Grown Ups Area

Ofsted

Download the Dovedale Ofsted Report | PDF

Download the Moulsham Ofsted Report | PDF

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Term Dates

The nursery is open 50 weeks of the year.

We are closed Monday 21st December 2026 - Friday 1st January 2027

Autumn Term	Tuesday 07th September to Friday 18th December 2026
Half Term	Monday 26th October to Friday 30th October 2026

Spring Term	Tuesday 04th January to Thursday 25th March 2027
Half Term	Monday 15th March to Friday 23rd March 2027
Easter Break	Friday 26th March to Friday 9th April 2027

Summer Term	Monday 12th April to Friday 16th July 2027
Half Term	Tuesday 01st June to Friday 04th June 2027

Dovedale Calendar

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Nursery Funding & Tax Free Childcare Information/FAQ

The Government Funded hours are not “Free Hours”. These hours are paid for by the government to support families in reducing the overall cost of childcare.

Do you offer funded places? Yes we do, visit the www.beststartinlife.gov.uk website to check your eligibility.

How do I apply for funding? Check the website above for eligibility. Apply on Government website. You will be given an eligibility code you must keep this safe and keep a record of this number. During your enrolment we’ll give you a Parent/Carer Agreement Form (PAF) to complete, and you’ll need your code for this.

Can my child attend more than their funded hours? Yes, they can. We have a few different options for start and finish times depending on availability. You will be charged separately for the additional hours, enquire about our prices by giving us a call.

Do you offer stretch funding? No, we only apply funded hours to term time sessions within our academic year (September to July). Ask us about our 50 week and term time only contracts.

From what age will the funded sessions apply? If your child’s birthday is on the 23rd April, you'd be eligible for funding from September that year.

How are my funded hours assigned? Funding is firstly allocated between our core hours (9 am – 3pm). The total number of hours your child is entitled to combined with our availability will determine on how the remaining hours are allocated.

Do you charge for consumables during funded hours? There will be an additional charge for your child’s meals throughout the day, but all nappies, wipes, suncream etc are included.

Can my child bring a packed lunch instead? Yes, you’re welcome to bring a packed lunch for your child to avoid the meal costs but all prepared food must adhere to our healthy eating policy and be nut free.

What is Tax Free Childcare?

Tax Free Childcare is a government-backed scheme which helps working families with the cost of childcare. You pay into a special online account and for every £8 you put in, the government puts in £2. Check out the Government website for more information.

Do you accept childcare vouchers from my employer? Yes, we do accept for nursery and out of school clubs. Just let us know when you enrol what voucher scheme you'll be using and we can do the rest.

Do you accept employment vouchers/voucher scheme? Yes, we do accept most voucher schemes, send us an email to check if your vouchers will be accepted.

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Starting School

We’ll send you a reminder about applying for your school place. The applications open the November before your child starts school and closes in January. You’ll be notified in April about what school you’ve been allocated. The decision about which school best suits your child is a personal one and not something we can advise on. We’d encourage you to organise visits to some local schools and see how you feel.

When your child is in our Pre-School Room Eagles, we do a few activities throughout the year to help get your child ready for school. Your child doesn’t need to be reading and writing before they start school, that’s what Reception is for!

You could help at home in the following ways:

• Practice getting ready for P.E by letting them get dressed and put their shoes on or ready for bed each day.
• Encourage them to recognise their name on things.
• Play turn-taking games to develop attention, language skills and fine motor skills

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Important Policies

All of our nursery policies are available upon request from the nursery office

• Safeguarding
• Privacy Policy
• Charging policy – charged for holidays, not closure dates
• Admissions

Download the Dovedale Nursery Policies | PDF

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FAQs

What do I need to bring to nursery? This will vary from room to room so please check with your child’s key person but generally your child will need a water bottle, bag with a few spare changes of clothes (including socks!), sunhat or winter hat and gloves. If your child has a nap at nursery you might want to bring their comforter and/or dummy. Please ensure everything is named, it helps us to return things to you if they go missing.

My child has a dietary requirement, can you accommodate this? Yes, when you enrol we ask about dietary requirements as part of your registration. We’re able to meet any dietary requirements including allergies, religious or cultural requirements and familial requirements such as vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, halal, gluten free etc.

My child has Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND), can you support them? Yes of course! We are passionate about inclusivity here. We have a fabulous SEND Co-ordinator who works tirelessly to upskill the team and individuals, gather resources, apply for funding, submit EHCP applications, liaise with outside professionals, make ADHD and autism referrals and much more. If you’d like more information, please send us an email.

We’re not happy with something, who do we talk to? Firstly, please try to raise the issue with your Key Person or Room Leader, we usually find that an informal chat can clear most things up. If you find that hasn’t sorted it out please call to request a meeting with a member of our senior team.

Will my child automatically be given a school place at Oaklands or Moulsham? No, we are not a feeder nursery so you will need to apply via the Essex County Council admissions page online between November and January. We’ll send you a reminder when the applications are out.

Do you only offer full-time contracts? No, we have the option of term time only or full time contracts.

How will you help my child to settle into nursery life? Each child will have a dedicated Key Person who works closely with families to ensure good partnership between nursery and home. They will share progress with you, celebrate achievements, and work on age specific challenges such as toilet training or making new friends.

What if my child is unwell? In the interest of protecting your child and other children we do have exclusion periods for certain common childhood illness. Ask in the office for a full list of exclusion periods. If your child is unwell while at nursery we contact parents or carers to collect the child as soon as possible.

What is Ofsted? Ofsted is the regulatory body for education, children’s services and skills. They carry out inspections, give advice and ultimately ensure that our nursery is safe and good. We are Ofsted registered and our previous inspection reports can be found of the Ofsted Website. You might notice it says ‘Closed’ on our Ofsted records. This was just an administration technicality. We’re now registered under Dovedale Nursery CIC.

Can I change my child’s sessions? Yes, if we’ve got availability. Enquire with our deputy to see if there is space to make the changes. We ask for two weeks’ notice to make changes to your contract whether its’s to increase, decrease or terminate your contract.

What is a 2-Year Integrated review? Integrated Reviews are a valuable opportunity for health practitioners, early years practitioners and parents to reflect on how a child is developing and what might be needed to support their development as they reach school age and beyond.

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