The Wendy House Day Nursery

Our sons (aged 3 and 1) joined The Wendy House Day nursery back in December and we couldn't be happier with our experience to date! Our older son, attended another nursery prior to joining Wendy House but a house move meant we needed to find him something closer to our new home. The staff in Little Learners and Foundation seamlessly supported him with his transition - they welcomed him into his new nursery environment by getting to know his likes/dislikes, interests and have supported with developing new skills.

Our younger son has been attending full time since starting at The Wendy House and we have seen him thrive in this setting! His confidence with his independent play, self feeding and communication skills is credit to the attention the staff pay to the babies and explorers - providing a fine balance of love, care & support whilst allowing the babies to develop.

Both our boys are vegan and the nursery have accommodated our dietary preferences providing vegan alternatives for all meals/snack time. Even during baking activities the staff have used vegan recipes!

The learning activities hosted by the staff promotes the children to be very creative (using sustainable materials), encourage lots outdoor play and a Thursday favourite 'Show & Tell' where children are encouraged to bring something in from home to share with their class.

We are always kept in the loop via the app - whether this be an update on what the boys have been learning on the day, meals and sleep updates or to track any incidents that may occur. We find the messaging function handy to keep in contact with management and room staff.

Overall we are very impressed with the support and guidance we have received from the staff at the nursery to ensure our boys are getting the best development that is tailored to them.

Our daughter has been very happy when she has been returning home from nursery and enjoys telling us about what she has been doing during the day. The communications we've received have made us feel comfortable that the appropriate risk assessments are being done and acted upon. We feel that the Wendy House has put in significant efforts to make it as safe as possible whilst ensuring the positive learning environment is maintained. We've also been really pleased with how our daughter has transitioned back into nursery and the efforts the staff have made to bring a bit of normality back into her life. We have really appreciated the observations that have been uploaded, allowing us to feel apart of her day whilst also seeing for ourselves how happy she is to be back, especially given how much time she has spent away from the setting. Additionally, we are grateful that our daughter is being supported with things that she has shown an interest in such as writing her name and practising letters, this is something she showed an interest in at home and it is great that this has been identified by staff. Since we are expecting our second, we are thankful for how the staff are talking more about siblings with our daughter. Clearly, our upcoming addition to our family will be change for daughter, so we really appreciate the efforts by all the staff to bring this into day to day activities at the nursery.

My daughter has been going to this nursery since she was 15 months old and till date (3.5yrs) she has come home everytime happy, smiling and full of beans, chattering away about all the lovely activities she has been doing and the friendships she has enjoyed. The staff have all been wonderful, kind, responsive to our fears and concerns and has always reassured us of her progress. We would highly recommend this nursery to any parents contemplating sending their child here. Especially during lockdown the nursery has provided excellent alternate arrangements, made allowances for us key workers and we have had peace of mind sending our daughter in. Fantastic nursery!!

My Child has attended Wendy house in Lynwood for over a year during this time he has formed a lovely bond with all the staff, each day is filled with great activities where he is constantly learning whilst having fun. The staff are excellent, friendly and professional. The nursery is clean, safe and an excellent place to learn. The menu daily is nutritious, varied and tasty. We are very happy that we get to send our son to Wendy house every day.

Our daughter always come out of nursery happy and chattering away about what she's done during the day. The staff here are incredibly dedicated to the children they look after and they build genuine relationships with them. This is our main priority for day care.

The staff in the pre-school section are brilliant, really understand the development of children and what they need to do in order to be school ready.

Whenever we've had developmental concerns (not with the nursery) staff are on hand to discuss and allay worries.

The food is great- really varied and healthy. Parents receive a daily diary which details what food has been given. If we've ever been worried about any dietary need (we thought our daughter may have been gluten intolerant at one point) the nursery were completely supportive and adapted our little one's meals.

The App notification observations are really nice to have during the day while you're at work! Really brightens up a work day. They're detailed and informative as they're linked to the EYFS.

We have had parents evenings to discuss individual development which is lovely. The nursery also put on stay and play sessions (pre covid) which I really enjoyed as you get an insight into what goes on. There have been extra activities in our 3 years at The Wendy House e.g. Music Time and Leapfrogs which the children love!

My eldest daughter went here and we now go out of our way to take our youngest. We wouldn't go anywhere else. The staff are second to none and my girls love them. My eldest (now in Year 1) still talks about how she misses nursery. The setting is brilliant - rooms are decorated lovely and all very natural. They have lots of outdoor time in a lovey safe and enclosed garden. I can speak to and ask the staff anything, nothing is too much trouble.

My son has been going to this nursery for a few months and the staff have been amazing during this difficult time with coronavirus. We get great updates on how he is progressing and love seeing the pictures they include.

The girls in the foundation unit are second to none. Words can’t even explain how phenomenal their work is. They put in 110% into these children 24/7 and you can feel the care they have for the children every single day. The range of activities are amazing and my child’s learning came on leaps and bounds when at this nursery.

The creativity aspect of the learning that the children receive is all down to the girls that work in the foundation unit. They try so hard to keep it new and exciting for the children and it really shows - I couldn’t speak any higher of the staff members within the foundation unit as they are truly wonderful.

The management of the nursery could do with a bit of work. The explanation of fees and added expense at every corner is hugely frustrating. They charged £2 per pumpkin for each child at Halloween, slightly excessive for a pumpkin if you ask me.

I feel the owner of the nursery doesn’t care as much as the people who work within the setting. It feels it’s a huge money making scheme as they charge £25 a day on top of funded days and then feed children a sandwich for dinner.

The actual manager of the Lynwood setting is lovely, and tried to resolve any concerns raised, however I feel there is a lack of compassion and understanding from higher up which really lets the nursery down.

If you are thinking about which nursery you want to go, please DO NOT choose this one. Staff is not caring the children, especially the children stay in only HALF DAY!!! They are not helpful at all. They will just leave the children keep crying; my son lost his voice back home every time.

My son doesn't want to eat their lunch, staff not going to tell until ask!! the manager in office will say It is no point to call us to report this because she thinks we are on the way to collect my son.

Do NOT trust what they said when you visit the nursery!! Whatever you ask them to do, they will say Yes but noting happen after you join the nursery!! They only want your money!!

NO KEY PERSON TO ALLOCATED UNTIL YOU ASK MANY TIMES!!! They use agency staff.

Not happy with their management! so after 2 months, my son now attends in another nursery - Blackwell Montessori Nursery, very happily with Very Experienced, friendly and professional staff.

So this is why I give 0 rate for this nursery!!

I give this nursery a rating of 0 as its attitude towards safeguarding is frankly shocking. I complained about parents holding the door open for each other when the reception isn't staffed and was told to remove my son from the nursery. The latest Ofsted report is exactly how I experienced the nursery to be as parent. My son now attends a properly managed setting with friendly and professional staff and is much happier and I am much happier not having to worry if he is safe when not with me.