A willingness to take on new ideas and to evolve are the qualities that helped Smarty Pants Nursery to secure its bid to run a nursery in a brand new children's centre.
It is currently preparing to open its doors at the Abbey Lane Children's Centre in Stratford, London, on January 12. Run by sisters Jennifer and Sylvia Lewis, the four-strong chain already includes a nursery at the Merrylands Children's Centre, also in the borough of Newham.
'The tender was put out beyond the borough and the whole process took around three months,' says Sylvia Lewis. 'The application went through various phases. After our business plan was accepted, spot checks were made on our other sites. We were then given inclusive practice as a subject to give a presentation on, and we scored highly.'
Ms Lewis says her sister is the first practitioner in Newham to achieve Early Years Professional Status. 'We are very proud of this and extremely excited about the new nursery. At the moment we are getting everything ready for the opening and running free taster sessions for parents.'
The new building, which houses both the nursery and a full range of children's centre services, is designed for free-flow activities. Each of the rooms open on to landscaped gardens with a pond. The play area boasts a sandpit, slides and climbing frame, and space for play equipment.
It is hoped the outdoor facilities will make a difference to local families who are missing their nearby park, Abbey Lane Open Space, which is temporarily closed.
A facility of which the team is particularly proud is the modern kitchen, where healthy meals are prepared from scratch.
Abbey Lane will also house a creche to support the training courses being run on site. Other services include antenatal classes, baby massage, Chatterbox sessions run by speech and language therapists, and weaning parties. Several messy play groups, including Stay and Play, parent and childminder drop-ins, are already proving popular.
Smarty Pants is taking on four new members of qualified staff and an apprentice. Ms Lewis says, 'We've got 14 years experience of running a nursery, but the sector is very different now to when we first started out. It's important to move with the times and take on new ideas and research.'
She adds, 'As an owner I like to be hands-on in the nursery and get to know all the children and parents. It is also important to sustain professional development, and for us training is always a priority.'
The children's centre manager, Ben Keeble, believes that Smarty Pants will be important in helping to deliver integrated services. 'The whole of the centre is child-friendly and is designed for professional teams to work together in a flexible way,' he says. 'Smarty Pants has a lot of experience of daycare and will fulfil this role to a high standard. It will be able to direct parents to the many other services on offer.'
