Sessions, you will be charged £1.00 per minute.
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Are there any registration fees?You will be required to pay a registration fee of £100 and £300 deposit to secure a place at Tall Trees. The £300 deposit is refundable and credited to your last invoice, given two calendar months prior written notice.
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Will I be charged when I am on holiday?Yes, unfortunately, there can be no refunds for sickness or holidays. Our fees are calculated based on the 51 weeks of the year that Tall Trees is open, averaged into 12 monthly payments.
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Do you offer a sibling discount?There is a discount if you have two or more siblings in nursery at the same time. The discount is 10% and is applied to the oldest child. This discount applies for as long as you have two or more children with us. With three or more children, the oldest will get a 15% discount, and then the remaining children 10%, with the youngest paying full fees.
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What notice do I need to give to leave the nursery?Should you wish to cancel your child’s place during the term, we require 2 calendar months written notice. This means our contract with you to perform our nursery services will not end until 2 calendar months after the day on which you contact us to cancel your child’s place. You will be responsible for paying the fees during that time. All outstanding fees remaining will need to be paid in full cleared funds.
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My child is leaving for school, do I need to give notice?For children in their final year with us before leaving for a reception class, we assume that your child’s last day will be at the end of August (31st August or the last scheduled session prior to that date) unless you inform us otherwise.
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Is there a minimum number of sessions that my child can attend?At Tall Trees we believe that a minimum of 2 sessions, on seperate days, will allow for children to form great attachments with their key person and peers, enabling for the curriculm deliverd to them to be benefical, allowing them to flourish as individuals.
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Do I have to pay if my child's class is required to self-isolate?Yes, if your child is tested positive you will still have to pay nursery fees in full. No, if there is a positive case of coroavirus within your child's class, and the bubble is sent home to self isolate you will not be charged for the days your child is not attending the setting. This will be credited to your next invoice. If your child is self-isolating due to a bubble outside fo the setting you will still be required to pay nursery fees in full.
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I want to register a sibling at Tall Trees, do I need to pay another registration fee / deposit?No, our registration fees and deposits are per family. The deposit will be refunded given prior two calendar months written notice of the last sibling leaving the setting.
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When can my child start claiming the 3 & 4 year funding?3-year-olds will be able to start a funded nursery place in the September, January or April following their third birthday. Their birthday must be before 31st March for funding from Summer Term (April), 31st August for Autumn Term (September) & 31st December for Spring Term (January).
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Do you accept 2 year old funding?Yes, we do accept 2 year old funding for all children who are eligible.
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Do you accept 9 months funding?Yes, we do accept funding for children from 9 months for all children who are eligble.
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Do you accept tax free childcare?We accept tax-free childcare as a payment method. You will first need to apply for tax-free childcare here. Once set up, you can find our setting by searching for the postcode or the Ofsted registration number. Once paired to our setting, you can pay your invoices using the tax-free childcare system – either full or partial payments of your invoice are possible.
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Do you accept childcare vouchers?Yes, we do accept childcare vouchers. If you are unable to find us with your provider it is likely because we are not set up with that provider but we are always happy to do so. Contact the nursery manager who will have this set up for you.
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Do you operate a waiting list?If a place is not immediately available for you, you can join our waiting list. You will be receive an email or phone call once a space becomes available.
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How is availability assessed?Availability is assessed on a termly basis, taking in to account any leavers or room moves. If your child does not receive a place to start at the requested time, they will remain on the waiting list until a place becomes available.
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How are places allocated?Places are offered in the following order of priority: 1) A child who is currently at nursery with us, wishing to increase sessions 2) Looked After Children 3) A child known by the local authority to have special educational needs and/or disabiltiy (SEND) and whose needs can be best met at the preferred nursery 4) A vulneable child with either a Child Protection or a Child In Need Plan 5) A child with a sibling already at the nursery 6) The date of registration for the waiting list. Please note: even though Tall Trees offers a sibling priority on the waiting list, we still require parents to register their younger siblings as early as possible. We cannot always guarantee a place, though try our best to accommodate everyone. If you are top of the waiting list, we will automatically offer you any places that become available, even if the days that have become available do not match your first preference. If you don’t take the offered days, please note that your child will be placed back at the top of the waitlist until your preferred days are available.
