Bright Horizons Families UK

22/09/2026

A lot can happen in a few short years. We're proud to be part of every step.

21/09/2026

🌟Could a £200 Mama and Papas voucher be yours🌟

To celebrate our upcoming Open Day on 3rd October 2026, we’re giving one lucky family the chance to win a £200 Mamas & Papas voucher.

How to enter: 
✅ Follow our page
✅ Like and save this post
✅ Comment what you’d most like to find out when visiting a nursery
✨ Bonus entry: Tag a friend in the comments

Entries close on Monday 28th September 2026 at 11:59 PM. The winner will be contacted via DM on Tuesday 29th September 2026.

Want to join us at our Open Day? We’re opening our doors on 3rd October, 10am–1pm. Book your space through the link in our bio.

Entrants must be 18+ and based in the UK. Entries on Facebook and Instagram will be combined. This competition is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Instagram or Facebook.

Good luck!  
 
CompetitionTime

18/09/2026

From helping children thrive and supporting families, to creating brighter communities and making sustainability part of everyday learning, there’s so much more to the story.

Download our 2026 UK Impact Report: https://showcase.brighthorizons.co.uk/impact-report-2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=impact_report26

11/09/2026

Congratulations, Class of 2026! 🎓

This summer, more than 6,000 Bright Horizons children celebrated an incredible milestone as they graduated from nursery and prepared for their next adventure.

We've loved being part of your story and watching you grow into the curious, creative, kind and confident individuals you are today.

Good luck as you take your next big step. We can't wait to see where your next chapter takes you. 💛

10/09/2026

🌱 We’re proud to be featured in the Eco-Schools Impact Report 2026.
 
This year, 68 Bright Horizons nurseries achieved the Eco-Schools Early Years Green Flag Award, recognising the incredible sustainability work taking place across our settings. From creating wildlife-friendly spaces and growing produce to reducing waste and learning about protecting our planet, children have been discovering how even small actions can make a big difference.
 
Swipe through to explore four of the inspiring nursery projects featured in the report. 💚
 

09/09/2026

School readiness starts long before the school gates.

Through meaningful experiences, nurturing relationships and everyday moments of growth, we support children develop the skills they’ll carry with them into school and beyond.

We’re proud to be part of every child’s unique journey.

✨ To find out how we prepare children for life beyond nursery, book a tour today: https://www.brighthorizons.co.uk/

08/09/2026

It’s International Literacy Week, and we’re feeling a little nostalgic. 
 
We took to the streets outside to ask one simple question:
What’s your favourite childhood book and why?
 
The answers reminded us that books are about so much more than stories.
They hold memories, spark imagination, and stay with us long after the final page.
From Winnie-the-Pooh, read at bedtime by a dad night after night, to Where the Wild Things Are, inspiring endless adventures and imagination, each answer had a story behind it.
Now we’d love to hear yours. 💙
 
Tell us in the comments: What’s your favourite childhood book and why?
 
Was it a book that made you laugh? One that became part of your bedtime routine? Or one that sparked your imagination and stayed with you forever?
 
One lucky winner will receive a Waterstones voucher to help create even more story time memories.
To enter: 
✅ Follow
✅ Like and save this post
✅ Comment your favourite childhood book and why
✨ Bonus entry: Tag someone you’d share a story with
 

31/08/2026

The early years go by in the blink of an eye. Choosing where your child will learn, grow and thrive is a big decision, and we’re here to help you take that first step confidently.

Join us at our Open Day to discover how we support children through every stage of their early years journey.

If you haven’t secured your place yet, book your visit today via the link in our bio.

📅 Saturday 3rd October, 10am – 1pm (dates and times may vary by nursery)

28/08/2026

A lot can happen in a few short years.

From settling into nursery to building confidence, friendships and independence, we’re proud to have been part of every step.

Congratulations, Class of 2026! We can’t wait to see what comes next. 🎓

27/08/2026

Something special is coming to Brentwood… 👀

Bright, open rooms, a spacious wrap-around garden and opportunities for Forest School adventures. All just a 7-minute walk from Brentwood station. 🌿

We’re not open just yet, but places are already available to reserve.

Register your interest via the link in our bio.

17/07/2026

🏃‍♀️⚽ Ready, Steady, GO! ⚽🏃‍♂️

Continuing with our transporting theme this week, Becca introduced a firm favourite – balls! The children were excited to discover that all of the balls had become dirty after being placed in the wet sand. Their challenge was to transport the balls and get them clean again!

