St Peter's Day Nursery

Outdoor access from every classroom gives St Peter's Day Nursery a clear practical identity: a purpose-built setting where outside play need not depend on moving children through another room. There are three classrooms. In South Ham, Basingstoke, the nursery accepts children from two months to five years, bringing baby care and preparation for the next stage together in one setting.

At its 4 November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those receiving additional funding, were making good progress. The strongest examples concerned language, independence and relationships: adults extended children's vocabulary, encouraged younger children to feed themselves and helped older children manage their own coats.

Term-time attendance and care across 50 weeks are both offered, alongside full-time and part-time places. That gives families more than one way to organise attendance; the age-dependent minimum bookings matter just as much as the opening hours.

Rooms and Ages

The three classrooms each have access to outdoor play areas, giving children opportunities to move beyond indoor activities. This is a useful physical feature for families who value outside play as part of the ordinary nursery day.

A November 2020 account gives a dated picture of the rooms: Tiddler room, for children aged 0–2 years, explored autumn themes and language activities; Nemos room, for ages 2–3, used dinosaur interests and supported play to develop communication; Flounders Room, for ages 3–4, combined dinosaur exploration, biscuit-making and language groups. These examples describe that period rather than a fixed programme for children joining now.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, with play and practical experiences helping children build language, confidence and independence. Planning takes account of children's interests through observations and assessments, so the activities can respond to what engages them.

In November 2024, cars and ramps became an opportunity to introduce words about movement and surfaces. Stories also supported speaking and listening. These are concrete examples of adults adding learning to familiar play rather than relying entirely on a separate teaching activity.

The November 2020 account also included Time to Talk, a language programme used alongside other communication activities in Nemos room. Dinosaur interests provided the context. Its value in that account was the connection between something children wanted to explore and the language adults helped them use.

Outside, the November 2024 examples included balance beams, painting and chalk activities, plus imaginative play involving a boat journey. Children had daily opportunities for outdoor play at that time. The combination gave them physical, creative and pretend-play experiences rather than a single type of outdoor activity.

Relationships and everyday independence were closely connected in November 2024. Staff responded attentively to children separating from their families, while younger children practised feeding themselves and moving from highchairs to chairs. Older children worked on putting on and fastening coats. These small tasks matter because care routines also become opportunities to practise doing things independently.

Group discussions about feelings and calm adult responses supported children's emotional understanding during the same period. Children helped one another with tasks and practised taking turns. The emphasis was on everyday interactions, with adults modelling the behaviour they wanted children to learn.

Communication with families included progress updates and resources to borrow in November 2024, giving parents ways to continue learning at home. Downloadable materials include Colours Activities, Shapes Activities and a tracing book. These provide practical starting points for shared activities beyond nursery attendance.

The nursery welcomes children with additional needs and children learning English as an additional language. Observations, assessments and discussions with parents inform planning around individual children. This describes how information is gathered and used, rather than promising a particular support package.

Staff prepared balanced meals in November 2024, with hygiene routines supporting food preparation. For families sending lunch boxes, the nursery's policy asks for small tomatoes to be quartered and popcorn to be excluded because of choking risks.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Pinkerton Road, South Ham, Basingstoke, RG22 6RH. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, with the nursery operating five days a week; those hours describe the opening window rather than the length of every booked session.

Families can choose term-time attendance or care across 50 weeks, with full-time and part-time places offered. For children aged two to five years, the minimum session lasts three hours. Children from two months to two years have a minimum booking of two full days or five mornings or afternoons. The baby booking rule therefore calls for a different commitment from the minimum session for older children.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can access 15 or 30 funded hours per week, with additional nursery time charged privately. The entitlement begins in the term after a child's third birthday, or after the second birthday for children meeting the stated criteria. These conditions matter: an entitlement and the extra hours a family buys are separate parts of the arrangement.

The April 2022 fee terms separate lunch, breakfast and tea from childcare charges. Parents supply baby milk, nappies, cream and wipes; a separate consumables charge applies to grant hours attended from the term after a child's third birthday. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

Those terms also require advance monthly payment and state that fees remain payable during a child's absence, whether notice is given or not. Leaving requires one month's written notice to the manager. These arrangements affect the ongoing commitment as well as the initial booking.

• Teaching precision. The November 2024 inspection asked for more consistent curriculum delivery and teaching better matched to intended learning, because some planned activities did not extend children's knowledge and skills effectively. At a visit, ask how staff now choose and review the learning intended for an activity.
• Baby attendance commitment. Children aged two months to two years have a minimum of two full days or five mornings or afternoons. Consider which pattern fits the family's week before choosing an attendance arrangement.
• Charges alongside funding. Meals are charged separately. Parents provide nappies, wipes, cream and baby milk. The grant-hour consumables charge applies from the term after a child's third birthday. Request a written quotation separating funded hours, additional childcare and these extras.
• Lunch-box preparation. The nursery asks families to quarter small tomatoes and leave out popcorn. Discuss the lunch-box rules and your child's dietary needs before agreeing food arrangements.

St Peter's suits families looking for either full-time or part-time attendance, with term-time care and a 50-week option providing further flexibility. Outdoor access from each classroom is a useful everyday feature, while the dated examples show language and independence being developed through ordinary play and care routines.

The balance is straightforward: a Good inspection judgement and practical examples of supportive care sit alongside a specific improvement need in teaching precision. For parents, the deciding details are likely to be the age-dependent booking commitment, the attendance pattern and the charges alongside funded childcare.