Frequently Asked Questions

We believe that quality care and education comes from exceeding expectations and not just meeting them. That’s why, to ensure children receive the highest levels of attention, care, and support, we often go above standard staff ratios.

Here’s the required staff to child ratios:

• Babies (under 2 years): 1 adult to 3 children. This low ratio ensures that each child receives plenty of one to one attention, cuddles, and care throughout the day. Building strong bonds at this age is essential for emotional development and wellbeing, and our team takes great pride in creating a warm and welcoming environment. We’re incredibly proud that both our Room Leader and Deputy Room Leader have been part of the Scallywags family for over 20 years. Their experience, knowledge, and genuine love for what they do, along with the strong team of educators, makes our baby room a truly special place.

• Toddlers (2 years old): 1 adult to 5 children, but we continue to operate at 1 adult to 4 children. Although the government updated the statutory guidance to allow a staff to child ratio of 1:5 for two year olds, we made the decision to continue operating at a ratio of 1:4. We believe this allows us to give each child more attention, support, and a higher quality of care. At this age, children are developing rapidly - physically, socially, and emotionally, so we believe it’s vital to offer a lower ratio to ensure every child is supported through these important milestones.

• Preschool (3 years and over): 1 adult to 8 children. We aim to maintain both of our Pre School rooms at a 1:6 ratio. This enhanced staffing ratio enables us to deliver higher quality early years education, with focused preparation for school, targeted learning experiences, and continuous, safe, free-flow access to both indoor and outdoor environments. It supports independence, active learning, and meaningful relationships with adults who know each child individually.

At Scallywags, we regularly exceed these minimums by having additional supporting team members in the room. This not only supports our staff but ensures every child benefits from more one to one interactions, quicker responses to their needs, and a calmer, well managed environment. Something that was commented on by our Ofsted inspector in December 2024.

Of course! We invite all prospective new families to come and tour Scallywags.

During your visit, you'll have the opportunity to meet our friendly team, explore the setting, and see our rooms in action. It’s a great chance to ask any questions you may have, learn more about our approach, and discuss your childcare needs. We’re here to help and want to ensure you feel confident and comfortable with your choice.

Our availability can change daily due to the volume of enquiries that we receive, especially in our younger rooms. We advise booking as soon as you feel able to, to avoid disappointment.

You can book as far in advance as you like, many parents make bookings based off their due date. We advise this to make ensure you get the sessions you need, especially in our younger age groups. We operate at close to capacity all year round, so recommend booking as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Our availability can vary depending on your child’s age, the days you are looking for, and the sessions you need. You may have heard about our wait times and it's true that we are often at full capacity, especially during peak times, but the best thing to do is get in touch with us directly.

You can complete our online enquiry form, and we will check our current availability and do our best to accommodate your session requirements and required start date. We understand how important it is to find the right childcare, and we will work closely with you to see how we can meet your needs.

We’re incredibly fortunate to receive multiple enquiries each day and feel genuinely honoured by the number of families who choose to register with us. If we’re full at the time you contact us, you’ll have the option to join our waiting list.

While we can’t guarantee earlier availability, places do occasionally become available due to changes in family circumstances. When this happens, we always prioritise families on our waiting list.

Please note that our waiting list is open to families who already have a confirmed booking with us - for example, if you’re booked into our Pre School room in future, but would like to start earlier should a space become available.

Once you’ve completed all the relevant paperwork, we’ll get you set up in our system, Famly, and confirm your child’s booking. To ensure a smooth transition, Scallywags offers free 'settling in sessions' to help your child get comfortable with us.

Many people book far in advance, so a member of our team will be in touch about a month or so prior to your start date to arrange these settling in sessions. In the meantime, feel free to contact us at any time if you have any questions or need additional support.

For more information about settling, see our 'Do you offer settling sessions?' FAQ.

