Frequently Asked Questions

The nurseries are open between 7:30am and 6:00pm.

Please see individual settings application forms for available sessions within these times.

Yes a deposit is required. On giving four weeks notice and any balance outstanding is paid the deposit will be returned.

We accept cash, BAC's, Direct Debits and we also accept most major credit and debit cards.

Yes, all Bank Holidays must be paid for.

The Nurseries are open 51 weeks a year. We close for Christmas on December 23rd and re-open on January 2nd.

No, we do not offer sibling discount.

Although all staff in your child’s room will play with and look after your child, he/she will be assigned a key person. This will be a named person who will play a key part in your child’s time at nursery. A key person is responsible for a group of children within that room. They will support your child’s play and learning and of course, mealtimes, health and hygiene routines. This person will be around in the morning or evening for you to chat to, and will share your child’s learning journey with you. As your child gets older and moves rooms, their key worker will change but all information is passed on within that change.

All our rooms have a planning board, displaying the weeks activities for you to see. if your child is under three then they will receive a Daily Diary with all the information you need, ranging from sleep times to meals and all the activities they have been taking part in throughout the day.

We observe children every day the y attend nursery and complete a “learning journal” that you keep when a child leaves. This includes lots of lovely photographs and art work of their experiences and achievements during their time with us.

At the end of every term we complete a progress summary report, which details all of your child’s achievements. We use a tracker to enable us to see how your child is developing towards the Early Learning Goals. We will include your input in this, and give you ideas of how you can help support your child at home.

We carry out an Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2 year old progress check. This is done usually the term after their 2nd birthday. Your child’s key worker will share this with you and ask for your input. This can be shared with your health visitor.

We offer water and milk at meals and snack times. We ensure that we offer fruit and vegetables at every snack or mealtime to support parents in providing children with the recommended 5 portions daily. We also use the ‘eat well plate’ to make sure that we offer a wide variety of foods including proteins, carbohydrates and fat.

Fees are payable at all times, including when off sick.

Yes we do have a policy which covers all childhood diseases and illnesses – this is given in your starter pack including the exclusion period for each.

If your child is in nappy’s, then these will need to be provided by you, along with wipes. These will al be kept in your child’s own drawer,basket or tray.

Formula milk and bottles will need to brought in by you. All milk feeds will be prepared in our milk kitchens.

A flannel for cleaning your child after snacks and meals but will be laundered on site.

A change of clothes and appropriate clothes to go outdoors eg warm coat / waterproof coat / Wellington boots

We close the day before Christmas Eve and return the next working day after New Years Day. You do not pay for regular sessions during the week over our Christmas closure.

Before your child’s start date they can have as many visits as they need. All children are different and some settle sooner than others.

We recommend that for your first visit at least, you stay with your child and give them the confidence to go and explore their new environment. You will know when your child is ready for the next step which is when we advise you to bring them for a session on their own – you can leave them for 5 minutes or for an hour, whichever you are most comfortable with. This will help them get used to you dropping them off and picking them up again. This can be done gradually before your intended start date. We appreciate that some decisions are made last minute and visits prior to start date cannot therefore be arranged. We will do all we can to support your child by getting as much information from you as possible about what they like and don’t like so we can encourage them to play and give them happy and positive experiences from day one.

  • A menu board will show you the meals for that week.
  • All rooms have a planning board, displaying the week’s activities for you to see

If your child is under 3 then they will receive a daily diary with all the information you need, ranging from sleep times and meals, including how much your child has eaten. There will also be information about any activities they have been taking part in.

For older children information will be passed on from your key workers, and white boards in the rooms display any news and information.

“ask me about” stickers are used at the end of a session to help you prompt the child when you get home of something they have done that day.

We use twitter and emails as a way of directing photos or text to you about what is going on right at that moment.

Yes. Children access the outdoor area every day. Outdoor play is an integral part of our curriculum and it enhances the child’s learning. It also helps to develop strong spatial awareness, co-ordination, balance and movement and develops strong muscles, with opportunities to run, push, pull climb and jump. Outdoor play is vital for the healthy growth and development of all children. The majority of the children within the nursery are placed full time, so it becomes even more important that they should get the opportunity to experience the freedom of being outside in the fresh air during the day.

Policies such as our sun care policy, and risk assessments explain how we keep children safe when outdoors, or when on visits to places outside of nursery.

We use a password system to ensure the safety of your child at all times. You can give your friend / relative a password and let the manager of your nursery know. We will then ask for the password on collection of your child.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) for all children, and plan activities based around their interests and what they like to do. Next steps encourage children to progress to their next stage in their learning.

Areas such as construction, mark making, role-play, sand and water make learning fun. Your child will learn how to make friends and play together, use their imagination to make up and act out stories, or familiar stories from their favourite books. They will be able to paint, join in with art and craft activities and enjoy music and story times. Whilst playing, they will be learning shapes, colours and numbers and how to problem solve. They will learn the alphabet and the letters and sounds in their names.

All children go outdoors every day as this is an integral part of our curriculum and it enhances the child’s learning. Please ensure your child comes to nursery dressed appropriately for all weathers.

We will support you with toilet training and self help skills such as feeding and dressing.

When a child enters preschool we start to follow a more structured routine (though still led by play), which will helps to prepare children and parents for school.

Portico Nursery group is a group of 6 private childcare facilities based across Merseyside, Lancashire & the North West.  

We currently have day nurseries in Prescot Liverpool, St Helens, and Ormskirk. 

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