Munchkins Nursery & Pre-School Dunton Park

A garden of their own for babies, toddlers and preschool children gives Dunton Park a clear identity: outdoor play belongs to each stage of nursery life. This purpose-built setting on Warwick Crescent, Laindon, combines direct garden access with Makaton signing for babies and a school preparation programme for older children. Children can choose between playing inside and outside. That choice shapes the day.

At its 21 November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. The detail behind that judgement matters: children cooked over a firepit, used signs before they could speak and practised everyday independence.

The nursery accepts children aged 3 to 59 months. Full-day attendance is the main booking pattern, with a reduced attendance arrangement for children eligible only for the universal funded entitlement.

Rooms and Ages

The Nest is the baby room, with natural daylight, its own outdoor space and wooden equipment for physical exploration; The Burrow supports toddlers' independence through a self-care station, supported self-service at meals and a garden for balancing and climbing; The Den gives preschool children spaces for construction, reading, crafts, playdough and imaginative play, alongside a mud kitchen and climbing wall outside.

Each room's garden access makes outdoor play an everyday choice.

Children move through the rooms at their own pace.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support communication, physical development and learning about other people and the world. Dunton Park adds concrete practices alongside that framework, rather than relying on a curriculum name alone.

Makaton signing starts in the baby room and continues as children grow, with further signs introduced alongside language. It gives children a way to communicate before speech develops. In November 2024, babies used signs to greet people and request more food, while staff used Makaton across the setting. The current baby-room approach therefore has a practical example behind it.

The group-wide Ready, Steady, School programme develops preschool children's confidence, social skills and independence ahead of Reception, alongside The Den's child-chosen activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

Wooden climbing equipment gives physical play a substantial place here. The toddler garden supports jumping and balancing, while preschool children have a large wooden climbing area as well as the climbing wall and mud kitchen. These spaces offer different ways to move and explore as children develop.

In November 2024, outdoor learning also included cooking pancakes over an open firepit with staff support. Children discussed heat and safety while taking part in the cooking. The activity brought practical risk awareness into something they could experience directly, rather than leaving safety as an abstract instruction.

Community experiences reached beyond the gardens. During that same period, outings helped children learn about other people's lives, and a Black History Month activity involved decorating stones for the local community. Babies also explored garden sand and the feel of ice in a sensory tray. The examples show how physical exploration and learning about the wider world appeared in the nursery day.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2024, staff knew their key children well and used their interests when planning learning. Children sought out friends and chose activities enthusiastically. That attention to individual interests gave practitioners a starting point for conversations and activities, rather than expecting every child to engage in the same way.

Families were involved through daily updates, parents' evenings and open days. Learning bags offered practical guidance on topics including potty training and a new baby at home. These connected nursery support with changes families might be managing outside the setting, making parent partnership more useful than a list of activities completed during the day.

Transition work also had a practical form in November 2024: teachers met children and discussed their development with nursery staff before they moved on. This gave the receiving adults information about the child, alongside an opportunity for children to meet them.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and reported that staff worked with external professionals on tailored support plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who made excellent progress. This is a dated assessment of practice, with individual planning and professional cooperation behind it.

Other November 2024 observations put emotional support into everyday terms. Children could use quieter spaces to read and talk through feelings with staff. At meals, they practised pouring drinks and cutting fruit under supervision; older children managed outdoor clothing themselves. Care and learning met in these ordinary routines, giving children supported opportunities to manage emotions and become more independent.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Warwick Crescent, Laindon, Basildon, SS15 6JQ, on the Dunton Park estate, with access to the A127. Direct enquiries can be made on 01268 744004 or by email to duntonpark@munchkins-nursery.co.uk.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates for 51 weeks each year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Full days are sold across attendance patterns from two to five days per week, and the normal minimum is two full days. Additional private hours are charged separately.

A one-day attendance pattern is offered where a child is eligible only for the universal 15-hour funded entitlement. Attendance arrangements remain subject to availability, operational requirements and staffing ratios. This exception matters for families seeking a smaller weekly commitment: it belongs to a specific funded entitlement rather than being a general alternative to the usual booking minimum.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 and 30 funded hours are offered. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, with fees annualised and divided into equal monthly payments. This spreads the funded provision through the operating year rather than concentrating it into term time. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

The group-wide Enrichment Care Package separates funded education from food and enhanced services. Parents may opt out of any element, including food or enhanced services, and receive their funded hours at no additional cost. Under that arrangement, attendance days may change termly; staff absence can also affect attendance if the nursery cannot meet staffing ratios. Families should weigh the attendance conditions alongside the charge structure.

Food is charged separately within the funded-hours package, covering breakfast, snacks, a cooked lunch and afternoon tea; the nursery's food arrangements include catering for allergies. Nappies, wipes, creams and suncream are supplied without a separate charge, including under the funded-hours care package.

Enhanced services carry separate charges within the package. Examples include cooking and baking, gardening that involves growing fruit and vegetables, and Forest School, an optional enhanced service. Parents can opt out of these elements. The distinction is useful when comparing costs: funded hours, food, non-food supplies and additional activities have different positions and should remain separate in a quotation.

• Attendance commitment. The usual minimum is two full days, while a one-day pattern is offered for children eligible only for the universal 15-hour entitlement. At a visit, discuss which arrangement fits your child's eligibility and your weekly routine.
• Package choices and continuity. Parents can opt out of food and enhanced services, but funded attendance days may alter termly and staff absence can affect attendance where ratios cannot be met. Discuss how the nursery would organise your child's week under your chosen package.
• Your baby's routine. The Nest combines a garden with signing from the start. During a show-around, ask how settling and sleep would be organised around your baby's existing routines.
• Allergy arrangements. Food provision includes catering for allergies. Families managing an allergy should confirm current preparation and serving practice before agreeing the food package.

Dunton Park suits families who value outdoor choice, early communication through signing and a gradual emphasis on independence before school. Separate gardens for each room are the strongest practical feature: the physical environment changes with children's stage while keeping outdoor play close by.

Its attendance offer serves families booking two or more full days and those eligible only for the universal 15-hour funded entitlement who want the one-day arrangement. The important decision is how that pattern combines with stretched funding and the optional package elements. The November 2024 Outstanding judgement gives this nursery a strong inspection position; its rooms and clearly separated charge categories give families concrete features to weigh alongside it.