We only ask for a minimum of one session. We know every family is different, and we’re committed to offering childcare that works around your schedule, not ours. Flexibility is important to us, and we aim to support what works best for you.

We offer childcare all year round, from 7:30am to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday. We’re closed on weekends, bank holidays, and over the Christmas period - but don’t worry, we never charge for days when we’re closed.

We’re fairly confident your child will love it here at Scallywags, but we always encourage families to visit as many settings as possible. Seeing different local environments helps you get a real feel for what’s right for you and your child.

We understand choosing childcare is a big decision, and it’s all about finding the setting that fits your family’s needs and values best.

We sure do! Contact us for a copy of our funding guide, this has lots of information about all funding available.

If you and your partner (if you have one) work full or part-time hours, you could get Tax-Free Childcare. For every £8 you pay into the account, the government will add £2, or £4 for children with a disability. The government will pay up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 per year for children with a disability.

Once you’ve made contact with us, we’ll send you our Prospectus Pack. This comprehensive pack includes everything you need to know about Scallywags, including our fee structure, funding options, terms and conditions, and booking forms. We want to ensure that all the information you need is clear and accessible so you can make an informed decision.

Yes, we offer two settling sessions, free of charge, to help your child feel comfortable and confident before starting full sessions with us.

• The first session gives parents/carers the opportunity to meet your child’s key worker and the rest of the team in the room, allowing everyone to get familiar with each other.

• The second session allows you to leave your child for a short period of time. This gives them a chance to explore, play, and start making new friends in a familiar environment before they begin their regular sessions.

These settling sessions are designed to ensure a smooth transition and to support both children and parents during this exciting time.

We understand that parents and carers can also feel anxious during this time. Don’t hesitate to chat with our office team if you need further support or simply someone to talk to after drop off. We’re here to help make this transition as smooth as possible for everyone.

As we are not open, we do not charge for Bank Holidays.

In a word, very! Scallywags is a purpose built setting on the grounds of a gated campus. Our environment is safe and secure for both children and staff. Each access door is controlled by passcodes and intercom. This enables staff in each room to approve entry to parents or guardians after they have been recognised on the camera. All play rooms, corridors and outdoor areas are monitored 24/7 by CCTV.

Just the one! Scallywags Childcare Centre in Weymouth. Since opening in 1988, our goal has never been, and will never be, to become the biggest business or nursery chain. We have always been fully committed to providing the best possible care and early years education for the children in our single, family-focused setting.

By staying as one centre, we ensure that we can maintain the personal touch and close knit atmosphere that sets us apart. We believe that expansion could risk losing the quality and individuality of care that we pride ourselves on offering.

Our focus on a family environment comes directly from Belinda's ethos and continued by Thomas and the Ryan family. We firmly believe that nobody will care more about Scallywags and the children that attend than we do - It’s not just a business to us, it’s truly part of our family, and that’s something we’ve always strived to reflect in the way we treat children, their families and our staff team.

We offer a 5% discount to the oldest child's booking with us.

A common misconception (sometimes used as marketing by school based settings) is that attending a preschool attached to or associated with a particular school guarantees a place there - unfortunately, this is not the case.

School places are allocated by Dorset Council and are primarily based on catchment areas, and specific criteria, not the preschool a child attends.

The good news is, our preschool feeds into all local primary schools, so no matter which school you are considering, your child will be well prepared for the transition. Many of our children stay with us from the Nursery room all the way through to 'big school'.

The reception teachers visit Scallywags each year to meet the children who will be attending their schools. A local school teacher once commented that you can always tell when a child has attended Scallywags due to their confidence, strong friendships, and school readiness. 👏

We do! While uniform isn’t compulsory at Scallywags, we think it looks great and adds to our sense of community. Our T-shirts are made from 100% organic cotton, are PETA-approved Vegan, carry the Global Recycled Standard, and are sourced from a FairWear supplier, so you can feel good about both the quality and sustainability.

Uniforms are available for purchase from the main office at Scallywags.