Bright Horizons Old Shoreham Day Nursery and Preschool

A Fairy Tree, a Mud Kitchen and a Vegetable Garden give Old Shoreham's outdoor provision a recognisable character. Inside, bright play rooms, a Quiet Space and a Sleep Room provide different settings for activity and rest. These are useful details for families weighing how a child will spend the day, rather than simply how childcare fits around work.

Bright Horizons Old Shoreham Day Nursery and Preschool has capacity for 97 children aged 5 to 60 months, at 418 Upper Shoreham Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, BN43 5NE. At its 23 November 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and identified parent partnership as a strength, while requiring better activity planning and more discussion of online safety beyond nursery.

That dated judgement needs to be read alongside the organisational safeguarding notice issued in June 2026, discussed below. It is a material part of the decision for families considering this branch.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the foundation for learning and care: children develop skills through play, conversation and everyday experiences. Alongside it, the group-wide Bright Beginnings Curriculum combines activities intended to build skills and support development through room changes and preparation for school. For parents, the useful distinction is between the shared early years framework and the group's additional curriculum.

Large play rooms contain resources suited to children's ages. In November 2023, babies, toddlers and preschool children each had their own base rooms, giving the different age groups defined spaces for play and care. Toddlers chose dressing-up clothes, while older children selected a favourite book through a vote. Those examples show children taking an active part in decisions about their day.

Stories also connected nursery and home in November 2023. Children could borrow books to share with their families, and toddlers read with staff on cushions or in comfortable corners. This gave books a place in quieter play as well as organised story sessions.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Garden includes a Vegetable Garden, Mud Kitchen and Fairy Tree. These give families concrete outdoor features to consider alongside the indoor play rooms, with space for growing and imaginative play.

In November 2023, outdoor activities included looking for insects, digging, clearing leaves and practising balance. Older children gathered sticks before making hedgehog houses indoors, connecting something collected outdoors with a later activity. During the growing season, children cared for fruit and vegetables that were subsequently used in meals.

Activity organisation was less consistent. In November 2023, some explanations were delivered too quickly, and a sand-and-water activity became crowded enough to interrupt play. These are practical weaknesses: interesting materials alone do not ensure that each child has the space and support to use them well.

Babies received physical comfort and reassurance from staff in November 2023. Daily conversations with parents shared children's achievements, providing a regular link between home and nursery. For a family choosing baby care, those everyday exchanges matter alongside the physical provision of a Sleep Room and Quiet Space.

The group-wide Settling In Sessions introduce families to nursery through time spent getting familiar with it. These sessions give families time to become familiar with the nursery.

In its outcome dated 22 June 2026, Ofsted recorded a Welfare Requirements Notice covering the provider's organisational safeguarding arrangements, explaining that the actions did not reflect concerns at every individual setting but that consistently effective safeguarding across its provision had not been demonstrated. The required actions covered senior oversight, implementation of policies, handling and escalation of concerns, allegations against staff, and monitoring training and supervision, with a deadline of 1 August 2026.

The latest published outcome, dated 22 June 2026, records that notice and its required actions. It should not be read as a finding that this branch had every weakness identified elsewhere, or as confirmation that the actions have been completed.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year, with closures for an inset day, bank and public holidays, and the period between Christmas and New Year. Families planning continuous childcare need to allow for those breaks.

The fee structure covers attendance from one to five days a week. Funded childcare uses 10-hour sessions beginning when the nursery opens; additional attendance beyond the funded session is charged separately. The purchase of additional hours is non-mandatory and is not a condition of accessing a funded place.

Enquiries can be made directly on 01273 090 687. Onsite Parking and a Buggy Park are provided, and the location has access to the Shoreham Bypass.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 funded hours, stretched over 50 weeks. Funded hours, additional paid childcare and food are separate parts of the charging structure, so the attendance pattern matters when comparing the total cost. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Private fees include meals and snacks, nappies, wipes and formula for babies under 1 year; food on funded places is charged separately, with a non-mandatory charge that is not a condition of accessing funding. An on-site chef prepares food, and consumables associated with funded hours are supplied by Bright Horizons.

A registration charge applies. Fees are paid monthly in advance by direct debit, making the timing of payments another part of the household budget.

• Organisational safeguarding actions. The notice dated 22 June 2026 required action by 1 August 2026. Before joining, ask what changes apply at Old Shoreham and what subsequent official outcome is available.
• Space during activities. In November 2023, crowding and hurried explanations sometimes interrupted learning. On a personal tour, ask how staff organise shared activities so children have room to participate.
• Settling and rest. A Sleep Room, Quiet Space and group-wide Settling In Sessions are part of the offer. Discuss how familiarisation and sleep arrangements would work for your child.
• Funded attendance and closures. Funding is stretched over 50 weeks, while the nursery closes for an inset day and over Christmas and New Year. Request a written breakdown for your intended days, including the food-charge arrangement.

Old Shoreham suits families considering either attendance on selected weekdays or a full working-week pattern, with year-round opening, onsite parking and practical essentials included in private fees. Its outdoor features and the November 2023 examples of book borrowing, growing produce and child choice give substance to the play-based offer.

That assessment needs to be weighed alongside the later safeguarding notice. Activity organisation deserves attention, and the June 2026 organisational safeguarding notice makes the provider's subsequent actions a central joining question.