A NURSERY is set to expand with the development of a new building and increased opening hours.

The Oak Tree Nursery in Whitchurch is expanding its early years provision for under fives, in response to a strong growth in demand from parents in Whitchurch and the surrounding areas.

The nursery says new building will be up and running from the end of November, and, in the new year, the it plans to trial opening at 7.30am and closing at 6.30pm for those parents who need it.Currently, the nursery is open 8am to 6pm.

Building work will start in October to create two new classrooms on its existing Bere Hill site, along with other areas including an extra staff room, office, laundry and kitchen.

The location and nature of the build mean that work can be carried out quickly and without impacting the existing operation of the nursery, which will stay open throughout the development.

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Lisa Futcher, quality director at The Oak Tree Nursery, said: "Our expansion means we will now be able to meet the needs of more parents in the area, plus, we will be able to offer more flexibility to our existing parents.

"Although we will have a greater capacity (up to 123 children per day), the size of each care room will remain small. This is an important aspect of the new development as the environment will continue to facilitate the strong bonds and attachments between staff and children, which are so important to building their self-confidence and resilience. ‘We are also delighted we will be incorporating the grassy area to the front of our site into a new meadow for the children. This means there will be no loss of outdoor play space for the children – a key element of our provision."

She continued: "Staff are excited about the new development and we are already making plans about how we can equip our new spaces to best meet the children’s needs." 

The Oak Tree Nursery offers full day care for children from three months to five years.

Parents interested in finding out more about the setting can visit theoaktreenursery.com or contact hilary.bond@theoaktreenursery.com to book a tour.

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