Little Things mean a lot at Maghull children's day nursery

In this month’s Altsider column we speak to Louise Waller, owner of It’s the Little Things children’s day nursery in Maghull, who is celebrating the nursery’s first birthday.

"As a local mother of two young boys, I had a pretty strict criteria when we set up It’s the Little Things. The unspoilt rural setting at Parkhaven Trust surpassed our wildest dreams.

It’s on a 42-acre woodland park, which is a haven of rabbits, squirrels, pheasants and birds – all to be explored, without the danger of traffic.

At the same time, it’s only a few hundred yards from the A59 Northway, on the main commuter route from Ormskirk to Liverpool and Southport to Manchester.

The building is bright and breezy - with natural light streaming in through the large windows, along with a sizeable, secure outdoor play area.

We take great pride in our staff. I’m a primary school teacher turned nursery owner, while our manager, Danniella has 10 years managerial experience. Our deputy also has a child of her own.

We wanted a mix of staff; from degree educated to NVQ qualified as well as staff who knew a thing or two about being a parent. You will see a mix of staff ages at It’s the Little Things, creating a happy, family environment. We appreciate that continuity of staff matters too - it’s good for a child’s development, which is why we’re rather pleased with our 90 per cent staff retention rate.

We also love our food, and believe our children should appreciate good, natural food too. Our professional chef prepares fresh food on the premises - three times a day.

Once a week a teacher (who also has her own baby) comes to the nursery to teach the children Spanish, while we encourage the children to respect the environment (they recycle their own waste) among other initiatives.

We have lots of new, exciting plans in the coming months that we’d love to tell you about."