Early Learning Centre

History of ELC.co.uk

Early Learning Centre ("elc") was established with the aim of providing fun yet educational toys to babies, toddlers and young children, providing stimulation at each developmental stage. They want to help children to develop into confident and happy individuals and they stock toys that have been designed to help develop vital life skills including gross and fine motor skills, sharing and turn taking, curiosity, imagination, creativity and achievement.

The toys are so much fun to play with that the children don't even realise they're learning, and it has been well established that children learn best through play.

All of the toys sold through elc.co.uk or within the Early Learning Centre stores exceed any and all British and European safety standards and elc is associated with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Their toys are tested vigorously and in all manners to ensure that your children can play safely.

The company's first store was opened in the 1970s and there are now 150 stores nationwide including several within Mothercare stores as well as some Debenhams, Sainsbury's and Boots stores; there are even 80 stores in 19 countries outside the UK.

There are always plenty of toys out on display that are intended to be played with so that your children can test out and explore different things to enjoy, helping you to make informed purchasing decisions. Each Tuesday morning, in stores across the country, elc host playtime sessions that include craft and other activities and competitions to get involved with. Staff are happy to help customers to choose appropriate toys for their little ones, too, which is particularly helpful if you are choosing a present for a young child you don't know very well.

Through elc.co.uk you can browse over 2,000 toys and order online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for items to be delivered to your door or to be collected in store. You can search for toys by gender and/or age of the child for whom you wish to buy, making choosing your purchase very easy. Occasionally, vouchers and discount codes are available for elc purchases, helping you to grab a bargain - stock up for birthdays, Christmas and gifts for birthday parties.

Brands

Within each of elc.co.uk's 9 departments there are big brand names, lesser known brands and elc's own products. Just some of these are listed below:

1. Baby and toddler toys - Blossom Farm, Baby Safari, Bright Starts, Chicco, Fisher Price, Lego Duplo, Happyland, VTech.2. Outdoor toys and games - Little Tikes, Smart Trike.3. Dolls' houses and toy dolls - Disney Princess, Disney Frozen, Rosebud Village, Silver Cross.4. Dressing up and pretend play - Bosch, Disney Frozen, Disney Princess, Marvel, the Puppet Company.5. Action figures and play sets - Big City, Playmobil, Lego, Thomas & Friends.6. Vehicles and construction - Big City, Build It, Lego.7. Learning and books - Vtech, Usborne.8. Art, music and creative play - Aquadoodle, Melissa & Doug, Bits & Basics9. Puzzles, games and gifts - Brainbox, Orchard Toys

Opening Times

You can order online at elc.co.uk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for home delivery or to collect in store during opening hours.

You can also order by phone, Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm, Saturdays 9am - 6pm and Sundays 9am - 5pm. Store opening times vary depending on location - there is a handy 'store finder' facility at elc.co.uk to help you find your closest store and see the relevant opening times for that store - you can even search for a store which has facilities that you particularly require, such as full wheelchair access, baby feeding facilities, parking and play areas.

Delivery Information

You can have your online purchases delivered to any elc store free of charge - you must collect your items within 7 days of being notified that they have arrived in store and are ready to be collected.

Home delivery is available free on all orders of over £50; for orders of less than £50 you will be charged a standard delivery fee of just £3.95 per order (not per item). Standard delivery usually takes 3 - 5 days. You can pay £4.95 per order for express delivery: order before 4pm and receive your items on the next working day (these deliveries are available Monday to Saturday, 7am - 9pm. Some postcodes are excluded from home delivery - please check elc.co.uk before ordering for home delivery.

Returns Policy

If you wish to return an unused item for any reason, you can do so within 28 days and receive an exchange or a refund if you produce your receipt and if the product is in its original packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights. There are some exclusions, such as DVDs, gift vouchers/cards and toiletries. You can return your item to any elc store and you can also use the Collect+ service if you ordered online - this is a free service that enables you to have your item collected from a convenient local shop (you will need to print a returns postage label, free of charge) to be returned.

Security & Reviews

Internet security is a high priority for elc.co.uk and they have put in place various measures to keep your personal and payment information secure and confidential, helping you to shop in safety online. Encryption software is used for each transaction and elc.co.uk is also a member of the UK industry safety standard, Internet Shopping is Safe (ISIS) programme. Further, all communication between you and el.co.uk is protected by the Verisign Secure Site Programme.

Products available through elc usually have several reviews available on the elc.co.uk site, helping you to make an informed choice when buying a product. These reviews are guaranteed by elc to be genuine and from real elc customers who have actually bought and used the products they have reviewed. The reviews are collected by email and are verified by Reevoo, which is an independent company. No reviews are paid for by elc and negative reviews are never deleted, so you can get a whole picture of what you are buying.