Sure start centres

KEATERGREYHOUND_2

Hi all
Where I live is getting a sure start centre
Im so pleased as it means I can get out the house more with my DD
Ive been told that the centres going to have a nursery. Does anyone have any experiences with SS nurseries? Are they usually cheaper than normal nurseries? Do they usally run morning then afternoon sesions or by the day/hour.
Im hoping to get DD name down so that I can do some more hours at work, however child care is very expensive here and I wondered if Sure Starts may be cheaper.
I have looked on the website but as its such a new centre its not listed on there yet.
Any inof would be most welcome especailly as to prices of fees. I know this will vary are to area but an indication would be good
Thanks

CIS

If its anything like our local surestart childrens centre, they couldn't organise a !!!!!! up at an alcoholics anonymous meeting.

They barely run any events but have the cheek to complain that they are under used, a lot of people have given up bothering with them.

The other local surestart , about 1.5 mile away is great , they're always running events and have lots of things on.

crispeater

i have a surestart centre up the road from me and its fab! they are always doing things but always on days when my kids are in nursery! lol
there is another one which has a nursery attached up by my childrens nursery and i looked at that one before i joined them at the one they are in.. (are you confused yet?) anyway i have to say i was not impressed. it was one big room with 6ft partitions in it and each group had their own area. personally i didnt like the fact that the younger children couldnt really see what the older ones are doing and they didnt play together as a whole unless they were in the garden.

but then they are all different so once its up and running go and have a look and take you lo with you and see how they get on.

goodluck

oh and the price wasnt much cheaper if any cheaper at all tbh!

moggins

I don't know what they charge but our local one has it's own nursery in separate grounds (actually a large house round the road), they took my DD free of charge when I had to go into hospital and had no one to take care of her during the day.

astonsmummy

I have a childrens centre just up the road from me, its been really good for me as when i moved here i hardly knew anyone i have made a few good friends from one of the many mother and baby groups. (they also have dads and kids group)
Each child registered gets invited to a birthday party on the last sat of the month of their birthday which i think is really sweet.
DS has also just started at the nursery which he loves, i found it good as they didnt want deposits and fees upfront (i was going to send him to one where they wanted nearly £100 for him to start!)
They split the sessions into a few hours a time so u can be a bit flexible - DS goes 8am to 1PM.

fsdss

i use a sure start nursery for little un when i'm at uni (special arrangement with the course i'm doing). they charge me £3 per hour as my course lasts for 6 hrs but the usual arrangement is £25 per day, or i believe £100 per week.

my daughter loves it and gets loads of attention.

the centre i use is purpose built, clean, light and good selection of toys. the food there is brill as surestart promotes healthy eating so there's no rubbish given.

to qualify for accessing their services you need to live within the catchment area.

jellyhead

they are almost finished building one in my street but i don't know what it will be like. it's on the site of the local nursery school and i heard they would be the same kind of thing, providing the free preschool year for 3 year olds, 2.5 hours a day. they're also going to take the social services nursery apparently, so that's all ages for parents and children with special needs. i didn't realise it was childcare you can pay for, will have a look because my SIL is looking at really high costs when she puts her baby into childcare.

sundin13

They're just finishing building one close to me too....planning on opening it in September.

I'd put my name down on the waiting list and got a letter asking for a deposit. Bit worrying - being asked to commit to something that's not even there yet.

Basically, this one is going to be £29 a day, dropping down to £22 with the early years grant (although that only works 38 weeks a year). This is actually a little higher than the average for other nurseries in our area - I've chosen a different one, and it's only £25/£18.

In all honesty, I really wanted to send the kids to the SS nursery with it being so close, but I was just a bit worried that they wouldn't be sufficiently organised....I know this sounds a bit snobby, but often nursery workers are fairly young women, and they don't always work as a team brilliantly. Because this place would be entirely new, with new staff - I felt that they mightn't have their teamwork and their processes quite as well established as I would hope. Does that make sense?

lynzpower

One other thing to note about Surestart centres, they have plenty of opportunity for parents involvement! So if you think the selection of activities is pants- join in and rig some activities up yourself!!
Heres a sure start forum http://www.dfes.gov.uk/forums/fusetalk/surestart/?promo=forum
Ive worked with lots of parents who use SS centres, and they have been fab for socialising both parents and kids, and also a few of them have ended up being on the payroll there :beer: and loved it!

jellyhead

nkow what you mean sundin, have heard a couple of cases where children have escaped from surestart nurseries and gone walkabout.

i'm hoping this one will have stuff for us to get involved in. my baby is very sociable and likes toddler groups, library singing etc. this surestart centre is at the bottom of my hill right next to primary school so it's convenient. i also need to make new 'baby friends' because mine have all stopped going to groups now, not liking the politics. i couldn't give a monkeys about politics and can get on with anyone, but i don't drive so all my usual groups have become difficult. i've started going to new groups that are around the town centre because it's only a mile away, but on my doorstep would be even better and i might meet mums who live in my area. i didn't realise surestart centres were for everyone, i'd thought it was just for preschool and for special needs.

becks.989

hello.
we have a sure start nursery in our town and although they are part funded by sure start, they are independant nurserys. which means the fees are quite high. but in this case they are provided with cooked breakfast, lunch and a evening meal (if needed) during this time for no extra cost. its all included. many of the toys and books will be picked out by sure start so if you have been to a family centre thats basically what will be on offer to you child.
staff are usually from the surestart centres themselves as they try to advertise in house before going public. my two pennies worth