Tiny Toes Day Nurseries bought by Chatsworth Schools

Tiny Toes Day Nurseries, which has nurseries in Abingdon, Steventon and Wallingford, has been bought by a Chipping Norton-based education provider.

Chatsworth Schools already runs two nurseries in London, and made the purchase in a deal arranged by childcare business transfer specialist Abacus Day Nursery Sales.

The three Tiny Toes nurseries will continue to be run by existing staff and management.

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However, staff will come under the supervision of Chatsworth Schools’ director of early years, Viv Thompson, and head of nurseries, Clair Marsh.

There are no immediate plans to rebrand the nurseries, although a change of name is likely to happen at some point.

Chatsworth Schools’ chief executive, Anita Gleave, said any future changes to the operation of Tiny Toes would be carried out in consultation with the nursery community.

She said: “We were attracted by the aims and ethos of Tiny Toes Day Nurseries, which seeks to nurture, encourage, inspire and invest in each child to help them achieve their full potential.

“Each of the Tiny Toes nurseries has a unique family atmosphere and we are delighted to welcome them to Chatsworth Schools.

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“There are now 12 schools and nurseries in the Chatsworth family, and we will continue to enable outstanding futures at each and every one of them.

“We see it as our duty to build the most amazing learning experiences for all of our children and to enable innovative, caring and child focused education.

“We look forward to working with the children parents, and staff at Tiny Toes to continue to deliver this.”

The three Tiny Toes nurseries provide a total of 129 childcare places, while in its most recent financial year, it turned over more than £1 million.

All the nurseries were rated as ‘good’ at their latest Ofsted inspections.

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The first Tiny Toes nursery was established in Abingdon in 2005, with the Steventon and Wallingford sites following in 2007 and 2015 respectively.

The group’s founder Margaret Webster has emigrated, and instructed Abacus Day Nursery Sales to market the business, with a guide price of £1.625 million.

Joanne Booth, director of Abacus Day Nursery Sales, said: “We were really pleased to complete the sale of Tiny Toes, enabling our client to move on to the next stage of her life plans while ensuring that childcare of the highest standard continues to be available for local parents.

“I know the Chatsworth Schools team is committed to delivering excellence in all of their settings, and I am sure they will build on the strong foundations in place at Tiny Toes and, in partnership with parents, achieve great things over the years ahead.”