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What happens when I am offered a nursery space?Once you have received your offer letter you will also be asked to pay the £300 deposit and £100 registration fee. We will send a registration form for you to complete. When you are offered a place, you will be given two days to accept the place; otherwise, we will offer it to the next person on our waiting list. Upon receipt of your deposit we will confirm if your sessions are secure and send you the parent contract as well as any other relevant forms. At this point, a contract will be formed between us and you and you will be committed to the terms.
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What is the settling in process?The settling in process consists of two settling in sessions, lasting two hours. The first session you will attend with your child to settle them in to the nursery environment. The second session you’ll be able to leave and get a coffee in our parents meeting room, after settling your child in – they’ll spend the rest of their settle in their room getting to know their Key Person. Both settling in sessions will last over a mealtime, and you’ll leave your child for the full duration of this. Don’t worry – the children quickly get used to you saying goodbye! By this point we find that children feel settled and smoothly transition into nursery life when they start with us.
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Who influences your curriculum?We plan our curriculm based on the ideas of a range of early years theorists and philosophers. However, there are three schools of thought from which we take specific guidance – Tina Bruce, Maria Montessori and Forest School. Each has inspired our practice in a different way and you can find out more about what we’ve taken from each on the curriculum page. The topics in which are deliverd to the children re based on their interests.
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What does the nursery day look like?A typical day is from 08:00 - 18:00, though this can be extended by half an hour each way. Breakfast is from 08:00 - 09:00, lunch 11.30 and tea at 15:30, with morning and afternoon snacks. Infants nap a few times a day, depending on their home sleep pattern and older children usually nap after lunch until they stop napping during their preschool years. In the mornings and afternoons children will be engaged in range of focused activities and purposeful play, spending lots of time outdoors – we will also have some special group sessions that we run every week, like Phonics, Spanish and Baking and PE.
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How much time will my child spend outside?All children will be offered the opportunity to access the garden at east once a day, as we really encourage outdoor learning, but will depend on what the children are learning that week and how extreme the weather is (we take children outside no matter the weather but if really rainy/snowy this might be for a shorter period!)
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What will my child do outside?Children participate in a range of different activities outside, including physical activities, games, planting, Forest School and learning about the local community. All year round children do have the opportunity to take part in a PlayBall program.
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Will my child learn a language?We have a Spanish and French programme (depending on your setting) which involves weekly sessions for children over the age of 2, focusing on building an early appreciation of how different languages work through simple songs and play. Our program is taught by Kidslingo!
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What extra - curricular activities are available?In addition to our core curriculum, we offer the extra-curricular activities, including Spanish / French, Yoga, ICT, Cooking and Baking. You can find out more about these on the extra - curricular activities page.
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Can I track my child's learning and progress?We have an app called Famly, which we upload observations to regularly, along with a daily picture of your child and what they’ve been up to at nursery, plus news and announcements. Every term a child’s progress is assessed against the EYFS and updated in their learning journey. We also add ‘next steps’ for each child in line with the EYFS. A child's next steps are updated weekly and displayed on the planning board inside the classrooms.
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How do you track my child's progress?We informally observe the children (including a Baseline Assessment when a child starts), with termly assessments and twice-annual parents evenings. We will complete a 2 Year Check, and we also have a Before School assessment which ensures a smooth transition from nursery to school. Children's assessments are kept in their learning journey's within rooms.
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Do you have a parents evening?Yes, they are held twice a year, in Autumn and Spring. These are a more formal way for parents to receive updates about children’s progress and time at nursery!
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How many children are in each room?The number of children in each room will vary from room to room. For more information about your specific room, please feel free to give us a call!
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How many educators are in each room?We follow statutory EYFS guidance on this; the ratios of educators:children are – 1:3 in the baby age group, 1:5 in toddler and this rises again in pre-school to 1:8. We don’t count our managers or deputies in this figure so there are always extra pairs of hands if needed!
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How many children does a Key Person have?We keep our key groups as small as possible and always plan them in line with childrens’ attendance, to ensure that every child has the best experience with their Key Person.