The children eagerly searched for the balls, picking them up and rolling them down a variety of slopes and pieces of guttering, watching with delight as they splashed into the bubbly water below. They were highly engaged throughout the activity and demonstrated excellent focus and curiosity as they explored.

Some children showed a great understanding of cause and effect, waiting patiently before releasing the balls and excitedly shouting “Go!” as they watched them travel down the ramps.

Throughout the experience, the children developed their hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills, communication and language, and early scientific thinking as they explored how objects move and interact with different materials.
Well done, 0-2s! It was wonderful to see you so engaged, curious, and enthusiastic throughout 💦⚽

17/07/2026

🌞 Fun in the Sun 🌞

Our Preschool children have been making the most of the beautiful weather while exploring a wide range of exciting learning opportunities in the garden. Throughout the day, the children demonstrated excellent hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills as they climbed, balanced, and used large construction blocks to create different structures and imaginative dens. The children worked collaboratively, communicating effectively with one another, sharing ideas, and showing fantastic teamwork to achieve their goals.

The children also enjoyed exploring a variety of mathematical concepts through hands-on play. They used number boards to recognise and identify numerals, carefully matching the correct quantity of bolts to each number. During water play, they experimented with capacity and volume, using jugs and containers to fill, pour, and compare amounts.

The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning outdoors, developing their physical, mathematical, communication, and problem-solving skills through meaningful play experiences. It has been wonderful to see their confidence, creativity, and curiosity flourish in the sunshine.

We are all enjoying these sunny days and making the most of our outdoor learning opportunities! ☀️

Super work, Preschool! 🌟

16/07/2026

💛 Feelings and Reflections 💛

In our 0-2s room, the children enjoyed exploring different emotions through a fun and interactive puppet experience. We introduced puppets that represented happy and sad feelings, encouraging the children to begin recognising and responding to different emotions.

The children were very engaged, eagerly exploring the puppets and attempting to place them on their own hands. Through this playful experience, the children developed their curiosity, communication skills, and understanding of emotions.

We also spent time looking in a reflective mirror together, making different facial expressions and talking about how they made us feel. The children enjoyed observing themselves and others in the mirror, especially when I modelled smiling, laughing, and other expressions. Many of the children responded with smiles and laughter of their own, creating lots of joyful interactions and positive connections.

This experience supported the children's personal, social and emotional development by helping them to recognise emotions, build self-awareness, and develop their understanding of themselves and others. It was a lovely morning filled with smiles, laughter, and meaningful opportunities for learning through play. 😊✨

16/07/2026

🧊 Ice Melting Investigation 🧊

Rising Three’s became scientists as they took part in an exciting ice melting investigation!

The children began by exploring the ice with their hands, using descriptive words such as “cold” and “hard” to explain how it felt. Before the investigation started, the children made their own predictions about what they thought would happen when warm water was poured over the ice.

As they carefully poured the warm water, the children watched with fascination as the ice slowly began to melt. Hidden beneath the ice were number flashcards, creating an exciting element of discovery and encouraging the children to stay engaged throughout the activity. As each number was revealed, the children confidently identified the numerals, counted together, and discussed the changes they could see as the solid ice transformed into water.

Using spoons, the children carefully scooped and transported the ice into bowls, helping to develop their hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and concentration. They demonstrated perseverance as they practised controlling their movements and aiming the ice into the bowls. Suzie further supported their mathematical development by encouraging them to count each piece of ice as they transferred it.

This engaging activity provided opportunities to develop communication and language skills, mathematical understanding, physical development, and early scientific thinking as the children explored cause and effect, made predictions, and observed changes in materials.

What a wonderful morning of investigating, discovering, and learning through play! 🥄🧊✨

15/07/2026

Superworm is Super Strong... Superworm is Super Long! 🌟

Our Book of the Month for July is Superworm by Julia Donaldson, and the children have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this exciting story during circle time. They are becoming increasingly familiar with the story and have started to join in with some of the repetitive language, proudly repeating phrases from the book as we read together.

Following the story, the children explored playdough using their hands to roll and mould it into long worm shapes. Some children created small worms, while others carefully rolled the playdough to make very long worms, just like Superworm! This experience supported the development of their fine motor skills as they squeezed, rolled and manipulated the dough.

It was wonderful to see the children's imaginations come to life throughout the experience. One child proudly held up her worm and excitedly vocalised, "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!", while another began singing our Song of the Month, "There's a worm at the bottom of the garden." The children were fully engaged, making connections between stories, songs and their play experiences.

