Welcome to Finca TLC
Finca, meaning ‘farm’ in Spanish, is a high quality, home-based childcare service for 1-4 year olds.
We aim for a warm, friendly and relaxed 'home from home' feel with education and care at the heart of everything we do. At Finca we love to explore the great outdoors and the changing seasons, nature and outdoor spaces are integral to our provision.
Childcare is available Monday-Thursday during term-time and there are no fees to pay during the holidays. Finca is open from 8.00am - 5.00pm.
Highly qualified staff work on a 1:3 ratio with our 1-4 year olds and all staff are Ofsted registered, have a DBS check and have also gained a Paediatric First Aid certificate.
We have developed a fantastic indoor and outdoor learning environment in our purpose built lodge which endeavours to extend children’s thinking, to stimulate their imaginations and encourage them to ‘learn how to learn’.
Our setting
Finca is set in the heart of our 250 acre working farm in Seavington St Mary. A beautiful and quiet location but conveniently located just 5 minutes from the A303 between Yeovil and Ilminster.
Finca is based in our purpose built wooden lodge on the farm. The large airy space includes a kitchen and bathroom and offers large glass double doors that open out onto a covered decking play space. The lodge offers a home from home ‘cosy’ feel while also providing lots of opportunities for play, exploration and quiet time.
Our outdoor bark area is fenced to provide a large, contained area for the children to explore safely. Our play areas are ever changing depending on children’s interests. We also have the added benefit of our play barn. This is a large indoor dry space which contains our giant sandpit, pirate ship, dressing up, diggers and much more! Perfect for those winter months.
Finca is a warm, welcoming and homely space designed to stimulate each child's curiosity and allow for open - ended continuous provision. Children play and learn at their own pace and choose their own activities.
At Finca, most importantly, we also have unrestricted access to free range fun across our 250 acre farm. This includes a lake with small beach area, an apple orchard, woodland, grass play meadow, bee hives and not forgetting our pigs, rabbits and chickens in our Finca farmyard. Most of our day is spent outside exploring
(the weather doesn’t stop us!)
“Free the child’s potential and you will transform him into the world”
Maria Montessori
The Curriculum
We deliver the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage to all children in our care and focus on the following areas of development by learning through play:
PERSONAL, SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD
EXPRESSIVE ARTS & DESIGN
MATHEMATICS & LITERACY
I'm interested...
Email us via the 'Contact' page and we will then be in touch to book in a visit. We encourage all families to view other local settings as well as Finca. These include nurseries, pre-schools and childminders.
Visits to Finca usually last around 30 minutes and it's an opportunity for you to see what we're about and for you to ask any questions. Remember, there isn't such thing as a silly question so please fire away!
If you like what we do and you wish to secure a place at Finca there is a £200 deposit, this will be returned at the end of your child's time at Finca. Once the deposit is received, we will prepare some paperwork for you to read through and sign.
We will then offer a ‘Home Visit’ but this is entirely optional and there is no cost for this. An adult from Finca will come to your house with the aim to start building up a relationship with you and your child in a familiar environment, fill out some paperwork and share our Policies and Procedures with you. With our previous experience in schools and nurseries, we have always found ‘Home Visits’ invaluable as they really help your child to settle in when they start. We will also book in 2 free short sessions with us. This helps with the settling in period and prepares them for their full days.
Payments must be paid in full before the start of the month and additional hours are added to the next invoice.
“The first five years have so much to do with how the next 80 turn out.”
Bill Gates
The Finca Family
When your little person joins us at Finca, you join the Finca Family! We arrange a few events each year for families to socialise and even after your children leave Finca, you still are a part of the Finca Family. It's so lovely to see past families at our events.
Examples of recent events include - Summer party, Breakfast in the barn and stay & play coffee morning.
We recognise the importance of supporting not just the child but the entire family. We become your village! We are always on hand at drop off or pick up for any questions or queries you may have. Our low ratios mean we have time for you and your child.
We have a private WhatsApp Group which is a great way for parents to arrange parties, play dates and we also post menus, newsletters and useful bits of information to support families.