What OFSTED grade do you have?

We are regulated by Ofsted. For all four of our previous Inspections (with Oftsted and REYA) we have gained ‘Outstanding’ in every area. You can check out our recent reports on the Info page.

When do you have availability?

We aim to work at 100% capacity all of the time, and have families lined up ready to start when another family gives us notice.

Our biggest intake is always in September as children that leave for primary school release spaces. As we are usually always full, in order for a space to become available, it would require a family giving us notice and this is unfortunately out of our control. Therefore, this is a very hard question to answer!

Do you have a waiting list?

Yes, we have two. We add new enquiries to our Waiting List and then contact them if and when a position becomes available that meets their requirements. It is at this stage that we would book in a visit.

We also have an internal Waiting List, for our Karibu families who are wanting to increase their days with us. Karibu families have priority over new places.

Do we pay anything during the holidays?

No, not even bank holidays. Unlike most childcare providers we only charge for the days your little person attends. We operate a Term Time model, open for 195 days per year and follow the dates set by Bristol City Council.

do you offer half days or shorter periods of childcare?

We do not offer contracted half days or shorter periods of childcare. Exact drop-off and pick-up times are flexible (as long at they're between 8am and 5pm) but the daily rate stays the same.

However, we know that last minute childcare is often required by our families, so as we work well below our legal ratios, we are often able to accommodate children on an ad-hoc basis for half or full days.

DO YOU ACCEPT early Years funding?

We do accept the Early Years Funding (15/30 hours) at Karibu. As the funding is designed for larger settings we ask parents to make a ‘voluntary contribution’ in order for us to receive our agreed day rate per child. We have agreed this with Deborah Brown at Bristol City Council.

Unfortunately the government do not pay us enough to run a high quality, sustainable business and as we are a small team of highly skilled staff, working on a 3:10 or 4:10 adult:child ratio, we need to receive the agreed day rate per child. The children can access up to 30 ‘free’ hours per week however if parents wish to not make a ‘voluntary contribution’ then they must pay a registration fee. The registration fee depends on how many hours they access per week.

Do you take babies?

September 2024 is our last intake of babies (under 2’s). We have now raised our starting age to 2 years old however there is a little bit of flexibility with this. Please email us to discuss this.

how often to the children go out?

We have the capacity to get out ever day. We can either all go out, or split into different groups with some children staying at Karibu and others getting out to explore the local environment. Sometimes, depending on the energy of the children, we just decide to hunker down and enjoy a whole day at Karibu together.

Our best time to get out and about is between 9:30 - 11:30am, so the little ones that sleep during these times do go out less, however, the Karibu garden is accessible all day.

Can I see your policies and procedures?

Absolutely. Follow this link to get the most up to date Policies and Procedures. Grab a cuppa and enjoy!

Do the children access screen time?

Yes. Occasionally we will allow the children to watch something and this is often themed by what we have been learning about, for example, when we grow butterflies from eggs, we will watch animated version of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, or when the children have been enjoying Julia Donaldson books, we will sit down and enjoy the animated versions of her books. We will also use screens for singing and dancing programs.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO PROVIDE?

The children will need clothes that you are happy for them to get dirty in as we will spend lots of time exploring messy things and the great outdoors. Clothes and shoes must be appropriate for the weather as we will head outside come rain or shine! They will need to bring one change of spare clothes and nappies. We provide wet wipes and everything else. We also have some spare clothes and wellies for emergencies!

Everything must be labelled!

How many days do you recommend?

We suggest between 2 and 4 days each week. We find that attending once per week is too little, and attending every day is too much. If you are looking for 5 days per week, then we suggest splitting your childcare with us and another setting to get more variety in your child’s week.

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT GDPR! 

Ok! You can view all of our Policies (including those on GDPR!) on our Info page.