All Your Questions answered!
Absolutely. We operate a “Sun Smart” policy. Please make sure your child is fully sun-creamed before they arrive at nursery! Please also bring a hat for them. We will avoid being in the direct sun during the hottest part of the day. We have our wonderful covered outside classroom area meaning that the children can access the outside throughout the day while still being protected from the sun.
We ask you to make sure that your child has appropriate clothes. In the winter, we do venture outside and children need to be warm. Layers are your best friend! We suggest a snow suit or warm all in one for the very cold months. We also sell puddle suits to keep children dry. Check out polkadotfarm.co.uk/shop. Hats and gloves are also a good idea.
When it’s really cold, we will be outside in short bursts, making sure that the children go back inside regularly.
We use the outside classroom year round and the canopy protects the children.
While we follow the governments Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, we enhance it by including our own “Little Farmers” Curriculum too. We also have the programme of “Lets Grow!” running at the nursery. Its a unique blend.
Our curriculum can be fully accessed indoors and outdoors. Children benefit from the space and land we have and the curriculum is enriched because of it.
No. We will make every effort to stay open every day. On the farm, we are exposed to the elements, but we have a plan in place to keep the nursery open for children.
In high winds, we will take down our Outdoor Classroom canopy, and this area may temporarily be out of use to the children (for their safety.)
Please be mindful that the car park and approaching road may be icy in very cold weather.
In particularly hot weather, we have air conditioning in all the rooms and will maintain the nursery at a cool temperature.
From Jan 1st 2024, we have a two-day-per-week minimum attendance policy for our nursery children.
Yes you absolutely can. If you are both responsible for 50% of the invoice, just let us know and we can process two invoices for you, to individual addresses if appropriate.
Payments are due in advance by 1st of the month. You will receive an invoice around two weeks before it becomes due. This will come through to you via our app and on email. You can choose to remit via bank transfer, childcare vouchers, the tax-free childcare system or an alternative method. We do not accept cheques or cash.
Please make sure that any remittance has your Childs name on it so that we can allocate it to your account.
Fees are annualised. This means that your fees are calculated as follows: Your weekly number of days booked multiplied by the 51 weeks that we are open, divided by 12 months. You are invoiced 1/12 of your annual amount and the total will be the same each month.
The only month that will be different will be your first month. This month will be calculated based on your actual days attended (for example if you started halfway through the month, you will be charged half of your normal monthly amount) to make sure that you aren’t overcharged!
The easiest way to pay is to set up a standing order. Our bank details are on the bottom of all invoices.
On accepting a place, your first months fees are payable to secure your spot.
We do not accept split funding. For funded places, we require you to use all your hours with us.
For every £8 you pay in, the government will automatically add £2, up to the value of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children)
To find out your eligibility for this scheme, go to www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare. You wont be able to use Tax Free Childcare together with Tax Credits, Universal Credit or Childcare Vouchers.
Once you are confirmed as eligible, you will get an online account.
You can deposit money into your childcare account using a debit card, standing order or bank transfer. The government top up is added automatically and you can use this money when it shows as ‘available’.
You then select us as your childcare provider. Search “Polka Dot Childcare Limited” with our address (Tye Common Road, Billericay, CM12 9SD) and allocate us as your provider. Use the money in your childcare account, including the government top up, to pay your monthly invoice.
Please note that if your invoice due date falls on a weekend or Bank Holiday, payment should be made earlier for the Tax-Free Childcare systems to process. They usually take around 24-48 hours to transfer into our account once you have authorised payment. It’s your responsibility to make sure that you leave enough time for payment to reach us.
To continue to use the Tax-Free Childcare system, you will need to reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months. They will send you a reminder to do this.
There are many schemes in place to help with childcare fees. The best advice we can give is to access the Government website: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. This site has so much information and many parents are surprised (and thrilled!) to find out that they qualify for help when they didn’t expect to.
Tax Free Childcare
For every £8 you pay in, the government will automatically add £2, up to the value of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children)
To find out your eligibility for this scheme, go to www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare. You wont be able to use Tax Free Childcare together with Tax Credits, Universal Credit or Childcare Vouchers.
Free Entitlement Funding
The biggest change to Free Entitlement Funding in years was announced in the 2023 Budget. The first phase rolls out in early 2024, with two year olds of working families becoming eligible for funding. In Sept 2024, this extends to children from 9 months old. From September 2025, all children from 9 months in working families will be entitled to funding. You should go to the government website to check your eligibility.
