General information
Open year-round
Kings Castle is open year-round except for 1 week over Christmas / New Year when we are closed. We are also closed on bank holidays / public holidays.
Sessions and session times
We are open from 08.00 to 18.00 Monday to Friday
| 08.00–12.00 | MORNING SESSION |
| 12.00–13.00 | Lunch hour |
| 13.00-17.00 | AFTERNOON SESSION |
| 17.00–18.00 | Tea-time |
- We try to be as flexible as possible and we accept children full-time and part-time. The minimum booking is 2 sessions per week although we recommend that children attend at least 3-4 sessions per week.
- Please note that it is not usually possible to book mornings only or term-time only.
- Funded places are available on a “stretched” year-round basis only (not term-time only).
- We offer a discount for “full-time” non-funded children who attend 4-5 full days per week and we also offer sibling discounts for non-funded children (please see our fees page).
- Please note that all sessions are subject to availability and there may be a waiting list for popular sessions.
Holidays / unexpected closure
The nursery is closed for approximately 1 week for Christmas / New Year. We are also closed on bank holidays. We do not offer any additional holiday entitlement. If your child is absent due to holiday (or any other reason), please let us know in advance as the Department of Education requires us to record and follow-up all absences under the Statutory Framework.
We make every effort to stay open and offer a full service to all our children and parents. If however, the directors and management decide that the nursery has to close for reasons beyond our control such as snow, ice, flood, powercut, industrial action, contagious illness, major health & safety issues, etc, no refunds will be due. In such cases, we will make every effort to minimise the closure period and to notify you in advance.
Drop-off and collection times
Please follow the nursery times as closely as possible regarding the drop-off and collection times. This is especially for the children in Lulworth and helps ensure that children are not distracted from their activities and learning. The Montessori curriculum is based on a 2-3 hour learning cycle every morning and afternoon. Adhering to our recommended drop-off and collection times, minimises disruption to the children’s learning cycle.
Drop off times
You can drop your child off at the following times according to the sessions booked:
- Morning session drop-off 08.00 to 09.00
- Lunch-time drop-off: 12.00
- Afternoon session drop-off: 13.00
Collection times
You can collect your child at the following times according to the sessions booked:
- 12.00 – end of the morning session
- 13.00 – end of the lunch hour
- 16.00 – 17.00 end of the afternoon session
- 17.00 – 18.00 “Tea-time” session
Nursery fees
Please see our fees page.
Early Years funding
- TWO’S TOO FUNDING FOR ELIGIBLE CHILDREN AGED 2-3: some children aged 2-3 are eligible for funded childcare under the “Two’s Too” scheme. We offer this funding on a “stretched” basis” which gives up to11 funded hours per week for 51 weeks of the year. For information on eligibility, please ask for details or see the websites listed below.
- UNIVERSAL FUNDING FOR ALL CHILDREN AGED 3-4: all children aged 3-4 are eligible to receive Early Years funding. We offer this funding on a “stretched” basis which gives up to 11 funded hours per week for 51 weeks per year.
- EXTENDED FUNDING FOR ELIGIBLE CHILDREN AGED 3-4 (for working parents): eligible working families with children aged 3-4 can apply for extended funding (known as the “30 hours funding”). We offer this funding on a “stretched” basis which gives up to 22 funded hours per week for 51 weeks per year. It is the responsibility of parents to apply for this funding and please note that parents need to reconfirm their eligibility throughout the year (required by Bournemouth Council).
- CONSUMABLES CHARGE: a consumables charge will apply to all funded children aged 3+. This is charged hourly and applies to each funded hour. This covers consumables such as snacks, materials for arts and crafts, cookery, gardening, music and movement, sun-cream and sundries. This does not apply to children who receive Two’s Too funding. Please refer to our Fees page for details
- ADDITIONAL HOURS: all funded children can book additional sessions / hours. These will be charged at our standard rates.
- SESSION AVAILABILITY: We try to be as flexible as possible with our sessions but, due to demand, it is not usually possible to book funded places on a “mornings only” basis or term-time only basis. All sessions are subject to availability and there may be a waiting list for popular sessions.
- FUNDING START DATE: please note that Early Years funding starts the school term after the child’s 2nd or 3rd birthday and does not therefore apply immediately after the child’s birthday.
- MINIUMUM SESSION LENGTH: please note that all Kings Castle sessions are 4 hours and we cannot register children for shorter sessions. This means for example, that if you currently receive 11hours of funding per week and you wish to book 3 sessions per week (12 hours in total), your funding will cover 11 hours and you will be charged the normal rate for 1 hour.
