Elm Park Nursery

She is currently in Lower School where she loves her teachers, in particular Donna, Jerony and Joanna, who go above and beyond wherever they can. She is excited to go to nursery every day, and we are delighted at how much she is enjoying herself as well as how much she is learning and developing.

My daughter has been attending Elm Park Nursery since she was 1 years old. At every stage she has flourished. She is now 3 years old and has grown into a confident child that loves attending nursery.

She is currently in middle school and adores all the staff Danielle, Sheetal and Wendy. Her key worker Wendy is so attentive, knowledgable and creative. The classroom is a testament to her commitment to early years learning and I appreciate everything she does.

The staff, management and the building itself is fantastic. I would recommend Elm Park to anyone.

The communication is great, the atmosphere is calm and happy, and you can really feel that the children are at the heart of everything they do!

You will have noted from previous reviews that there were management issues dating back to August 2024 which were fully resolved by October 2024. The new management since that time has completely turned things around and regained the trust of the parents. Rest assured there are no ongoing concerns at this nursery: the children are well cared for, stimulated, and happy.

What I appreciate most is the individual attention they give to each child. My niece has grown so much since she started attending.

Overall, I appreciate the progress being made.

Amazing experience with the teachers, great activities for the kids and the huge (well-maintained) garden is used properly and really makes a difference. The management could definitely be improved, there has been lack of direction, clarity and poor communication in the past 18 months but it seems it is now improving. Lastly, fees have increased insanely year on year. One understands the economic situation, interest rates increase etc. but 25% increase in 3 years is unjustifiable.

Our child started at the nursery at 10 months old and we have been very impressed by the team and the environment. It is big enough to have small sized groups for each age, but small enough to have a village nursery feel. The staff are always welcoming and open. They make a big effort to keep us as parents up to date, and always try to make the parents feel involved.

We've seen our son jump forward in areas like eating, where he has loved copying the children a few months older, and he loves getting out into the big garden space.

Very impressed and look forward to our child staying there for the next few years.

My two sons are at Elm Park Nursery and they love it there. The staff genuinely care about the children and their wellbeing. The garden is amazing and it allows them to have hours of outdoor play time every day. Although there was a short period of poor management last year, the new nursery manager and team have done an amazing job at upping the standards, learning environments and safeguarding for all of the children.

The outdoor space is incredible-our son loves the giant garden. Huge thanks to the new management team for their hard work, and to one staff member in particular- she is amazing!

You have to wonder if the exodus of staff and poor leadership stems from the greed of owner Oakley Capital. Is this an example of a greedy private equity fund in the background, degrading standards to make more money.

We had to take our 2-year-old out of Elm Park following an investigation which found that a staff member in his class was mishandling the children. The investigation was launched because of obvious adult hand marks on one child. Following further review of CCTV, various examples of mishandling children were found. The staff member had been working there for at least 3 years. The staff member was dismissed, however, the nursery did not take appropriate measures to regain our trust. Regardless of this horrific incident, staffing and security issues remained and we didn't feel that our child's well-being was at the forefront. What is also shocking is that we were raising concerns for six months and no one listened to us. Even calls to the safeguarding lead were not taken seriously. We are absolutely traumatised by this incident and the poor management of the situation and nursery by Bright Stars Nursery Group Ltd. We hope things will improve for the nursery, but parents deserve to know what happened.

Our toddler started here in February 2024 but we pulled her out after 3 months as she was anxious and aggressive after attending and we couldn't come to an understanding of why this was or a plan to address it with staff. This is not our first nursery experience and elsewhere we received personalised information about our children and their development. At Elm Park, they rely heavily on an app which provides general sporadic information (less than our previous nursery app too) but it was hard to find out what our daughter had actually been up to during the day and how she was going. Regular emails that are generic in nature and important info like the fact the nursery will be undergoing renovations for 4 months were communicated the week before. Over the course of the time she attended, they stopped sending out the learning plans for the week and the monthly menu isn't always adhered to - there is quite a bit of baked beans and fish fingers/cakes.

Our child has been going to Elm Park Nursery since she was 10 months old, I have to say I visited quite a few nurseries before deciding on Elm Park, however, no other nurseries in the area really compared to the environment I encountered here. My daughter is now almost 3 years old and the nursery staff here that have supported her through the transition of the rooms and cared for her are absolutely amazing! All children are cared for with so much love and attention, it never feels like she is just one of many, it always feels like the key workers pay special attention to all the children under their care and you can really feel this in the community of parents and nursery staff. We now have another on the way and despite having moved further away since our daughter started here, we won't hesitate in sending our next child here. It is truly a gem in the local neighbourhood and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nursery to send their child to.

A really lovely nursery. I dreaded my son starting nursery for about 11 months before he started (he was 11 months old) but his key worker was so experienced and caring, she did an amazing job. They now have a lovely bond and he has come on leaps and bounds since starting. I am kept well updated as to what activities he has been up to and overall feel very lucky that we picked Elm Park Nursery.

their individual needs have been catered for since they joined and both are thriving in the caring, supportive and learning environment that has been thoughtfully fostered. The facilities and garden are fantastic. They go to the extra effort of including parents in events such as summer sports day, and Christmas concerts which is lovely etc. They are also very flexible in terms of the days children attend. Communication is brilliant and it is a very family-oriented nursery. I feel like we are part of the Elm Park ‘community’.

Would very happily recommend Elm Park. Our daughter had a wonderful time there and was very happy. The large garden space is a huge benefit and she spent many happy afternoons out there. The Montessori approach was very obvious and we saw visible changes in her confidence and happiness. The teachers were always attentive and friendly and kept us up to date with how she was progressing. We were very happy with our choice of Elm Park.

My 1-year-old son started at Elm Park Nursery at the beginning of November. I could not speak more highly of the staff who take care of him on a daily basis. They are caring and kind, and plan the days to be full of learning and stimulating activities. The food is very nutritious and varied, and we are just so happy with the nursery. We really feel that we could not have picked somewhere better.

Overall we've been very pleased since our son started at Elm Park earlier this year. The change in management has made a huge difference and communication is so much better and the Head always responds to feedback. The garden is a huge plus and the whole nursery has a home from home feel which is why we chose it. Not sure how strong the Montessori approach is, it would be good to get a better understanding of this. Some of the rooms are smaller and a bit more dated than others so could do with upgrading. All the staff are so welcoming and our son has loved his time there so far.

Would definitely recommend.