Les Petits Bellots is an independent, multi-branch, bilingual mini-crèche located in London, welcoming children from the age of 6 months to 4 years.
We offer flexible and reliable short-term childcare solutions for parents who need some ad hoc child-free time while their little ones enjoy two hours playtime and socialize in French & English.
Happy child, happy groups
Our aim is to encourage happy, confident children to take an interest in their surroundings and interact positively with others. This is achieved through a combination of free play, storytime, dancing and structural activities within bilingual sessions in French and English.
Rest for you, fun for them
Short sessions offering two-hour breaks are a great solution for those who prefer a short-term option to the longer-term nursery shifts. You get time for yourself without having to give up your child for the whole day: your child learns French, a little independence, and the ability to socialise in a happy setting.
Tailored teaching
Our mini-crèche consists of an experienced, qualified team of French and English-speaking staff, using their skills to ensure the intellectual, physical, emotional and social development of the child. We cap the classes at eight children so the teaching and playing really is unique.
Tessia’s story
Tessia Watson is the founder and principal of Les Petits Bellots. A qualified Early Years Educator with more than five years’ experience in childcare, she is also a registered childminder with Ofsted, a qualified Freestyle Dance Teacher, and a mum of two young children.
Tessia grew up surrounded by children, the house always full of family, including an aunt who was a childminder. Tessia chose to study Law and graduated in 2008, but she always had a desire to go abroad and learn English. As a route in to au pair work in San Francisco, Tessia undertook an internship in a French nursery and fell in love with the happiness, dedication and respect she saw within the nursery team. Having gone on to achieve a Master’s Degree in International HR she took a position in an American bank in London, but still harboured dreams of running her own nursery.
When Tessia had her first son she was completely transformed:
‘I was fascinated by mothering, education and raising children, and wanted to know more. Reading around the subject wasn’t enough, so I trained to become a childminder. By the time my second son arrived, I was en route to becoming an Early Years Educator.
‘My years as a stay at home mum were amazing but also hard. I realised that in the UK not many crèches existed where mothers could enjoy a short break, leaving their young children in a happy and secure environment. So I created my own!
‘I love my job, watching children grow and thrive and learn French too. And I love seeing how the parents at pickup time are just as happy as their child.’
To find out more, email info@lespetitsbellots.com