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How do you hire your staff?We want to hire only the best, and have built very robust recruitment procedures to make sure that our team live by our core values and have the relevant qualifications & experience. We ensure all educators are DBS checked before their start date at the setting. All team members go through an indepth induction process ahead of the nursery’s opening, with first aid and safeguarding as standard. You can see our current team members on our Team page, but we are always looking for great people!
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Is your team diverse?We’re very proud to have a diverse team at Tall Trees – our educators are from multiple different ethnic backgrounds. We also subscribe to the MITEY Charter, which actively encourages men into Early Years. As well as experience, we hire on cultural fit and how much we feel someone represents out Tall Trees values.
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Do you have an Ofsted rating?Yes, both our settings have received GOOD Oftsed Ratings!
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How will you prepare my child for school?We want all of our children to feel happy and confident taking their next steps in education! We have a school readiness programme which is focused on getting the children ready for school e.g. getting changed for PE, introduction to phonics, name recognition, role play schools, etc. We also visit their new school with them to introduce them to their new teachers and encourage them to feel at home in their new environment.
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What future schools do children tend to go to from Tall Trees?Choosing the right school for your child is vital, and we are always on hand to help and guide you when making your choices. We have strong ties with many schools in Reigate and Redhill and we prepare your child for entry into the school of your choice. Below is a list of the schools that our children most commonly move on to. If you click on the school’s name, you will be taken to their website: - Reigate Parish Church Primary School - Holmesdale Community Infant School and Nursery - Hatchlands Primary School - St John's Primary School - St Joseph's Catholic Primary Catholic School - Salfords Primary School - Reigate St Mary's Preparatory and Choir School - Wray Common Primary School - The Hawthorns School - Sandcross Primary School - Micklefield School - Furzefield Primary School - Lime Tree Primary School
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How will I know what my child does throughout the day?You’ll be met by either your key person or one of your child’s key team at the end of each day, and they will run you through all of the activities and exciting developments of the day. Our nursery app, Famly, enables you to login remotely and check out your child’s learning journey, to see the different experiences your child is having and the next steps they are working towards. We’ll also post a picture a day to your news feed so that your whole family can see what they’ve been up to!
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Who can have acces to the Famly App?As many people as you wish. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and Family Friends! You are able to alter their login credential and manage what they have acces to.
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How many trips willl my child go on?The amount of trips we offer depends on various factors such as weather, what the children have been learning, and their interests. The trips are designed to support & enhance their learning. In addition to this, we also take the children on trips within out cultural experience programme, which is a “children’s bucket list” of key cultural experiences that we feel they should all have had by the time they leave us to go to school. In the past, trips have included, fire stations, local farms, libraries, nature walks, police stations and local shops.
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How will my child be safe on a trip?All children wear hi-vis jackets when on trips and all team members are prepped fully on risk assessments to ensure that our trips run smoothly and safely. Our older children hold hands and are partnered with an adult, while our younger children love the novelty of our six seater wagons!
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What meals will my child be eating?We’ve worked with experienced nutritionists and follow government guidance, to create a balanced menu with the correct amount of food for each child’s age, stage and development. We accommodate all diets & special requirements, offering a balanced mix of plant-based and sustainably sourced meat & fish dishes. Please note that we serve meat or fish at least 3 times per week. We supplement this with rolling healthy snacks that are available throughout the day, should they be extra hungry. All food consumed by the children is logged via the Famly app.
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Who cooks the food?Meals at our West Road site are prepared by our on-site chef every day. Parent's are sent the menu via the Famly App. Menus are also displayed within the building. Meals at our High Street Site are delivered via Zebedes.
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My child is a fussy eater, what will happen if they don't eat?"If a child refuses to eat what is being served, we will always offer an alternative, but we will first persist in encouraging them to try new foods. Children often need to try new foods up to ten times before they become accustomed to the change in taste & texture, so don’t be disheartened if it takes a bit of time. We repeat & rotate dishes on the menu in order to speed this process up and establish familiarity.
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Do you offer vegan or vegetatian options?Yes, we cater for all diets at Tall Trees.
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What if my child is still being breastfed?This is up to you; you can either express to bottles that our educators will give to your baby or pop back in throughout the day to feed your child in the parent meeting room.
