Home from home
The Kiddycare Royal Mail Childsplay Nursery has celebrated its 20th anniversary with a party attended by children and parents, past and present.
Based at Mount Pleasant Mail Centre in London, the nursery opened in 1995. In 1999, childcare provider Kiddycare Childsplay was appointed by Royal Mail to provide full-time and part-time care for children aged up to five years of age. It is one of five nurseries owned by Kiddycare Ltd.
Having recently undergone a major refurbishment, which included converting two rooms to one open-plan area to provide a larger, brighter play area for the children as well as a new kitchen, bathrooms and laundry facilities, the nursery now has a separate baby, toddler and pre-school unit.
Aiming to be a home from home for working parents, the nursery is open from 6am to 8pm, five days a week, all year round. The unit, which receives funding for early education for children aged two, three and four years, employs eight staff, including the manager, an operations manager, and a curriculum coordinator who holds Qualified Teacher Status. The managers and staff hold suitable early years qualifications at levels 2 and 3.
The nursery currently looks after 22 children of Royal Mail colleagues. One parent who attended the anniversary party, said: ‘As my husband and I work full time, we needed to feel happy and confident that our baby was going to be well looked after. Our son has been in the nursery since he was nine months old and really enjoys his time there, making new friends, learning and growing in a fun, safe and secure environment. His development has come on in leaps and bounds and a lot of that is due to the excellence of the nursery.
‘The staff there are so friendly, helpful and attentive to our son's needs. They really treat the children with genuine affection and warmth. Many of them have been working at the nursery for ages, something we think is a good indication that they’re well-treated and happy. We would definitely recommend the nursery to others.’
Roger Charles (former branch secretary Mount Pleasant CWU) said: ‘I’m filled with immense pride celebrating 20 years of this special facility providing great quality childcare to parents and their children.
‘The nursery has been a vital resource for so many children, several of whom are now adults with their own kids. Not only did it provide a great start to their young lives, but it also gave so many parents the opportunity to work because of the service it offers. Royal Mail was very progressive when they agreed to provide this life-changing facility, long may it continue.’
