The Wendy House Day Nursery

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by The Wendy House Day Nursery's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from The Wendy House Day Nursery is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.thewendyhouses.com

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

24 | THE WENDY HOUSE DAY NURSERY

Owner Wendy Powell with

Manager Julie Semourson

One of the five gardens at

the nursery

The Wendy House Day Nursery is driven by its dedication to

“developing the mind through play” for every child that

attends. The nursery is set in the quiet Holywell countryside,

where it provides full-day, wraparound and holiday care for as

many as 90 children at once, up to the age of 11. Owner Wendy

Powell oversees a dedicated team of 22 staff and is assisted by

manager Julie Semourson. She tells

The Parliamentary Review

about The Wendy House’s journey and how their ethos of “the

child first and always” drives everything they do.

The Wendy House journey

Following maternity leave from my original career in banking, I wanted my two

young children to be cared for in a healthy rural environment. I set about using a

briefcase full of ideas and business plans to realise my vision.

At that time, planning restrictions meant that many day nurseries were located on

industrial estates. Not wanting to follow suit, I set up the original nursery in 1990

by converting a 1970s police station. We subsequently registered the property for

24 children. I went on to obtain qualifications in play work, childcare management

and advanced practice. In the years that followed, we saw the nursery move from

strength to strength.

Where we are now

The Wendy House has expanded over the years and, since 2003, has been situated

on a new single-storey site in the village of Brynford. We are proud to be caring

FACTS ABOUT

THE WENDY HOUSE DAY

NURSERY

»Owner and Founder:

WendyPowell

»Established in 1990

»Based in Holywell, Flintshire,

Wales

»Services: Provision of full-day

and holiday care for children

aged up to 11

»No. of employees: 22

»www.thewendyhouses.com

The Wendy House

Day Nursery

25THE WENDY HOUSE DAY NURSERY |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

for our second generation of children,

welcoming former attendees back as

parents. We believe that quality practice

encompasses the close involvement with

families that we prioritise; our education

regarding child development, behaviour

management, diet, dental care and

school readiness is of paramount

importance for parents and guardians.

We also have a full training programme,

which supports the development of our

staff while offering work experience

placements for local schools and

colleges. We work closely with our

local community and liaise with primary

schools while supporting other charities,

clubs and groups in the area. The nursery

now holds many awards and was a

national finalist in the Outdoor Play

section of

Nursery Management Today

Over the years, we have strived to

continually exercise best practice

and have invested significantly in

the nursery itself. We now have five

gardens, all-weather play and climbing

areas, a mud kitchen, builders’ yard,

vegetable garden and even our own

chicken coop. We have regular sessions

led by a drama teacher, and ZooLab

often visit with a variety of animals.

The sector, 30 years on

Now in my 30th year at nursery, I

have witnessed many changes in the

childcare sector as it became and

continues to be at the forefront of

the government’s agenda; in 1998,

we saw the launch of the childcare

strategy, with the Sure Start and

Neighbourhood Nurseries initiatives

being put into place. This allowed the

steady growth of nurseries throughout

the 1990s, helping the country to

reach government targets for early

years education.

With the introduction of substantial

government investment in the sector,

it was important that the welfare of

the child and parental choice were

not compromised. Around this time, I

became involved in the National Day

Nurseries Association to ensure that

parents and the non-maintained sector

retained a voice. I have now been the

chair of the Flintshire network for 23

years, meeting with and representing

the views of nurseries in the county

on a national stage. During this 23-

year period, I have also worked as a

voluntary counsellor with the NSPCC

atChildline; I also spent four years

as a co-opted governor at a local

primaryschool.

The role of a day nursery for

the families who attend is often

underestimated. With years of

experience behind us, we help and

advise families daily. We provide

support through difficult times and

often find ourselves taking on the

role of extended family where there

isnone.

I continue to be involved with the

sector and ensure that we have full

inclusion with the local authority. I sit

on the local childcare development

group – the Foundation Phase

Development Group – and also work

with the Flintshire Task and Finish Isaac watering the

vegetables grown in the

nursery garden

We also have a

full training

programme,

which supports

the

development of

our staff while

offering work

experience

placements for

local schools

and colleges

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

26 | THE WENDY HOUSE DAY NURSERY

group to co-ordinate the delivery of a

30-hour childcare offer. In my role as

chair of the Flintshire network, I also

attend the NDNA Policy Committee

Wales with other chairs across the

country, feeding back to those relevant

and appropriate ministers who attend

our meetings.

Remaining sustainable

The last few years have seen real

challenges for day nurseries trying

to remain financially sustainable.

Increases in the minimum wage,

the introduction of pension auto-

enrolment, continued exemption from

the registration for VAT, increased

business rates and higher training costs

have all contributed to the constant

rise in nursery fees. In fact, across

Wales, nurseries reported a 6 per cent

average fee increase in 2018.

The introduction of the 30-hour

childcare offer will assist parents of

three and four-year-olds to meet fee

costs. It will not, however, directly

benefit the nursery financially, and

may even cause cashflow problems

for some. Generally, it is welcomed

by Welsh nurseries as a positive step

in the right direction, but funding

must be kept in line with costs

goingforward.

Funding for three-year-olds in the

foundation phase for day nurseries

in Flintshire has decreased markedly

over the past nine years. When we

consider this alongside local authority

agreements that prevent us from

topping up fees to meet our costs,

our model becomes dangerously

unsustainable. In the NDNA 2018

nursery survey, 82 per cent of Welsh

nurseries confirmed that foundation

phase funding from their local

authority does not cover their costs.

Reduction in Flying Start funding in

some authorities has also meant some

nurseries have lowered their capacity

and lost places for children.

To meet the eligibility for foundation

phase education, day nurseries like ours

have had to make substantial capital

investments, such as building additional

classrooms or extensions to their

premises, yet the year-on-year cuts by

the local authority make projects like

these wholly unsustainable. To resolve

this, 97 per cent of Welsh nurseries

feel that the government should

bring this funding in line with the

30-hour offer with the same system of

payments in place. This would mean

that nurseries are paid enough to meet

their costs, on time, and would also

enable them to fully consider parent

choice for placement of the child.

The last three years have been the most

financially challenging of my entire

30-year career. It has not been an easy

journey. I nonetheless look forward to

the positive changes to this system which

will arise as a result of the close working

relationship that has been established

over the years between the NDNA and

both the Welsh and central government.

Funding for

three-year-olds

in the

foundation

phase for day

nurseries in

Flintshire has

decreased

markedly over

the past nine

years

“

Teddy and Sam “on

duty” in the police station

www.thewendyhouses.com

This article was sponsored by The Wendy House Day Nursery. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

This foreword from the then Prime Minister appeared in the 2018/19 Parliamentary Review.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister