Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton

32 Heath Road, Upton, Chester CH2 1HX
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9.2 12 Reviews
  • Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton, Chester
Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton is based in Chester and provides a fun, nurturing learning environment for children.   

Staff take part in a continuous training and development programme, which extends and enhances their knowledge and practice. They support apprentices through training programmes and 'home grow' their team. A selection of staff members have completed Level 3 Forest School training. Makaton is of strong emphasis throughout the nursery and the nursery also has the Elklan accreditation which focuses on speech, communication and language.

The nursery offers a Forest School, providing lots of fun learning opportunities in the outdoor environment. These sessions take place three days per week, with the area being available throughout the week for each age group to access.

The children enjoy home-cooked food in the nursery's kitchen which is prepared from scratch using fresh local ingredients. It is also able to cater for special dietary and allergy requirements. The nursery loves children to learn about where their food comes from encouraging them to grow their own fruits and vegetables. Cooking is offered to the children weekly.

The nursery promotes children learning about the world around them and their community. They will visit local areas such as - Chester Zoo, the local library, parks and local shops.
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Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Melissa (Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 42

Total Places for Children

  • 104

Age Range

  • from 0 years 3 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Funding & Fees

  • Full day sessions include a mid-morning snack, lunch and tea.
    Morning sessions include a mid-morning snack and lunch.
    Afternoon sessions include tea.
    Please contact us for a copy of the current fees or for any information on funding.

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays

Parking

  • There is ample parking on site.

Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton Reviews (12)

9.2

Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton has a Review Score of 9.2 (9.234) out of 10, based on 11 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton has 12 reviews.

