Apples and Pears Private Day Nursery

Based in South Cheshire, Apples and Pears prides itself on providing a fun, loving, challenging and safe environment to around 200 full and part-time children.

To get a true understanding of how much we help them, we had a Q&A session with the nursery’s owner, Sue Evans.

Citation: Before partnering with Citation, what were the main issues you faced as a nursery?

Sue: A huge issue for any nursery or day care provider is the assurance of the Health & Safety of your children.

Together with that is the suitability of employees who look after those children, and ensuring that you’re continually meeting with regulations of the law and bodies – such as Ofsted.

What made you decide to partner with Citation for Health & Safety and Employment Law support?

From the first time I met with a Citation representative, I really liked what I saw. We’d never come across any online systems which allowed us to do what the Citation systems do.

To have a simple, pictorial-based risk assessment system and a central area to hold employee records helps to run the business a whole lot easier. Everything is so easily accessible and simple to use.

All of the systems, together with regular updates, ongoing support and full documentation provision, saves us so much time and gives us re-assurance – something we didn’t have before.

Which part of the service do you think has helped you the most?

Just knowing that there is always someone there to answer any questions or help us with any issues we might come across is brilliant.

Without a team of professionals on board it can be really difficult to keep on top of relevant updates and information, so having Citation take care of that side of things is very helpful.

Citation are always very clever in the way that they steer the information they provide to us. They make sure it’s relevant to the childcare sector, so that we’re not over bombarded with information we don’t need.

Do you feel any more prepared for an Ofsted inspection since having Citation on board?

Absolutely. With Citation on board we have full confidence that we’re doing as much as we can with regards to Health & Safety.

So, why outsource when it costs money?

Some business owners might wonder if they can justify outsourcing these areas – not me, I like to be able to sleep at night!

I like to be confident that the policies I have in place are watertight and up-to-date should anyone request to see them.

It’s also a great feeling to know that should we ever have a serious issue, a team of professional experts are behind me, meaning I’m not alone in an area that I’m not an expert in.

Would you recommend Citation to other nurseries?

Yes, I would absolutely recommend Citation. In this sector, you’re subjected to so many different areas of focus, and Health & Safety and Employment Law are areas you can’t afford to not get right.

I have a fantastic relationship with both of my designated consultants, and find that having someone there to guide me through is an invaluable part of my business.