FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact a member of the office team for more information. You can also refer to our fee structure and refund policy for all discounts and corporate discounts that are available at Westfield Nursery.

Please refer to the fees payment and refund policy for all discounts and corporate discounts available.

Please contact a member of the office team who will be able to explain you our refund policy and process.

If you have any issue or concern you wish to discuss, please speak to the Nursery principal. Additionally, you can email our quality assurance team at info@westfieldnursery.ae or the principal at manager@westfieldnursery.ae to provide support on any issue not resolved in a timely manner. A reply from a quality representative and plan for resolution should be communicated back within 48 hours of the issue being raised.

We love celebrating special days with our families. If your child’s birthday is coming up soon, please inform your child’s teacher so she can prepare for the special occasion.
If you wish to bring a cake in to celebrate, please email the list of ingredients to the office team to ensure it is safe for children to eat. Please note that we are a nut free Nursery and therefore, the cake shouldn’t contain any nuts.

We will ask all the parents at the beginning of the year to sign a permission form to confirm you allow your child to eat cake during parties.
Children with an allergy or who have parents that do not want their child eating cake need to be catered for too. For these children a healthy alternative can be provided – please speak to your child’s teacher about healthy alternatives to the cake.

On the day: We will make your child feel special! Your child will be The Leader of their day on their birthday and we will play special games and have a few surprises for them. If gifts for children in the class are being brought to school, these need to be safe and age-appropriate including having no nuts (or Nutella) or choke-able items. Admin will let you know if there is anything the children cannot have in party bags and will return these items to you.
The party cake will be served after a mid-morning or midday snack to ensure minimal impact on the class.

At Westfield Nursery we use numerous positive reinforcement techniques including traffic lights, star of the week, special roles such as, helper and many more. We believe that positive reinforcement helps build children’ self-esteem and self-confidence and therefore we use it to also encourage and motivate children.

Our children usually enjoy snack time as part of a social experience as well as a time of learning. Teachers and children sit together to eat and discuss the food the children have brought while linking it to the 7 areas of learning. Eating in a relaxed social group often helps a fussy eater consume foods sent from home. Teachers will also suggest food your child shows an interest in during snack time.

Please ask to see our healthy eating policy for more details but in the meantime, please pack any of these healthy snacks and drink examples:
Breakfast ideas: cereal bars (without nuts) / porridge, yoghurt, fruit, sandwich.
Lunch ideas: wraps and crackers sandwiches and buns, bread sticks, pancake falafal, kibbe, noodles, pasta, rice, potato cheese, humus, motabal, vegetables, chicken, egg, meat, okra, seeds such as sunflowers or pumpkin seeds.

Snack ideas: cut vegetables and fruits including apples, pears, kiwis, bananas, grapes (cut in half) apricots, raisins, dates, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, tomatoes (cut in half), date maamoul or date cookies, rice crackers, yoghurt, laban/milk, juice (with no sugar added).

Please do not pack these unhealthy snacks and drinks:
Candies, chocolate (spread, candy or milk) cake, soda (Eg: 7-Up, Mirinda, Coke, Pepsi) cookies, nuts (due to allergies), pudding, fast food (Eg: McDonalds, Burger King) and processed food (Eg: nuggets and fries).

Please send your child to Nursery with the following items:

• Nappies, pull-ups, cotton wool, wipes, nappy cream in a labelled bag (if required)
• Spare clothes: Two spare sets of labelled clothes including items like a shirt, shorts, underwear etc.
• Outdoor play: Labelled sun hat and sun cream (if required) and special clothing required for the day (Eg: for water play or messy day).
• Snack and lunch: Please send your child to Nursery with an insulated, labelled lunch box/bag for morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. Please pack water.

All children are different. A child’s ability to transition from home to Nursery depends on their personality and whether they have attended Nursery before. Often a child’s greatest fear is that their mum and dad will not come back to pick them up from Nursery. Once they feel safe in the knowledge that they are cared for and you are coming back to get them, they usually settle rapidly.

A settling in period of two weeks is recommended for children who are new to a nursery setting but having said that, we also see children settling well from their first day at Nursery. If it is the case, then you won’t have to go through a settling in period but if your child struggles to settle, please speak to the principal or your child’s teacher to plan ways to help your child during this phase.

Some tips that have been proven to reduce parent and child stress are:



During the first week, we advise you to drop off your child a little early and collect a little early. Don’t hesitate to come into class, settle your child and meet the teachers in the morning. Show your child the amount of time you are going to be away for on your watch. If it is easier for your child to understand you can also explain you will be back after lunchtime so your child knows you are coming back. We usually recommend parents not to stay more than 10 minutes in the class at drop off. Once you have spoken to the teacher and your child is engaged in an activity, we advise you to say “goodbye/see you later’’ and leave. Some children may cry at this stage, but please rest assured that our teaching staff is trained to support your child in separating successfully in order to enjoy their days at Nursery.

Parents are welcome to stay in reception if they want where they can watch their children on CCTV during the transition period. In the first week/s parents may be asked to do limited timings until their child settles.

We know it is a difficult phase for parents and children and we will do everything we can to support you during this process. If you can, try not to show your distress when your child is with you as it may cause him/her more distress and anxiety.

All children’s registration files have photos and ID attached of who is authorized to collect your child. Should another person not included on this list need to collect your child, please follow these 3 steps:

The Nursery will confirm the change of collection plans with you before allowing the child to leave the nursery with the person coming to collect the child.

At the start of the day, please drop off your child in his/her class. Regarding pick up, your child will be ready for collection at the end of the afternoon and midday sessions depending on your requirements at registration. You need to collect your child before the time you requested. For instance, if you have enrolled your child until 2pm you can collect them any time up to 2pm. When you arrive the admin staff will be able to let you know where your child is (sensory room, gym, classroom, etc.). If you are parked and would like our staff to bring your child out to the gate, please call ahead of time and the admin staff will have a staff member bring your child to the gate. If you need to extend your child’s Nursery timings, please speak to the office team.

If your child is sick, please keep him or her home. Kindly read our sickness policy for information on how long you should keep your child home. Some illnesses will require you to get a doctor clearance for your child to come back to Nursery. Children are temperature checked at the start of the Nursery day. All parents are required to sign a medical consent form for medicine form as part of the registration documents. Should your child get sick at school, the policy will be followed.

As per ministry guidelines, the following adult/child ratios are adhered to:
Babies under 1 year – Ministry ratio 1:4 / Westfield Nursery ratio 1:3
1 to 2 years old:- Ministry ratio 1:5 / Westfield Nursery ratio: 1:4
Preschoolers above 2 years and under 3 years – Ministry ratio 1:8 / Westfield Nursery ratio: 1:5.
KG above 3 years and 4 years old – Ministry ratio 1:10 / Westfield Nursery ratio: 1:8.
As per the Ministry of Education, children cannot remain at Westfield Nursery if they turn 4 years between September and December.

This depends on the ratio and the size of the classroom. Depending on your child’s age, the Nursery principal will be able to give you this information during the tour.

Communication with our families is key. We have a parent app where you will get all the information about child and regarding upcoming events. This app is very easy to use and it is the easiest way to stay connected. There is a section for all our policies, so if you want to look up anything, it is right there for you.

Our fee structure is grounded on flexible-attendance options. We are open from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, all year round to support non-working and working families. We offer flexible days and timings to choose from. We encourage you to visit our website and set up an appointment to view our facilities where we can further discuss a plan that suits your needs.