FAQs

Once you have attended your tour of the nursery and you have decided that you would like your child to start at Oak Lee, we will need you to complete the Application Form detailing when you would like your child to join us. A non-refundable £80 registration fee is payable to secure your child’s place on the waiting list. Please see ‘Admissions Procedure’ for further guidance.

We have a number of set sessions available, please see ‘Sessions’ for more information. The minimum number of days we offer is 2 per week, this can be for any fixed session of your choice.

Yes, we do. We have a comprehensive 2-week settling in period, where your child will attend all 5 days for these two weeks, regardless of how many days they will officially do when they start. Your child will attend on the first day with a parent/carer and their keyworker for half an hour, meeting their new friends and teachers in the classroom. On the second day, your child will attend for 15 minutes, supported by their keyworker. This will then be increased day by day over the two-week period at a pace that meets their needs and you will be notified of timings for the next day.

The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage sets out that ‘each child must be assigned a key person [who] must help ensure that every child’s learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs. The key person must seek to engage and support parents and/or carers in guiding their child’s development at home. They should also help families engage with more specialist support if appropriate.’ (DfE, 2017)

At Oak Lee, each child will be assigned a keyperson, who is likely to change over the course of their time with us; Parents are always notified of any changes and the keyworker list is displayed on the Parent’s notice board. The children will spend time with a team of key people in their classrooms, who will support learning and care on a daily basis.  The keyworker will work closely with the parents to support their child’s development at home and at nursery.

Yes, we accept these. Please note, you must be eligible for the 30 hours funding in order to receive this. Please go online to check eligibility or to sign up for the HMRC tax-free childcare benefit.

Funding will come into effect the term AFTER your child turns 3 years of age. We will send you the necessary paperwork once your child is eligible for this. Funding is given for 38 weeks of the year, so as we are open 50 weeks we pro-rata the funding throughout the year. Please email the office for any further queries about funding.

We are open for 50 weeks of the year and do not offer term time only places. We are only closed for a week at Easter and a week at Christmas, plus all bank holidays.

Yes, our Oak Lee uniform is compulsory for all children aged 2 years and above.

Please see our fees sheet for more details; you can request this from the admin team. Fees are worked out based on the 50 weeks of the year that we are open (i.e. you are not paying for the 10 days that the nursery is closed at Christmas and Easter). You will need to pay fees to retain your child’s space if you are on holiday at the times we are open.

We require 1 month notice for any increase and 2 months notice for any decrease in days or hours. Please email the office to request this. We do not offer any one-off swap of sessions; however, we do offer chargeable extra sessions – please see the bottom of our fees sheet for more information on this.

We require 2 months’ notice for your child’s last day with us. Notice must be given in writing.

Yes, all staff are DBS checked and are required to be on the update service.

The current Ofsted recommended ratios for Under 2’s is 1:3, for 2-3 year olds it is 1:4 and for children aged 3 years and above it is 1:8 or 1:13 with a Qualified Early Years Teacher.  However, at Oak Lee we often operate with a higher ratio of adults to children, which enables us to maintain our reputation of providing high quality early years provision.

Yes, you will need to book a tour with us. Viewings fill up fast, so do book in advance via the School Tours section of the website or by calling the office on 020 8866 1855. You will be guided on your tour by a Senior member of the team who will be able to answer any questions you may have.

Our staff team comprises of highly qualified and motivated individuals. We have staff qualified to QTS/EYPS level, as well as qualified Montessori Teachers. All of our room leaders are qualified to an NVQ Level 3 or above with a dedicated team of NVQ Level 2 practitioners and staff completing their qualifications with our training provider Hawk. We have a dedicated in-house Training and Development Co-ordinator who supports the staff team with on-the-job learning and progression.