A NEW nursery opening in Stanford is set to be oversubscribed before it is even open.

Dozens of parents attending the recent Ortu Happy Tots nursery open day were shown a purpose built children's space, with free flow access to a safe outdoor area, a baby sensory room for tots under 2 and a large nursery room zoned into play and work spaces for children under five.  

Happy Tots is open for children from nine months to school age, operating for 50 weeks during the year and offering 7am to 7pm cover. 

Jacqui Sweeney, mum of an 18 month old toddler was most impressed with the staff. She said: "Of course open days are a nursery's best foot forward and the place is big, well equipped, clean and beautiful. But what I was most impressed with was the staff.  

 "Without being too over the top and or over excited, everybody in uniform was warm and genuine. They greeted my son before me, happily played on the floor, introduced him to new toys and watched over him as he explored the new space.  

"I spotted some staff supporting my son with his words and signing for different items too. They were happy to facilitate social play with other children – something I'm really keen on him doing more of given that he was a pandemic baby – and congratulated him on his small steps across the nursery floor.  

"All staff were well informed and were happy to answer my questions around dietary restrictions for each of the children, how information was communicated to parents during the day and how to manage children transitioning from mums sole care to new adults with lots of other children." 

Executive Headteacher, Karina Garrick, was really heartened by the number of parents keen to register their children at Happy Tots.

She said: "We have based our provision on our existing Corringham Nursery, which is Ofsted rated as 'good', the nursery leader, Mrs Gail Grant and her deputy Donna Drury have both worked at Corringham and know that our philosophy is based on caring and nurturing our children as though they were our own. Apart from being teachers we are all parentsand grandparents and we know how precious children are - we want parents to know that we will personalise the experience the children get at Happy Tots as far as possible."