A nursery in the heart of Frome is celebrating 30 years of caring for the youngest members of the town’s community.
Rainbow Nursery was bought by the current owners, Mary Butler and Ruth Thomas, in 1995.
It began as a part-time playschool for children aged two and over, before expanding—following renovations—to become one of the first nurseries in Frome to welcome babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
The expansion meant the nursery began opening from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year.
One of the owners, Ruth Thomas, said, “During the 30 years, there have been many challenges to face, including the introduction of Ofsted and the Early Years Foundation Stage. A burst pipe caused substantial flooding throughout the nursery, meaning we had to move children and staff to Wesley Church for a short time in order to support our working parents.
“We have also been burgled, with thieves stealing charity money raised by our families for a children’s bereavement charity. However, at the time the local community rallied and donated over £1,500 to replace the lost charity money.
“We have, over the years, supported many charities, including Frome Birth Talk, Fair Frome, Children in Need and Comic Relief, raising thousands of pounds.
“Rainbow was one of the only local nurseries that remained open during Covid-19, caring for the children of vital keyworkers.
“Throughout all these challenges, we have had amazing staff and families supporting us along the way. Many of the children who were on our registers back in 1995 are now enrolling their own children with us—how time flies!
“Our ethos at Rainbow Nursery is that children flourish as they learn through play, and play is most definitely the name of the game. We joined the Curiosity Approach Accreditation in 2020, and in 2021 we won the ‘Enabling Environment Award’—all credit must go to the staff team!
“Happy birthday to Rainbow—here’s to celebrating many more years!”
For more information about nursery places from September, please email rainbowfrome@aol.com for availability.
