Applepips Day Nursery, Heritage House

Rosebuds has a decked garden area; Treetops has a lawn for exploring in different weather. Those separate outdoor spaces give Applepips Day Nursery, Heritage House a clear practical character: younger and older children have places to play that match their stage of development. With 25 places in total, this Rustington setting is spread across two floors.

At its 13 February 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance to meet the Expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. That position comes with two substantive development points: making teaching consistently purposeful and helping children understand the effects of their behaviour.

The room bands run from six months to five years, with Rosebuds for younger children and Treetops for preschool children. Morning, afternoon, School Day and Full Day bookings can be combined, with term-time and full-year attendance options.

Rooms and Ages

Rosebuds, for six months to three years, combines low-level toys for independent choices, a space for craft and messy activities, child-sized mealtime furniture and access to decking for physical play. The arrangement gives younger children different ways to explore, rather than relying on one type of activity throughout their session.

Treetops, for three to five years, takes up to 14 children per session and combines activities led by adults with children's own play choices, individual planning for the move to school and use of the larger outdoor space. That room limit is separate from the nursery's total capacity. It describes the preschool session, rather than how many children attend across the week.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the required framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, its practical meaning includes learning through play, developing language, exploring mathematical ideas and practising physical skills, alongside everyday independence.

In February 2026, staff joined children's play and supplied words for what they were doing, then left time for children to respond. With babies, this included naming actions during play. The useful detail is the exchange: language was connected to something a child was already doing, rather than introduced only during an organised group activity.

Mathematical experiences at that time included counting petals in water and experimenting with jugs and funnels to explore how much containers could hold. These were concrete ways of encountering number and measurement. They also show how ordinary play materials can carry an educational purpose.

Consistency was the weakness. In February 2026, training had not yet become established throughout staff practice, and some opportunities to extend learning arose by chance rather than through deliberate teaching. The next steps called for closer coaching and monitoring of individual teaching skills. For parents, the distinction matters: engaging activities and consistently effective adult input are separate parts of the nursery day.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is divided between Rosebuds' decking and the lawn used by Treetops. Younger children use their outdoor area for daily physical development, while older children can explore the lawn in all weathers. Outdoor play therefore has a defined place in both rooms' arrangements.

In February 2026, children ran and worked their way around garden obstacles; older children attempted a balance beam with some adult help, while babies reached for and kicked balls. These examples give substance to the physical side of the day, with challenges appropriate to different stages rather than one activity expected to suit everyone.

At the February 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that the key-person system helped children develop secure relationships, that babies' routines were informed by parents, and that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made progress with support involving families and external professionals. This gives parents a dated assessment of how relationships and additional support worked in practice.

The everyday mechanisms were concrete. In February 2026, staff gathered information about babies' sleeping habits, and children moving between rooms spent time getting to know their new practitioners. Staff used children's play preferences to help make those changes familiar. For a child who finds change difficult, that preparation is more useful than simply assigning a new room.

Independence also appeared in small routines at that time: babies practised using cutlery, children attempted handwashing with help, and older children prepared themselves for outdoor play. These are manageable tasks through which children can take a greater part in their own care.

Heritage House has a lead SENCO role within its team. Its food arrangements include a trial of the Little Tums Cold Tea Menu, giving families a specific menu option to discuss where dietary needs affect attendance.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 80-82 Woodlands Avenue, Rustington, Littlehampton, BN16 3EY. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with weekends closed. The Heritage House enquiry route includes an online enquiry option and telephone contact on 01903 774464.

Full Morning runs from 8am to 1pm and Full Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. School Day runs from 8am to 4pm, while Full Day covers 8am to 6pm. These are separate booking choices: a parent needing a shorter afternoon has a different option from one needing coverage until the end of the working day.

Bookings can be for term time or a full year of 48 weeks. Shift-pattern provision is restricted to a limited number of spaces for parents needing flexibility. Fees are payable monthly in advance, and a holding fee is returned when the nursery place is taken up.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible children from nine months, for up to 30 hours each week. Hours can be used during term time or stretched across the year. Additional sessions outside the funded entitlement are charged at the current sessional rate, so the attendance pattern and the funded allocation need to be considered separately.

Meals and nappies are included in full sessional prices. For funded attendance, meals are a separately charged opt-in extra; choosing funded hours therefore does not give the same meal-cost arrangement as paying the full sessional price. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page explains the booking and funding structure.

• Teaching consistency. February 2026's development points included coaching staff to make better use of learning opportunities. During a visit, ask how staff now plan and review the adult input in children's play.
• Behaviour guidance. In February 2026, some children were not consistently helped to understand how their actions affected others. Ask how practitioners explain expectations and follow through when difficulties arise.
• The younger room. Rosebuds spans six months to three years and has several activity areas plus its own decking. A useful visit question is how babies' routines and toddlers' more active play are organised within that shared age band.
• Funded meals. Meals are an opt-in charge during funded attendance, while full sessional prices include meals and nappies. Have the written quotation distinguish the chosen sessions, funded hours and meal option before agreeing a booking.

Heritage House suits families looking for morning or afternoon sessions as well as School Day or Full Day attendance, with a choice between term-time and full-year bookings. Rosebuds and Treetops provide recognisable stages, and their separate outdoor areas give the physical arrangements substance.

The February 2026 assessment supports the care relationships and children's progress, while leaving clear work on teaching consistency and behaviour guidance. Those development points deserve attention alongside the practical appeal of the rooms and attendance choices.