A new nursery’s open day has donated parents’ registration fees to raise funds for a Special Care Baby Unit.

Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery, a new nursery opening in Watford, has donated 50 per cent of registration fees from its open day held on August 16 and 17.

The money has gone towards the charity ‘Raise’, which will fund specialist equipment and room refurbishments for the special care baby units of Watford General, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans City hospital.

Ritika Verma, who manages the new nursery alongside her husband Sachin Verma, has said: “The idea to own a day nursery came to me around three years ago following the birth of my second child and this desire became stronger day-by-day. Finding the Monkey Puzzle franchise, and having the support of their head office team, has been invaluable in our journey.”

“Being able to support the Special Care Baby Unit was an added bonus. Not only does it provide a vital service for our community, but we may also look after children that have directly benefited from the unit, so it’s great to be able to give back to our community.”

Some purchases will include a kangaroo chair and a modesty screen, for parents to care for low weight or premature babies in private.

The Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries franchise has more than 60 childcare settings nationwide, making us the UK’s largest childcare franchise network and the third largest childcare provider overall.