Worthing nursery owner speaks out on new childcare funding as she celebrates 25 years in the business

Woodstock Day Nursery, in Farncombe Road, held a family tea party to mark the silver anniversary and each child was presented with a special teddy bear to take home.

Anne Shrieves believes it is the oldest independent, private-run day nursery in Worthing, having opened in 2000 after she completely refurbished a property formerly used by the neighbouring school.

Anne said: "It's been a difficult year for us, as the government has changed the funding rules. There have been a lot of ups and downs, and questions, about the way that we charge.

"The funding is more challenging because they have tightened the rules. The government decided it would be free but they have not increased the rates in line with costs.

"They are promoting it as free but in truth it is a subsidy. If only they would be honest and say it is a reduction in fees. We are having to explain it to parents all the time.

"The funding is only for care and education, so we can charge for meals, whereas these used to be inclusive, so it can be confusing. We have loads of extras here, too, and we want to keep them.

"The government has based the costs on one staff per eight children but realistically some children need one-to-one, so that is not enough.

"We are doing our very best to keep our fees reasonable, as low as we can, but we do want to continue to run the way that we run now. We want the children to have all the extras, the street dance, the drumming the visits to the beach and the extra staff that we are able to bring into the nursery."

The nursery takes children from six months old and offers care from 7.30am to 6pm, 52 weeks a year. There are around 90 children currently, with a total of 24 staff, including full-time and bank staff.

Anne said: "We do make a point of mixing the age groups and the babies will go into the garden at the same time as the older ones. It means siblings can play together and the older ones love it."

Vicky George and Hayley Brown took over the day-to-day running of the nursery on April 1, 2022, and continue to deliver high-quality childcare in a family atmosphere.

Vicky said: "The ethos continues from when Anne started. Nothing really has changed. It is still a family-feel nursery and it is a fun, happy place for everyone to be."