Overall Experience
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Date Published
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  • 11
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Reviewer Connection to Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton
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Total of 12, showing 1-12
Review from Rachael B (Mother of Child) published on 6 December 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Willows has been such a great step for my son, he has come on leaps and bounds with the wonderful ladies in that room. He is far more confident and seems to really look forward to nursery making drop off a pleasure. He comes home each day knowing more words and skills, it's so reassuring how obviously
he is developing. Thank you willows!
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Review from Adela L (Mother of Child) published on 2 December 2024 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Since starting I have noticed a big change in her needs, becoming more sociable.
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Review from R S (Mother of Child) published on 28 November 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
I have experience of all the rooms at Headstart in Upton and I would recommend the nursery to others. The nursery employs great staff who are helpful and kind. They always do fun activities (including sport from external provider, forest school, trips out to library etc) and lots of outdoor play. The
outdoor areas are great, with age appropriate climbing equipment and forest school. There is soft play equipment on site which is used now and then. Sleep in baby room is in an adjoined room which I think helps the babies to sleep well. The staff keep the children safe and have a safe collection and drop off system. Any queries you have are answered. We have been happy and would recommend the nursery.
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Review from Charlotte M (Mother of Child) published on 21 November 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son is in Willows and he absolutely loves his one day a week in nursery. He always has so much fun and has a big smile on his face. He has come along and developed so well. His teachers are so kind and lovely. Blows them a kiss and waves at the end of the day. Such a lovely pleasant environment
Reply from Melissa Kennedy-Roberts, Manager at Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton
Thank you for your lovely feedback. It's lovely to hear that your son is enjoying his time at nursery.
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Review from N M (Father of Child) published on 21 November 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our experience with Seedlings and Willows has been fantastic. The staff are great, and really helped our son settle in. Our son loves going there everyday and enjoys all the activities and we can see his development. The admin side of things could be improved with regards to response times and queries
but this is a minor point.
Reply from Melissa Kennedy-Roberts, Manager at Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton
Thank you for your lovely review. Its nice to hear that your son enjoys his time with us.
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Review from D W (Mother of Child) published on 29 February 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Headstart Nursery has been caring for my two children for the past 5 years and I have always been happy and confident with the level of childcare provided. My children have always enjoyed going there. They are well cared for, fed delicious meals and given the opportunity to experience a vast range of
age-appropriate activities that then set them up for school.
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Review from Alice R (Mother of Child) published on 22 February 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
I’m really pleased with Headstart and never had any complaints since my daughter has attended, my child thoroughly enjoys nursery and I have really seen her confidence grow over the past year.
One thing I would comment on is around the 30 free hours, my child attends 2 full days which is less than
30 hours, aware have to pay an additional 21 per day, but I feel the 30 hours should be split weekly as there could be an opportunity for her to attend another session if this was the case.
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Review from Jenny H (Mother of Child) published on 22 February 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Fantastic nursery, always lots of different activities for the children to do. Kind and helpful staff, excellent communication. Really supportive when we decided to potty train. Use the app for regular messages, photos and updates.
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Review from S O (Mother of Child) published on 24 January 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Fantastic nursery! We have used the nursery for both our children since they turned 1 so have experience of all the rooms. The staff really care about supporting the development of children and encouraging new experiences. I particularly like that they are taken on trips to the zoo and library for rhyme
time. You get daily updates on what the children have been up to and weekly updates on the online learning journal which is lovely to see how the children interact during the week.
We have been very pleased with Headstart Nursery and feel it has been a great support for us and the children.
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Review from Fran H (Mother of Child) published on 22 January 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Both of my daughters have attended Headstart since they were babies and it is such a friendly and caring place. They are like an extended family for us! The staff are very caring and I have always been amazed that they can manage all the different needs of the children. The food they serve has a great
variety and is full of vegetables and fruit. The daily activities are well planned to develop their understanding of the world and to be sensory as well as lots of fun. They have developed the forest school area a lot and use it regularly for minibeast hunts, climbing, balance and the mud kitchen. They also have lots of fun on trikes and the large play area round the back of the nursery. We have always enjoyed receiving little gifts that our girls have made to mark the seasons or cultural festivals and they love the themed parties and dress-up days. My oldest now loves going to the school holiday club and begs me to book her in more often!
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Review from K W (Mother of Child) published on 21 December 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We relocated in the summer of 2023, so our eldest moved straight into the Acorns (preschool) room at Headstart two days a week. She is quite a shy, anxious child, so starting somewhere new has been a challenge for her.
All the staff have seemed lovely and have all been very caring and loving towards
her from what I see and what my daughter says. She has progressively felt more and more comfortable and confident there, so I know they must be supporting her well for this to be the case. The children are often doing extra activities such as forest school and visits to the library, which my daughter enjoys and gives her new/different experiences, not just in the indoor nursery setting.
The nursery staff are very good with updating the app and communicating with parents, and my youngest will soon be starting in the baby room; the communication up to this point has been really good aswell in relation to her start.
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Review from Sharon S (Mother of Child) published on 12 September 2022 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We sent our baby boy to Headstart Nursery and Preschool. As a Seedling he has thoroughly enjoyed his nursery time and flourished under the care of the nursery. We were very apprehensive sending him at the start as at 9 months old he did not want to be separated from us at all.
His key worker did an
absolutely fantastic job, baby and her bonded well and our boy started really enjoying his time at nursery.
He explored many nice play times, water, sand, outside, puzzles, just so many nice things. His key worker taught him to scribble and solves puzzles! Whenever we went to pick him up he was so very happy, he came back home happy and fulfilled.
He got to eat a wide variety of tasty homemade food, they fed him milk when he needed it. They sat with him to it him to sleep.
Super friendly and professional.
The best nursery and we have other high-rated nurseries to compare it to in Cambridge! Defiantly recommend Headstart.
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Current Review Score: 9.2 (9.234)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.2 (9.234) out of 10 for Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.7 out of 5 from 11 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.5 out of 5 from 11 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.705 for Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton is calculated as follows: ( (94 Excellents x 5) + (37 Goods x 4) + (1 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 132 Ratings = 4.705
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 4.529 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton is based on 11 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 104 number of registered child places is 20.8. 11 Positive Reviews ÷ 20.8 = 0.529
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

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Frequently Asked Questions about Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton

What is the Age Range of Children that Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton accepts?

Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton accepts Children aged from 0 years 3 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton Open?

Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton is open: Monday 07:30-18:00, Tuesday 07:30-18:00, Wednesday 07:30-18:00, Thursday 07:30-18:00, Friday 07:30-18:00.

How many Children does Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton have capacity for?

Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton has capacity for a total of 104 Children.

How far is Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton to the centre of Chester?

1.9 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Headstart Nursery and Pre-School - Upton has an Enhanced Service - more info.