At Kidzrus we take great care to treat each individual with respect whether they are an adult or a child. We have a strong commitment to implementing our equality, diversity and inclusion policy, says Nicola Fleury, director, Kidzrus Nursery

At Kidzrus Nursery Group our recruitment process allows us to select, train and promote individuals on the basis of occupational skills requirements. In this respect, no job applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, sex, gender reassignment, disability, marriage or civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and pregnancy or maternity which cannot be justified as being necessary for the safe and effective performance of their work or training.

We value the capacity of a diverse community to care for and educate children, both within families and as professionals. We acknowledge that children in early years education should benefit from the talents of all, so we actively seek to create a workforce that is fully inclusive, incorporating men, women and people with other gendered or non-gendered identities. We are totally committed to removing the obstacles that stand in the way of a mixed-gendered workforce, including low-pay and status, little access to career progression and treatment of colleagues that is gender-discriminatory.

Equal opportunities

The nursery is totally committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children and families according to their individual needs. We ensure strong practice to the benefit of The Kidzrus Group for our employees, trainees, children, parents and carers.

Kidzrus actively welcomes any parent or carer who would like to be involved with widening our education about their cultural or religious beliefs and we invite them to attend any one of our settings to carry out a range of activities and participate in events that celebrate the wide range of faiths and cultures. We work alongside our local authority that helps us to support these parents and carers, as well as our staff. As part of our Quality Improvement Plan, we regularly review our practice and seek the views of parents with questionnaires, parents’ surveys and implement any changes that may have a positive effect on the learning outcomes of our children.

Food for thought

Food plays a great part in our children’s healthy learning journey, and we encourage them to try new foods and tastes. Children try different fruits and vegetables and talk about the various colours and shapes, and what they like as well as considering allergies to understand the impact should they eat the wrong foods. Our settings grow herbs, fruit and vegetables and they understand the journey of ingredients from seed to soil and to the plate.

Our families

Our curriculum covers all areas of learning and provides equal opportunity and inclusion for all children and their families, regardless of gender, ethnic origin, race, colour, sexual orientation, marital status, family structure, social grouping, nationality, age or disability. For example, we have a child from a very unique family and she has two mummies and two daddies. One of her daddies, Dr. Carl Austin-Behan OBE, is a former ceremonial Lord Mayor of Manchester and current Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester and was recently invested to be an Member of The Order British Empire at Windsor Castle by HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

Here are the comments from Rhonda and Lisa, Willow’s Mummies:
‘Willow has two mummies and two daddies, which is not your usual family set up. She is a very loved child who embraces everything in her stride. When it came to deciding which nursery to send Willow to, we were very conscious of her unique family set up and wanted to ensure that she wouldn’t be treated any differently to other children. We researched and visited a few nurseries and then found Kidzrus, Media City and needless to say never looked back. We were very impressed with the inclusivity and diversity which was evident from their website and social media pages.

‘Willow started at Kidzrus when she was 10 months old and has been there for just under two years. She has transitioned between the different rooms as she has grown and has always had excellent key workers who are keen to aid her development.

‘We are particularly impressed with the level of inclusivity displayed by all members of the Kidzrus team. Nothing is ever too much for Kidzrus, they always go the extra mile. A recent example of this is when Willow’s Daddy Carl received his OBE from The Duke of Cambridge for his work for charity and the LGBTQ+ community. The next day all Willow’s friends helped her to make a card and frame with pictures in from this special day for her Daddy.

‘Kidzrus also do an enormous amount of work for charity and in particular is was great to see all the work they did during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure no child missed out and to help those families who were struggling during this very difficult time. Nicola and her team delivered food parcels, books and other gifts to children and families which was a really nice gesture and well received by all families involved.

‘Thank you to Nicola, Gemma, Courtney and all the team for all the work they do to ensure not only Willow but every child is cared for and their individuality is celebrated with dignity and respect.’

Sharing values

The guiding principle of The Kidzrus Group is that we give ‘Every Child – Every Chance’ so we recognise the social, economic, cultural diversity of our cohort and community ensuring that no-one feels excluded when they attend our nursery on whatever grounds. Incorporating the fundamental British Values we offer an environment that is diverse, inclusive, accepting, welcoming and a safe space for everyone. We welcome all families.

We strive to treat each child as an individual and respect its religions and cultures. We invite all children to participate in all activities and toys to all children regardless of gender and developmental needs. We continuously update all resources so that they reflect the interests and needs of the children in our care; ensuring that they are free from stereotypical images, languages and bias and practitioner’s model equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices in all areas of our curriculum so that we reflect and celebrate the diversity of our children and their families.

Community support

Our settings actively promote an open door policy within the nursery from a parent’s initial enquiry regarding childcare until their child makes the transition to school. Our managers and colleague team are able to discuss any queries that they may have in person, by telephone or zoom call or by email; whichever is the parents preferred means of communication.

In addition to extending continued professional development to colleagues and innovative learning experiences for our children, our setting managers and internal training academy also supports our families by providing general parenting advice and guidance and specific support. As part of our action plan post lockdown we provide employability sessions for parents no longer able to return to their usual occupations or training programmes. The aim of this is to give equal access to employment, education or training so that they can improve their socio-economic status and offer better life chances to their families.

In March 2018 we set up the Kidzrus Salford Family Food Bank; working closely with our local community to reduce hunger and food poverty by offering food parcels to families when needed. We have a dedicated telephone number and we provide discreet food parcels throughout the year, though notably we distributed over 100 Christmas Hampers and more than 500 presents within the local area. In recognition of this our Media City setting won the 2020 NMT Nursery Award for Community Nursery of
The Year.