Childcare Vouchers
If you joined a childcare voucher scheme before 4th October 2018, you can keep getting vouchers or directly contracted childcare as long as:
- your wages were adjusted on or before 4 October 2018
- you stay with the same employer and they continue to run the scheme
- you do not take an unpaid career break of longer than a year
You can take up to £55 a week of your wages, which you do not pay tax or National Insurance on.
How much you can take depends on the amount you earn and when you joined the scheme. We are registered to accept vouchers from a number of providers. Just let us know which you use and we will arrange to accept them.
The full breakdown of how funding will positively impact your fees is found in our Fees & Funded places downloadable guide. You can download this here: www.polkadotfarm.co.uk/parent-pack.
You will receive your funded hours as discounted hours on your invoice.
Here is an example: If you have 15 hours of funding allowance (remember that this is allocated over the 38 weeks term time only) this equates to 570 hours per academic year of funding (Calculation: 15 hrs x 38 weeks.)
We are open 51 weeks per year, so we stretch this funding over the full year, giving you 11.17 hours funding each week (Calculation: 570 hrs / 51 weeks.)
You will be charged for any additional hours you are booked at the nursery at our hourly rate (Calculation: Daily rate / 12 hours that we are open = hourly rate) plus our Consumables charge, which covers everything that isn’t covered by the funding. For a full list of what our “Consumables” charge covers, please check out the FAQ relating to that.
Note that there are some conditions to funding set by the Government (such as funding only being available for up to 10 hours a day between 8am and 6pm) that we must work within.
In terms of your invoice, you will see the funded hours deducted, and just be charged for the additional hours and consumables.
Funding is given for children to access standard preschool provision only. As a nursery, we must use it in order to adequately deliver the EYFS curriculum. This includes things like small world figures, Role play, Dolls, Cars & Trucks, Trains & Track, Puzzles, Books, Loose parts, Construction bricks, Craft supplies, Paper & Card, Glue, Paint, Pencils & Crayons, Scissors, Aprons, Sand & Water and enough staff to meet minimum government ratios
When accessing funded hours, we make a charge called Consumables, to cover everything that the funding doesn’t provide for This includes all the extra experiences we offer within our normal service throughout the year as well as Food (three meals per day, three desserts per day and two snacks) Drinks, Nappies and wipes, Staffing over and above the minimum guidelines, Walks & trips, Let’s Grow, Boogie Mites, Forest School, Allotment sessions, Cooking sessions, Nature reserve walks,, Pond dipping, Den building, Picnics & treats, growing Butterflies from caterpillars, large scale outdoor activities such as Painting, Potion making, Pumpkin carving, chalked Obstacle courses. Chinese lantern painting, Christmas parties, Graduation, Seasonal and Leaving parties, Sensory trays, Gardening equipment, Sports days, Animal interactions, Rabbits and chicken handling, Paddling pool play, Small group phonics & Yoga lessons, Planting, Food play. It also excludes any additional hours (funding is only deliverable between 8am and 6pm while your childs space can be accessed from 7am to 7pm. The Consumables charge allows us to purchase additional resources & equipment that we can then provide to enable additional experiences. Examples of these are: Hii viz jackets & spare Puddle suits, Theraputty, Peanut balls & Rockers Wobble cushions, Sensory toys, Plaster of Paris, Baking & cooking provisions, Acrylic paint & canvases, Flat bed projector, Wood work tools, gardening tools, Sledges, Disco bulbs, light strips, Bubble lamp, Dark tent, Galaxy projectors, lluminated drawing board LCD boards, external training providers, Panel of experts (nutritionist, qualified teacher, yoga instructor, literacy expert)
The term “Stretched Funding” refers to how we deliver the funded hours. The governments funded hours are term time only, meaning you will receive 38 weeks of funding per year. As we are open 51 weeks per year, we take your 38 week allocation and stretch it over the 51 weeks so that your child can access the nursery through the whole year. This means that your 15 hours term time funding becomes 11.17 hours funding for 51 weeks per year.
What is the criteria for 3 and 4 year old funding?
All 3 and 4-year-olds can get 15 hours of funded early learning a week until they go into Reception class or reach compulsory school age (the term following their fifth birthday).
Funding is available from the term after your child turns 3.
| Born on or between | Terms for eligible funding |
| 1 January to 31 March | Summer term (April onwards) |
| 1 April to 31 August | Autumn term (September onwards) |
| 1 September to 31 December | Spring term (January onwards) |
You don’t have to apply for the 15 hours funded childcare. We will do it for you
Funding only covers “education” and does not cover certain aspects of the nursery care.
