Clever Cloggs Day Nursery

Reply from Jennifer Lewis, Director at Clever Cloggs Day Nursery

Thank you so much for your kind words about Clever Cloggs and you recommending us to your friends. We are always proud of the opportunity that parents give us to contribute to their children's early education and hope that they walk into their reception class as the confident children that we have seen grow and learn over the previous few years. As a small independent nursery, with a dedicated staff team who take the time to get to know the children and their families, we always aim to provide high-quality care and education in a nurturing environment. Thank you so much for choosing us and we wish your son all the best in the next chapter of his education.

Reply from Jennifer Lewis, Director at Clever Cloggs Day Nursery

I am disappointed to see the review that you have left in relation to the nursery.
You were provided with information in relation to the payment of fees when your son started. We had several communications with you via telephone, face to face and written in relation to the late payment of fees where you requested to pay your fees late and this was granted, even though our policy states that fees are payable in advance.
At one point you informed us that both you and your partner were concerned about your son’s eating and you would therefore be withdrawing him. You both then attended a meeting at the nursery to discuss your concerns and at the end of the meeting, you both made the decision that you were happy for your son to continue at the nursery as he had made progress in other areas since he started with us.
When your partner attended our stay and play session, he made several comments including that the session allowed him to experience the day to day activities in the nursery as he could see it through his own eyes and that he loved and enjoyed everything about it.
As a small nursery, the continual late payment of fees puts the sustainability of the nursery at risk as we do not have any other source of income and is not something that we could allow to continue.

Reply from Jennifer Lewis, Director at Clever Cloggs Day Nursery

At Clever Cloggs Day Nursery we offer full time and part time places to meet the varied needs of parents. We also offer term time only childcare to meet the needs of teachers and teaching assistants. We are flexible by allowing parents such as yourself have their children return early or do additional days, for example during the school holidays so that we can support their work commitments. We operate an open-door policy for all parents and invited you into the nursery to discuss any concerns, which you declined.
We work closely with the local Children’s Centre to support parents who have concerns about their children’s eating. Monitoring sheets are also available each day to record what a child under the age of 2 years old eats each day. We also provide feedback to all parents each day (for example, if a child has not eaten well), which is especially important when we have concerns about a child’s eating.
In relation to the nursery not having a flexible attitude around meeting the needs of the children (providing nappies and wipes) the nursery does not use the wipes and nappies of other children as some of the children may be allergic to some brands which could cause skin irritation or other issues. We only use the nappies and wipes provided by the parent that they feel are suitable for their child. This is to ensure the well – being of the children and is part of our safeguarding and working in partnership with parent’s policy to ensure parent’s wishes are considered and the needs of individual children are met. We request all items in advance and have never asked you to bring in items for your child the next day. Parents are given ample time to purchase items needed for nursery and bring them in. If in this case you are referring to another parent/child then you would not be aware of the whole conversation or situation. This is not something the nursery would be discussing with you so I am not sure why you are making this point.
In relation to your child not having cake one afternoon at tea time, this was because she had refused to eat. The staff had tried on several occasions to encourage her to eat. The nursery even supported your child with cutlery utensils that you brought from home. We would never withhold food as a form of punishment as you implied. We always told you how your child ate each day at nursery (in conversations and on the daily monitoring sheets) so you were able to provide her with an appropriate evening meal. We had spoken on many occasions about your child’s eating but you were too busy to attend any sessions at the Children’s Centre as advised because you were a working parent. Therefore, as part of working together, I arranged for the Children’s Centre Team from Edith Kerrison to come into the nursery for a workshop at a time which suited you and enabled you to attend, which you did.
As a nursery, we have supported many of our parents and have an established working relationship with the Children’s Centre at Edith Kerrison and Keir Hardy primary school. We have at Clever Cloggs been very successful with many parents working in partnership and we have had nothing but positive praise. We have signposted parents to the Triple P Program on positive parenting, fussy eaters, toileting, transition into school, speech and language and parents whose children have additional needs, all with positive feedback and outcomes which have impacted on the learning and development of the children in our care. Through our support and encouragement, parents have informed us that their children have thrived and our support has been invaluable in preparing their children for school. We have worked closely with our Early Years Advisory Teachers who have visited us with practitioners from other settings so that they can benefit from our good practice and the environment that we provide for the children.
It is unfortunate that you have not found your experience at Clever Cloggs Day Nursery to be a positive one and we hope your child will be very happy in her new setting.