Hungry Caterpillar Day Nursery - Hathaway

My child started at Hungry Caterpillar Hathaway in October 2020, age 8 months. It took him quite a while to settle in as he is a ‘lockdown baby’ so hadn’t had much socialisation or been away from me at all. The staff persevered, went at his pace and helped him to feel safe and confident with them. He is now more independent, is happy to play alone or with others, eats completely independently and seems to be genuinely enjoying himself and thriving there. Communication with his key worker and other baby room staff is excellent, they post regular updates and the nursery manager is absolutely fantastic and very approachable to chat about any queries or concerns. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Hungry Caterpillar, it is a brilliant nursery.

We absolutely love the nursery and have sent both of our children there.
The staff are amazing and to be honest, it is the staff that make the nursery and not the name of the organisation.
The duty of care here is exceptional and the team go above and beyond when it comes to support and looking after our little ones!
Well done guys and I know when my child “graduates” she will miss every single one of you!
Thanks to you all!

When my child started his nursery, he was a weak with his alphabetic and writing. I now see him push himself to writing more and he’s interested in writing. He is also better with tidying up and keeps himself clean.

Staff are great, you can’t get better value for money than this. Learning new activities could use a bit more effort, the food is ok, the nursery is spacious and clean, staff are hard-working and dedicated. Overall, a great place to take your children.

The staff in the baby room are lovely. There has recently been a change of manager and a new deputy manager. It was a rocky start for us because at the show around a twice a day nap schedule was agreed. However upon starting at the nursery it was clear this is not possible to implement due to the baby room set up and schedule. This made the settling in period tough. My ten month old had to conform to a once a day nap schedule which upset me. However the staff continue to work hard to help my little one transition to napping there. In all other regards the nursery is great. He is eating well with diverse food choices offered. He is playing and socialising well. He has a lovely connection with his key worker. The new management are implementing a number of changes and improvements including a revamp on indoor and outdoor spaces. The nursery are quick to respond to queries and always providing updates and feedback. Weekly updates on activities are given via their app.

Wonderfully caring and attentive staff. Our child loves the time he spends there and his development has flourished in both motor and verbal skills. Lots of fun activities for the children, focusing on.
The staff feedback on his progress, and attentive to his well being and the amazing food is homemade by the lovely chef, and eaten in full every day.

Our experience with the Hungry Caterpillar Day Nursery – Hathaway baby room has been great. The staff are kind and caring but also provide structure for the day with lots of planned activities that are strategic for developing fine motor skills, language development, sensory exploration, etc.
We love all the opportunities for messy play and outdoor play. We’re looking forward to seeing what the kids get up to this summer in the updated garden area.
In my experience so far, they have been able to maintain staff-to-child ratios even on snow days, so I’ve never had to worry about being turned away at the door (which I’ve heard can happen at other nurseries). This is something I appreciate, and I hope never changes.

We are really happy our child joined this nursery at 10 months, as he has grown into a happy, sociable boy with firm friends, in staff and other children. The setting is in the middle of nature, access to the garden and its facilities is so easy, just out the door they go! We admire the amount of creativity, energy and imagination that the staff invest in the children’s daily activities at our nursery, all shown on the app. Recent changes have created a great atmosphere for staff, children and provided us with confidence in their patience & caring mindset. The chef is amazing; our child eats everything, even if our child doesn’t always eat the same foods at home. The meals are so varied, you can tell a lot of thought has gone into planning. Staff have a great rapport with us. Quite a few staff live locally. Staff seem happy to work there and this shows.

We are so happy with the performance of everyone who works in the nursery. We feel everything is going according to our expectations and meeting our demands. Our daughter is so eager to go every day and always looks happy. The nursery staff is very polite, professional, and responsive and keeps us updated on every development with our daughter. Our daughter is progressing very well, and we believe the nursery is putting her on the right track.

My son really enjoys his time at nursery. The staff are really friendly and give regular feedback on my son’s progress. My son has learnt the name of staff members which show the staff are really engaged and care for him.