You can use your funded 15 hours:
- over a minimum of 2 days or a maximum of 5 days
- for a minimum of 2.5 hours a day and a maximum of 10 hours a day
- over 38 weeks, or pro-rata over a maximum of 52 weeks per year
- anytime between 6am to 8pm, depending on the sessions offered by
Working families can get up to 30 hours funded childcare for 3 to 4-year olds.
You can check your eligibility on the childcarechoices.gov.uk website.
We use our nursery app to communicate this to you. At each mealtime, we log how much your child has eaten – All, Most, Some or a Little. You will be able to see this as soon as its posted on the app, so you can check throughout the day if you like.
We offer Cow & Gate, Aptamil, SMA Gold and Kendamill. If you have a specific (or prescription) milk, please provide this.
We can. Whether your family is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, lactose free, sugar free, pescatarian or has a religious preference, we can cater for that. We can manage all dietary requirements. Let us know at your settling in session.
We will accommodate your food requirement whether being due to allergy, medical, religious or personal reasons.
Yes. The team ensure that there is always a member of staff sitting at the table with the children while they are eating. This is for many reasons. Some children have allergies, so having a staff member at the table means that this is monitored. It’s all for choking prevention. Staff will cut up food and watch children eat. Lastly, its for social skills. Lunchtime is more than just a time to eat! Its a fantastic time for children to develop social skills, sharing skills and to learn about the art of conversation.
In our years in childcare, we have worked with many children whose parents refer to as “picky eaters.” Our experience is that even the fussiest eater is very different in a nursery environment. Seeing their friends eating food (and sitting around a table with them) is usually enough to encourage them to eat.
If you think that your child may find mealtimes a challenge, just let us know. We can put together a plan to encourage them to be a little more adventurous with the food. Rest assured, we would never let a child go hungry.
We have a full time chef on site. We also have a kitchen assistant. They prepare the food freshly on site every day.
Our kitchen freshly prepares food every day according to the children’s dietary needs. Everything is nutritionally balanced. For breakfast, we offer cereal, fruit, yoghurt and toast. For snacks (am and pm) we offer things like crackers, breadsticks, fruit, crumpets & bagels. We offer a hot lunch such as veggie packed bolognese, chicken & vegetable pie, roast dinners or mild curries and rice. Desserts are balanced and can be things like bananas and custard, apple oaty crumble or watermelon wedges. Teas are a lighter meal and are things such as sandwiches, rolls, wraps or pasta salads. This is also followed by a dessert.
From Jan 1st 2024, we have a two-day-per-week minimum attendance policy for our nursery children.
We are. Search on the OFSTED website for full details.
Yes absolutely. Just mark “no social media consent” on the app on joining and no photos of your child will be put on our social channels.
We have many reviews from parents who are already using the nursery. Please check out our Google reviews by searching for Polka Dot Farm on google. There are lots of wonderful things on there about our team, our facilities and our space.
You should come in and speak to us. We are a friendly bunch and feedback is really important to us. Pop into the office on drop off or collection and speak with the Nursery Manager Charlotte.
Yes! Many of our team have their own children. Both nursery directors are mums too.
We value diversity and embrace the many cultures of our families. We celebrate many different festivals and will talk about many different religions. We promote tolerance for other peoples beliefs.
The short answer is – however you want us to.
Every family situation is different and we have worked with pretty much every scenario there is. We can work with you however you want us to.
If you want separate invoicing and separate reports on your child, we can do this. We can offer separate parents evenings and feedback sessions if that’s appropriate too.
Yes we do. Our SenCo is fully qualified and is on hand to discuss any concerns you may have. They can access additional support and signpost you to other professionals should you need it.
We don’t offer parent cams at the nursery. As mums ourselves, we believe that parent cams can actually increase parents anxiety. Sometimes, when watched in isolation, incidents can be misunderstood. Without sound, things can be viewed out of context. We want to foster excellent relationships with our families so that you feel safe and comfortable leaving your child with us, without the need to log on to watch a parent cam.
The shortest answer to this is simple – if you are interested in a place, register on the waiting list now!
We are proud to be a very popular choice for parents in Billericay. Since we opened in November 2023, we have been amazed by how well the nursery has been received. Right now, we are operating at capacity and are full.
This means that if you are interested in a place for your child, you should register to the waiting list as soon as you can. You can find the registration form to join the waiting list here: www.polkadotfarm.co.uk/enrolment-form.