- FURTHER INFORMATION: please see the following websites for further information on funding:childcarechoices.gov.uk
gov.uk/childcare-calculatorgov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds
gov.uk/free-early-education
https://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/childreneducation/childcare/paying-for-childcare/early-education-funding-for-three-and-four-year-olds.aspx (funding for 3-4 year-olds)
Meals and snacks
- Cow’s milk is provided for all children. If your child requires formula milk or expressed milk etc, please provide this in a named container.
- Healthy snacks and drinks are provided to all children throughout the day. The cost of snacks is included in your fees / consumables charge. Each of the rooms (and the garden) has a Snack Table which the children are encouraged to use when they are ready to have a snack.
- Lunch-time is a more formal time when the children eat together and learn important table manners!
- Parents can choose if they prefer to provide a packed lunch or if they would like hot cooked lunches. Our cooked lunches are provided by Alex’s Good Food and are cooked fresh each day. Lunch includes a main course and dessert. Sample menus are available from the school office. Please see the fees page for costs.
Feel Good Fridays
Every Friday at Kings Castle is a “Feel Good Friday!” The nursery staff will organise well-being activities such as yoga, music & movement, sensory activities and meditation / relaxation activities. There will be a special emphasis throughout the day on well-being, healthy eating and physical activities. There are no additional charges for Feel Good Fridays.
Free settling-in sessions
Baby room: we offer new babies 5 free “settling-in” sessions. Each settle session is approximately 1 hour. These usually take place in the 2-3 weeks prior to starting. The first settle session will be a stay-and-play session where we ask the parent to stay and complete some forms so we can learn a bit more about their child and the family. For the remaining settle sessions, we encourage the parent to leave their child for a small length of time (and then increase this in the following settle sessions).
Toddler room and Pre-School: We offer children in Christchurch and Lulworth 2 free settling-in sessions, usually arranged for the week prior to starting. The first is for an hour and is a stay-and- play session where we ask the parent to stay and complete some forms so we can learn a bit more about the child and the family. The second session is for 1.5 hours and we encourage the parent to leave the child.
New children: We recognize that each child is an individual and that these arrangements may need to be adapted accordingly. Throughout the transition period we will remain transparent with parents in terms of how their child is settling in. In the very rare event that your child does not settle after all their settling-in sessions and after 1-2 month’s of nursery attendance, we will discuss this with you in detail and may) recommend that you try a different type of child care. In this situation, you will not be charged a notice period but be charged for the sessions you have used and any registration fee or administration fee will be retained by the nursery.
Transition within the nursery When the children transition from the baby unit to the toddler unit and then from the toddler unit to the pre-school unit, we ensure that every child has several pre-arranged settling-in sessions so that the transition is nice and gradual.
Transition to primary school
The nursery has excellent links with all the primary schools in the area. Before leaving nursery for primary school, each child’s key worker will have a meeting (or telephone appointment) with the school to discuss the child and their levels of learning. As most of our pre-school children move to local schools, there is a good chance each child will go off to school with some friends from nursery.
Other useful information
- You will receive monthly newsletters and general updates regarding activities, events, etc via our Famly app so please ensure that we have an up-to-date email address for you.
- The monthly nursery bill will be sent to you via email or via Famly. Please note that fees are payable by the first of the month.
- The children are provided with cow’s milk or water and a healthy snack during each session.
- Children should bring their own healthy packed lunch if they do not require hot lunches.
- Please provide formula or expressed milk for babies (if required).
- Each child is requested to bring a full set of clearly named clothing each session. A coat and a pair of wellies are needed during the winter months and a sun hat is needed during the summer months. We also recommend that your child has waterproofs (top and bottoms) as we use our outdoor area come rain or shine.
- For babies, please provide nappies, wipes or cotton wool, nappy cream, bottles (clearly labelled), food and milk with instructions and any comforters.
- From April to September, please ensure that you apply sun cream to your child before they arrive at nursery. We will apply additional sun cream as required. This will be a standard “sensitive skin, child-friendly” high factor sun cream. If your child has an allergy to any sun creams, please inform us as soon as possible.
- Please inform us in writing of any allergies or health problems.
- Records are kept of your child’s progress. Parents/carers may see these on request.
- If your child is unable to attend any sessions due to illness, holidays or other reasons, please inform the Nursery in advance if possible or before 09.00. We are required to log and follow-up all absences.
- We will occasionally have trainee Montessori students and apprentices working with us from the Bournemouth Montessori College and Brockenhurst College, etc.
