Northants village nursery pleased to offer ‘homely’ and ‘personal’ experience to families in the area

A Northamptonshire village nursery is pleased to offer a “homely” and “personal” experience to families in the area, since reopening at the end of 2021.

School House Day Care, located in The Green, Guilsborough, was reopened by Charlotte Woodman more than two years ago.

Though it was taken on by Charlotte earlier in the pandemic, the building required a complete overhaul and they were awaiting an Ofsted inspection.

“It was announced at the start of the pandemic that it was going to be shut down,” said Charlotte. “It’s somewhere I used to go as a child and I decided I wanted to take it on.”

Alongside running the day care, the dedicated team also offer breakfast, afterschool and holiday clubs too.

Charlotte’s main aim when she took over was to keep the building open as what it has always been known as – a children’s nursery.

School House Day Care also operates as a charity, offering free places to the children of families who would otherwise not be able to afford childcare.

“They appreciate us understanding their situation and know they can speak to us about anything,” said Charlotte. “We try to offer something you can’t get anywhere else, it’s personal.

“It has a homely feel and some of the children refer to it as Charlotte’s house and the living room.”

The team also prides itself on supporting parents who struggle to trust childcare providers.

When asked what the community likes most about the nursery, Charlotte added: “The homely feel, flexibility and nice staff. It has been the same staff and always will be.”

The founder described the impact of School House Day Care on the Guilsborough community as “amazing”, particularly as the reopening provided nine women with jobs and it has boosted intake at the nearby primary school.

School House currently has 40 children on its books, and this number continues to rise.

For their first Ofsted inspection, which took place in December last year, Charlotte is “so happy” that the nursery was rated good across all categories.

The team was particularly pleased to be praised for the partnership they work hard to develop with parents, which Charlotte described as “a big thing” for everyone working at the nursery.

“When children start at the nursery, the staff work with parents to find out about their child's normal routines, interests and development,” the Ofsted report reads.

“This helps staff to plan effectively to support children's emotional wellbeing and to meet children's individual needs. Children arrive at the nursery eager to see their friends, ready to play and learn.”

The report also highlighted that “parents comment positively about the nursery, particularly on the friendliness of staff and the welcome that their children receive”.

Charlotte wanted to give a special mention to School House’s trustees, particularly Colin Wood whose generous donation enabled them to install a new kitchen and meal preparation centre.

“This means we can now make delicious home-cooked meals that our children love,” she said.

As School House is nearly at a stage where they will have to start a waiting list, Charlotte shared that opening another building in the area could be on the cards for the future.