It’s quite usual for babies to be registered with us when they are still a bump. If you are pregnant, now is a really good time to look for a nursery place, even if you wont need it until a year after your baby is born. We have children on the waiting list from before they arrive in the world. You can book to visit here: www.polkadotfarm.co.uk/book-a-showaround
All good nurseries will have waiting lists. Places will be allocated as they become available.
From Jan 1st 2024, we have a two-day-per-week minimum attendance policy for our nursery children.
If you want to permanently swap your booked day, please let us know on email and we will accommodate it at the earliest available opportunity.
We do not offer one off day swaps.
It’s important to consider that each child will have slightly different needs when it comes to settling in. Some children will settle quickly and be very confident from Day 1 while other children may take a little longer. We will work with you dependant on what is best for your child. The usual process is as follows:
Three settling in sessions are booked for just before you start. We suggest that these are done (if possible) in the week or two before your first day. They should be slightly spaced out, but not too spaced out that your child forgets about nursery in between sessions.
Session 1 – you come along with your child and you stay with them in the room. You will use this time to meet with your Childs key person and go through their routine, likes, dislikes and anything else we need to know about them.
Session 2 – you settle your child in the room and when you are comfortable, you leave the room. You may want to pop into the office to have a look on the CCTV camera to see how they are doing. We suggest that you stay close by (maybe pop into town for a coffee) and leave your child for up to 2 hours.
Session 3 – you drop off as usual and leave immediately, as you would you on a normal drop off day. On this session, you will be leaving your child for a longer period of time again. Discuss this with the room and work out what you think is best.
As always, you are welcome to call to see how your child is getting on. We will always be honest with you. If we think your child is unsettled and needs you to return, we would let you know. If we think they are fine and would benefit from being left longer, we will tell you that too. The settling in process is all about communication. It’s as much about YOU settling in as it is about your child settling in! You have to be comfortable for them to feel comfortable.
Once you are registered on the waiting list, if your situation changes please contact us and let us know. We will remove you from the waiting list.
Once you have started, we just require a four week notice period to cancel your nursery place or reduce your sessions. Please email the office hello@polkadotfarm.co.uk
We will keep the channels of communication open with you from when you submit your enrolment form until you start with us. If you are looking for a September start dates, its likely that we will be able to confirm this a little earlier than any other time of year. That’s because we can anticipate when our older children will be leaving for school, freeing up space for children to move up rooms. This creates opportunities for new children to join.
During the year, registered children may change sessions or reduce sessions. This also creates a space that can be allocated to someone on the waiting list. Children may move away or parents may take their child out if they are on maternity leave with another baby. All these things affect the availability of spaces for your child. They are things that we can’t often predict a long way in advance, but we will let you know as soon as we know that a spot is available for you.
When current nursery parents reduce their days or leave, they are required to give four weeks notice. We will then know that a space is available for you.
It also means that if we are four weeks before your requested start date and a place hasn’t come up, we would tell you so that you can secure a place elsewhere or make alternative childcare arrangements.
All good nurseries will have a waiting list.
Submission of an enrolment form does not guarantee your place. We are a popular nursery. September is a great time to look for a nursery place as the older children leave for school, freeing up space for children to move up rooms. This creates opportunities for new children to join. During the year, registered children may change sessions or reduce sessions. This also creates a space that can be allocated to someone on the waiting list. Children may move away or parents may take their child out if they are on maternity leave with another baby. All these things affect the availability of spaces for your child. They are things that we can’t often predict a long way in advance, but we will let you know as soon as we know that a spot is available for you.
Sometimes, parents panic that they are a long way down the waiting list. However, it doesn’t really matter if you are right at the bottom of the waiting list if everyone above you wants different days to you.
Let me give you an example: You register on the waiting list and are number 61. You are looking for a place in the Baby Lodge for your 1 year old on a Monday, Thursday and Friday. There are 60 children ahead of you. Of those children on the waiting list, 20 are of the age where they need a place in Toddler Barnyard and 20 are of the age where they need a place in preschool.
So that essentially puts you at place number 21, as there are 20 children looking for a place in the baby room who have registered before you. Hold up! That’s not all. Of these children, 10 of them need a place after you have specified that you need your place. That puts you at number 11.
Then, a space becomes available on the days you require.
Of the 11 children on the list who are looking for a place in baby room at the same time as you, imagine that 8 of them needed a Tuesday, one wants full time and one wants just a Wednesday. All of a sudden, you are the only person who the available sessions of Monday, Thursday and Friday work for.
You might have been the 61st person to join the list, but if the days that come up are only suitable for you, it really doesn’t matter!
The best thing that you can do to maximise your chance of getting a place at the nursery is to register early and to be flexible with the days that you require. This will give you the best possible chance of getting a place.
Once you have submitted your enrolment form, you will be placed on our waiting list. Places are offered as they become available. In the event of over subscription or running at capacity, places will be allocated using the following criteria in the order given:
- Increase in sessions for children currently attending
- Siblings of children who currently attend
- Waiting list
When allocating places, we look at the days available, then look at who requires those days. We will offer it to the person first in line, based on when they submitted their enrolment form. Once offered, parents will have 48 hours to confirm their space
Your first step is to download the parent pack. This is full of information on the nursery. You can do the here: www.polkadotfarm.co.uk/parent-pack. The next step is to book your visit. You can do this on the website with ease, or follow this link here: www.polkadotfarm.co.uk/book-a-showaround. There is a calendar where you can book a visit at a time that suits you. Once you have visited, you can submit an enrolment form. You can do this via the website or here: www.polkadotfarm.co.uk/enrolment-form. This will tell us when you want your nursery place and how many days you want. Dependant on your requested start date, we will either confirm your place immediately (subject to availability) or place you on our waiting list. Once your place is confirmed, we will book you in for settle sessions. These happen in the week or two prior to you starting.
You can enroll your child by filling our enrollment form.
We have an app that we use to tell you about your childs day. You will get a login when you register. We log things like bottle times and how much your child had. We log all food and how much your child ate. We also log nappy changes (and toilet visits when your child is toilet training.) We use the app to upload photos and videos of your child during the nursery day, so you can see how they get on. Its an insight into their world.
We also communicate any nursery messages to you via the app.
You will have a handover in the evening when you collect.
We post regularly throughout the day on social media too – give us a follow to see into our day!
Absolutely. We encourage this during the settling period. We will also communicate with you through the app sending you photos and videos of your child so that you can see how they are getting on.
If you want to permanently swap your booked day, please let us know on email and we will accommodate it at the earliest available opportunity.
We do not offer one off day swaps.
We don’t offer parent cams at the nursery. As mums ourselves, we believe that parent cams can actually increase parents anxiety. Sometimes, when watched in isolation, incidents can be misunderstood. Without sound, things can be viewed out of context. We want to foster excellent relationships with our families so that you feel safe and comfortable leaving your child with us, without the need to log on to watch a parent cam.
During the settling in period, we welcome you to pop into the office to see how your child is getting on through watching on our internal cameras. We have cameras throughout the nursery that we use for our own personal monitoring. You are welcome to check on your child using those, if you don’t want them to see you at the door.
We don’t offer parent cams at the nursery. As mums ourselves, we believe that parent cams can actually increase parents anxiety. Sometimes, when watched in isolation, incidents can be misunderstood. Without sound, things can be viewed out of context. We want to foster excellent relationships with our families so that you feel safe and comfortable leaving your child with us, without the need to log on to watch a parent cam.
The 6Cs of childcare are our underpinning values – Communication, Connection, Creativity, Curiosity, Comfort and Critical Thinking. These threads run through our unique curriculum.
You will see the animals of Polka Dot Farm throughout the nursery on the walls. Each animal represents a different element of the curriculum. They are there as visual reminders of the 6Cs.
While we follow the governments Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, we enhance it by including our own “Little Farmers” Curriculum too. We also have the programme of “Lets Grow!” running at the nursery. Its a unique blend.
Our curriculum can be fully accessed indoors and outdoors. Children benefit from the space and land we have and the curriculum is enriched because of it.
We use our nursery app to communicate this to you. At each mealtime, we log how much your child has eaten – All, Most, Some or a Little. You will be able to see this as soon as its posted on the app, so you can check throughout the day if you like.
We will take your lead on this. Babies are all different. Some babies will settle themselves to sleep in their cot as they do at home. Others need to be rocked to sleep. Some need their backs patted – they are all different!
When children get into The Barnyard room, the children sleep after lunchtime on sleep mats. The room is keep calm and children rest on their mats.
You can bring comforters, teddy bears or dummies – whatever your child usually uses at home!
We provide nappies. You only need to bring nappies if you want your child to wear a specific brand. We also provide nappy cream and wipes. Again, if you have a specific type that you want used on your child, please supply that and let your Childs key worker know.
