St Matthews Nursery & Pre-School

"Our daughter attended this nursery for eight months from November 2020 to July 2021. We had no experience of other nurseries to compare it to, so we started off being relatively happy with how she was cared for. However, it became clear that learning activities were minimal (she would regularly just watch TV there) and communication and transparency were their weak areas. They told us we owed money when they had never invoiced us. Meals were invoiced completely separately for no apparent reason and cash only accepted for this which seemed suspicious. Names of children were stuck on sheets of paper displayed outside the door (surely a safeguarding issue). Accidents happened with no paperwork completed and minimal communication given. We had to ask to see the photos they took of our LO. We were never specifically told who the keyworker was for our child, although we just assumed it was the room lead who was always friendly and we did have a good relationship with her. Similar to other reviews, we never ever met the manager in person. When we raised concerns by email to her, she was very defensive and did not react well to them. We wanted to withdraw our child sooner but had to wait for a place at another setting. We didn't give St Matthews the real reason we withdrew her, as they'd already shown they didn't react well to our concerns. Once she was at her new nursery, we realised how abysmal St Matthews really was. At her new setting we know she is cared about and known individually, and feel she is 100% safe. By the end, we didn't feel that about St Matthews. Plus in her new setting she is doing stimulating learning activities every day. I wish we'd never put our daughter in St Matthews, and hope this review might give anyone else considering it some food for thought."

"Our little one attended this nursery and a few incidents happened in the playground with the other Children and when staff were asked about it they were totally oblivious claiming lies. Playground facilities were poor, and the Level of education that our little one received was almost non existant. Our child came back unstimulated both mentally and physically. Our child also came back emotionally drained. We never met the nursery manager (Rachel Patterson) who to this day has never cared to introduce herself and we only knew of her through indirect communication. They never replied to any of our emails. We were regularly lied to by staff members at the door. And whenever our concerns were raised, it was all brushed under the Carpet as if nothing had occured. Names of the Children were publicly displayed on the front of the door for everyone to see which felt very unethical. Staff were giving out new Registration forms to new parents almost on a daily basis. We never ever received development updates. We never even received one photo of our child in their care but instead they'd charge for photos by running an event through hiring their private photographer. Children were barred from bringing in their own packed lunch, We'd instead be charged for meals at Inflated prices (almost 3£ a day for lunch). On several occasions when dropping off We'd witness staff members in the breakfast room helping themselves to food that was meant for the Children. Whenever extra sessions were booked by us they'd demand Money by literally snapping their fingers at the door. They only accept cash and when asked for receipts they'd always have an excuse as to why they can't give proof (printer down, conveniently forgetting, using policy etc). The whole outfit was unfit for purpose hence why we had to pull out our child from this setting. This is the second time my review has been posted because the Original review was removed in an attempt to silence us."

"Our child only attended for 3 months and during his time at St Matthews we experienced the Deputy Nursery Manager abruptly leave with no announcement or explanation and a high turn over of parents. Despite stating they value open communication with parents, whenever we did raise any concerns, staff often responded narcissistically and the matter would never be delt with. We were lied to by multiple members of staff at the door, who would often give conflicting answers to our questions. The nursery manager has never introduced herself to this day, and when we asked for a meeting with her, we were told she is unavailable. This raises many red flags as a parent and reflects the poor quality of care that was displayed by the staff regarding the child or parents wellbeing. Its hard to believe that a nursery that markets and prides itself as a Community based institution has the audacity to charge parents additional fees for expensive meals, when almost all other pre schools include it in the day rate / funding and no option is granted to bring the child's own food from home. Conveniently they only accept cash payments and don't provide a receipt by protocol. It's also abysmal that the child's name is publicly displayed outside the nursery on the front door, instead of addressing parents individually. Finally, when we made the decision to give our notice, the member of staff simply responded " No Worries" with no opportunity offered to rectify the matter. The nursery also managed to remove the original review that was left prior to this one, it an attempt to silence us as parents and prevent other parents from making an informed decision going forward. This nursery lacks Honesty, Leadership, Empathy and Care. A very disappointing experience that doesn't even deserve a 1 star review."

"Caring and professional staff. Provided a friendly face each day that we took the little one in. A shame our time there was cut short by the circumstances but they were very understanding, helpful and attempted to provide as much support as possible during the pandemic. Looking forward to seeing all these lovely people again at the leavers party when its held."

"My son has attended here for pre school and he really enjoyed it... And I was very happy with how they taught & looked after him throughout his time attending the nursery. Thankyou to all the staff :)"