Nursery World - Case study: Chestnut Children's Centre

'It was important that we talked about delivering care for children rather than the politics behind the sector we came from,' says Colleen Sims, explaining how her private nursery became satellite daycare provider to the Chestnut Children's Centre in Exeter. 'In the beginning there was quite a lot of nervousness and caution. It was new, uncharted territory. Our local EYDCP suggested that our nursery, Little Ones, should talk to the children's centre as childcare providers.

'In the beginning there was quite a lot of nervousness and caution. It was new, uncharted territory. Our local EYDCP suggested that our nursery, Little Ones, should talk to the children's centre as childcare providers.

We found that we shared a belief in the High/Scope philosophy and we have built up a good working relationship.'

Ms Sims, who co-owns the Little Ones neighbourhood nursery with Katie Porter, says they now have service level agreements with the children's centre covering a range of issues, including emergency care and continuity of care. 'We realised that if children were moving between the sites we should have the same language and resources that families would be familiar with if they moved from one setting to another,' she says.

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