Red Bus Nursery

Red Bus Nursery & Pre-School's Journey so far

We first opened our doors in November 2011, in a building that once housed ‘The Progress Inn’ now converted into a spacious setting for children aged 3 months to 5 years. Four years later we expanded to a second site, renovating the long closed maternity hospital ‘Wendover House‘. In June 2015 our Downend setting opened, providing the same uncompromising space, resources and high standards seen at Coombe Dingle.

We never stand still for long at Red Bus, and in 2016 we were granted planning permission to make some significant changes to our Coombe Dingle setting to further enhance what we offer, supported by Bristol City Council to increase the number of 3 & 4 year old places across Bristol.

From 2016 to 2017 we had a complete overhaul of the setting, adding an extension to our Nursery and Pre-School units. This allowed us to offer more space and better facilities, including a dedicated cloakroom area and better interaction between the indoors and outdoors. Kindergarten was also completely reconfigured, with bespoke wooden units delivered from Germany to provide even more opportunities for physical and imaginative play.

Hallways, staircases and offices were moved to provide better flow around the building, and the basement level was completely renovated into a dedicated dining room for the children. We didn’t overlook the gardens either – all three of our outdoor spaces were updated with new equipment and resources to ensure children could access outdoor play all year round!

That same year we were also able to expand our Downend setting, taking delivery of our Red Bus yurt – quite possibly one of the only Nursery yurts in the UK! This space sits just outside the Kindergarten room, allowing us to offer more space for our two to three year olds as well as providing a warm and cosy area for children to sleep, read and create artwork in.

In January 2021 Kindergarten increased in size even further with an extension to the main room!

Our Aims and Objectives

Red Bus Nursery & Pre-School is a very special place where children can express themselves and fulfil their development in a caring and safe environment.

Together we can produce happy and confident children, who develop at their own pace. We support children in a their journey towards responsible self-care and self-regulation to reach their full potential.

Why Choose Red Bus?

• We listen to parents and carers about what they want from a Nursery & Pre-School
• We design amazing, well equipped settings with inspiring inside and outside spaces.
• We employ highly qualified Early Years Practitioners, the best in the sector, everyone of them passionate about childcare.
• We ensure every child’s learning experience is tailored to them as a unique individual.
• Red Bus, big and exciting with a warm, caring and nurturing environment.

We believe there is a successful formula in offering excellent childcare services and we have worked very hard to make sure this is achieved at Red Bus Nursery & Pre-School.

A big part of the wining formula is our staff – our commitment here is very significant, we recruit an excellent balance of highly qualified and experienced staff who in turn are able to mentor our newly qualified staff – significantly over the minimum requirements laid down by Ofsted. We recognise the need to invest in continuous staff training to maintain our very high standards.

Last but not least, our approach to our day to day practice. Driven by such a caring and motivated team, we aim to provide the best possible approach to your child’s development in a way that they learn through play and we work in partnership with you as parents.