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Do you provide formula and bottles?Yes – we provide formula of your choosing to infants. We also provide bottles, please communicate what bottle make your child is familiar with to your child's Key Person.
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Can I bring in my expressed milk?Yes – if you’d prefer to provide expressed milk, we’ll be able to give this to your child instead of formula.
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Do you aid in the weaning process?Yes, we will follow either baby-led weaning, spoon-fed weaning or a combination approach. We will follow your lead from home and we will work together on weaning!
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How will you cater for my child's allergies?As soon as you sign up, your child’s allergy information is given to our chefs and flagged on your child’s Famly profile. We also use colour coded allergy bowls and every room has allergy information on the walls for the team to see. If your child has a severe allergy, it is crucial that you let us know as soon as possible so that we can arrange a meeting with the senior management, kitchen and your key person to make an action plan. When a child's allergen is being served we will ensure that their meal is always prepared seperate and the child is not exposed or seated near to the allergen at mealtimes.
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Are you a nut free setting?We can not guarantee that our nursery is completely free of any specific allergens. However, we have specific processes in place to ensure that a child with a diagnosed allergy is not exposed to their allergen. It is worth noting that we don’t at present use nuts in our menus and we do ask parents and team members not to bring nuts into the nursery. We also ask that you don’t bring in any medications including Arachis Hypogaea or other nut oils. However, many foods are labelled as having ‘traces of nut’ and ingredients with these warnings can be used in the nursery unless a risk assessment specific to a particular child indicates otherwise.
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Where will my child sleep?Your child will sleep in a cosy area on their own sleeping mat with fresh sheets and blankets. They will have their own sleeping bag or a blanket and any comforter that you have brought in from home to make nap time as cosy and comfortable as possible.
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Will the room be dark when my child sleeps?The room won’t be dark but the lights will be dimmed to create a lovely quiet and calm environment with soothing sounds that encourage the children to fall asleep. The whole setting has quiet time between 13:00 and 15:00, allowing for the children to rest if needed. Quiet time has been shown to help regulate emotions and self-control, building a child's confidence.
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My child's sleep schedule is not the same as the nursery pattern, what shall I do?During your settling in sessions, your child’s key person will take down all of the details about your child’s nap routine. When they start at nursery we will follow this routine, though we do tend to find that children gradually transition to follow the pattern of their peers (though there isn’t a time pressure for this.)
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Do I need to provide nappies?No, we provide Pampers nappies, Sudocrem and wipes. If you would prefer to use an alternative brand or reusable nappy then please feel free to bring these in. Remember to update your Key Person via the Famly app or in person.
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Do I need to provide spare clothes?We ask that parents bring in at least two changes of clothes. When a child's spare clothes are running low we will ask parents to take the bag home and restock it. If a child runs out of spare clothes we will provde them with alternative clothing, and ask that this is returend to the nursery. If your child is due to attend a Forest School-inspired session, they will also need waterproof clothing and wellies.
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How do you help with toilet training?We will follow what you do at home and work with you on the toilet training journey. You can bring your own potty or are welcome to use ours. We will offer advice on how we can work together to toilet train your child.
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Are shoes allowed inside?All our classrooms are shoe - free zones. Visitors are provided with shoe covering or asked to take their shoes off before entering the rooms.
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Will you administer medication to my child?Check out our Medication policy on our Policies & Procedures page. If your child is to be given prescription medication, we’d give these in line with the prescription. Calpol will be given if they develop a temperature, as a form of temperature relief – only with your permission. Anti-histamines will also be kept onsite & can be used when needed/approved by parents.
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Do I need to collect my child if they are ill?This depends on the severity – if a child has a cold but is happy in themselves, it’s absolutely ok for them to stay. However, if it is contagious then they will need to be picked up! Refer to our Sickness and Illness policy which you can find on our Policies and Procedures page. If your child has had vomiting or diarrhoea, please do not let them return to nursery until 48hr from their last bout.
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Does my child have to be vaccinated?We don’t exclude non-vaccinated children from our nursery in line with government guidance. If you’d like to see our full vaccination policy we’d be happy to email that over to you.
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