This activity encouraged communication, creativity and physical development, while fostering a love of books and storytelling. 📚💛

15/07/2026

💦🌊 Water Play Fun in 0-2's! 🥄🥁

In the 0-2's room, the children had a wonderful time exploring our water play area. They enjoyed pouring, filling and splashing the water using a variety of containers, as well as investigating how the water felt as they splashed with their hands and feet. The children were fully engaged as they explored the different movements and sounds the water could make.

To make the experience even more exciting, we sang the "Bangedy Bang" song from Boogie Mites. Inspired by the music, the children used spoons to bang on pots and pans, creating their own rhythms and beats. They listened carefully to the sounds they made and enthusiastically joined in with the song, expressing themselves through movement and music.

This sensory-rich experience encouraged the children to explore, communicate and develop their coordination while having lots of fun with their peers 💫

14/07/2026

🐛 Rising Threes – Number Fun! 🔢🎨

Rising Threes enjoyed exploring numbers through a fun and engaging caterpillar activity. The children took turns choosing a piece of paper and carefully turning it over to reveal a number. Some children were able to recognise the number straight away, while others were supported to identify it, helping to build their confidence in number recognition.

Together, we counted aloud up to the number shown, with everyone joining in and encouraging one another. Using paint pens, the children carefully added dots to their caterpillars, counting each dot as it was placed to ensure it matched the number they had revealed. This supported the development of one-to-one correspondence as the children linked each spoken number to a dot.

The experience encouraged turn-taking, listening, counting, number recognition, fine motor control and early mathematical skills, all while sharing a fun learning experience together. It was lovely to see the children working collaboratively, celebrating each other's achievements, and showing great enthusiasm throughout.

👏 Well done, Rising Threes! We all worked together and had lots of fun learning with numbers.

14/07/2026

🌾🐄 Farmyard Fun in 0-2's! 🐑🚜

In our 0-2's room, the children enjoyed an exciting farm-themed tuff tray experience. We provided green playdough to represent the grass alongside a variety of farm animals for the children to explore.

The children loved pressing the animals' feet into the playdough to make different marks and footprints, developing their curiosity and early exploration skills. We also enjoyed singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", joining in with the animal sounds and actions together. The children were enthusiastic and engaged throughout the experience, and lots of smiles and laughter were shared throughout.

What a fun-filled morning of learning and exploration! 🐷🐴🐮

10/07/2026

🌟 We’re Hiring – Come Join Our Nursery Team 🌟

Due to continued growth, Bright Horizons Astley is on the lookout for qualified/unqualified and passionate individuals to join our team,
If you:

✨ Genuinely enjoy working with young children
✨ Like being part of a team that supports each other
✨ Bring a bit of creativity, care and patience to what you do
…then you’d fit right in with us 😊

We’re all about creating a positive environment for both the children and the staff, with opportunities to learn, grow and develop along the way..

📩 If you’re interested, or know someone who might be, comment below and we will get back to you.

And feel free to share – it really helps! Thank you 💛

Nursery – Bright Horizons Astley Salary – £14.04 per hour Location – Astley, Manchester Are you looking to work for an organisation whose culture is driven by our HEART principles – Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork? Where you can be yourself, feel supported, and he...

10/07/2026

🌻💦 Sunflower Care and Measuring Fun! 💦🌻

A few weeks ago, for Earth Day, we planted sunflower seeds in the tyres along the side of the nursery. Since then, children from across the nursery have worked together to care for them, watching them grow taller and taller each week. 🌱🌻
This week, our Pre-School and Rising 3s joined together to water the sunflowers. The children took turns using the watering cans, demonstrating excellent sharing skills and teamwork as they helped care for our plants.

Some of the Pre-School children were keen to find out just how tall our sunflowers had grown, so they used measuring tapes to investigate! 📏 The Pre-School sunflower measured 53cm tall, whilst the nursery sunflower reached an impressive 79cm tall. The children described them as “massive” and “big” and were excited to compare the different heights.

Using paper and clipboards, the children recorded their findings, developing their early mathematical skills and practising number formation as they independently wrote down the measurements. 🔢✏️

This wonderful activity encouraged the children to care for their environment, work collaboratively, and develop their understanding of growth, measurement, and the natural world. The children were incredibly proud of their efforts and loved posing for a photograph beside their towering sunflowers to show just how much they have grown! 🌻😊

We can't wait to continue watching them grow and are excited to see their beautiful sunflower heads appear soon. Well done, everyone! 👏🏻🌻💦📏✨