A new children’s nursery in Newtown marks "exciting new chapter" for childcare in the town.

Curious World Day Nursery has opened after the owners of Little World Day Nursery and Canbee Curious Day Nursery entered into a partnership.

The new setting will care for up to 56 children, split across three age groupings, at the former Canbee Curious premises on the Mochdre Industrial Estate.

Joint owners and managers Lydia Waters and Amy Coney said the merger marked “an exciting new chapter” for childcare in Newtown.

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In a joint statement, Lydia and Amy said: “We are extremely proud and excited to be launching our new joint venture.

“We are both passionate about providing high-quality childcare that follows the children’s lead and supports them to become creative, confident learners.

“Over time it became apparent that from this shared ethos we could strengthen our offering by bringing our two nurseries together.”

The two owners have worked together before when Amy was employed at Little World while she was a student and have closely supported each other since Canbee Curious opened in 2020.

They have said that there would be much being carried over from both of the nurseries that made them so successful.

“There have been no redundancies from either business, and our new combined team of 25 experienced childcare workers captures a vast and varied skillset that will help us keep driving for continual improvement," the statement added.

“We would like to thank our nursery families and staff for putting their faith in our shared vision and supporting us through this transition.”

Curious World provides full day care from 7.45am to 5.45pm Monday to Friday for children aged six months up to school age. Three- and four-year-old children can access up to 30 hours per week of funded childcare at the setting.

The nursery will be working towards obtaining Curiosity Approach accreditation, centred on “inspiring children to be inquisitive and creative, follow their passions and interests and explore their surroundings freely”.

The merger means the former Little World premises, the old Welsh Congregational Chapel on Milford Road, will soon be put up for sale. The church had been the nursery’s home since it opened in 1999.

Parents and carers interested in reserving a place at Curious World are asked to contact the nursery by emailing curiousworldoffice@gmail.com or calling 01686 639106.