The Maples Day Nursery

A mud kitchen, cable reels and herbs grown in the garden give The Maples Day Nursery a practical, outdoorsy character. Play here involves materials children can rearrange and investigate, rather than resources with only one intended use. The Curiosity Approach shapes that offer through natural materials and activities that encourage children to choose, experiment and try things independently.

At its November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. Its strongest practical qualities are the direct connection between the main room and garden, individual key workers and several attendance patterns. There is capacity for 26 children, with a current age range of two to five.

Full days, shorter School Days and morning or afternoon sessions can be taken during term time or throughout the year. That gives families several ways to fit nursery around their routines.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build communication, physical and social skills through play and everyday experiences. Alongside that foundation, the Curiosity Approach uses natural and authentic objects to encourage exploration. Maples is working towards accreditation; following the approach and holding accreditation are separate things.

Shells, buttons and blocks offer small materials to sort, combine and investigate. Larger construction uses crates, wooden planks and cable reels. Children can select resources according to their interests, while practitioners plan activities using their knowledge of each child. The practical value is choice with an adult helping to extend the learning, rather than a day built entirely around adult instructions.

In November 2024, children cut basil and rosemary into play dough, combining tool use with exploration of texture and scent. Staff used the activity to introduce vocabulary. Scissors also prompted guidance about handling tools safely, so creative work involved both physical coordination and learning how to protect other children.

Outdoor and Community Life

The main room opens directly onto a secluded garden. Children aged two and above can move between indoor and outdoor play throughout the day, making outdoor activity part of the ordinary routine rather than a separate outing. A giant sandpit and mud kitchen sit alongside construction materials including tyres, drain pipes and logs.

Seasonal gardening involves vegetables, herbs and flowers. Children help prepare the garden around their interests and take part in simple assessments of risk when creating obstacle courses. This gives them something concrete to think through: how to build, where to move and what might need changing before play continues.

Nearby woodland, a park and a large green space extend the setting beyond its garden. Nature walks include collecting pinecones, leaves and conkers, with conversation about habitats and living things. In November 2024, community experiences also included care-home visits and forest school sessions in local school grounds, giving children opportunities to explore nature and meet people outside nursery.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a designated key worker who follows their development and acts as the family's main contact. Parents can speak with staff through an open-door arrangement. For a family choosing a small setting, the useful detail is that responsibility for knowing the child and communicating with home is attached to an individual role.

In November 2024, an information board outside the nursery shared daily activities, while an app communicated developmental progress and ideas for extending learning at home. Guidance leaflets covered oral health and safer sleep. These were practical routes for connecting nursery experiences with life at home, rather than leaving parents with only a brief account of what their child had done.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received good support through collaboration with families and other professionals, individual support plans and resources purchased using funding. That judgement concerned the provision at that visit. The mechanisms matter: support was organised around each child's care and learning needs, with adults working together on a consistent plan.

During the same month, staff used calm conversation to help children manage disagreements and recognise feelings. Children also helped identify everyday hazards, such as toys left where somebody could trip. Staff supervision meetings were used to identify training needs, providing a route for reviewing practice.

Food is freshly prepared each day, with a three-week menu covering breakfast, a hot lunch, tea and snacks. The nursery offers catering for specialised diets, and children are encouraged to serve food and drinks themselves, making mealtimes another opportunity to practise independence.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 2 Anstey Close, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 3JG. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and the nursery operates across the year.

The Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm. School Day attendance is 9am to 4pm, while Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm and Afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. Each pattern can be taken on a term-time or year-round basis. The shorter day offers a different timetable from either a half day or the complete opening window.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01256 333113 or by email to Maples@naturallycuriouschildcare.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Maples offers 15 hours or 30 hours EYE funding for eligible children, with either term-time delivery over 38 weeks or a stretched arrangement across the year. The stretched offer is 11 hours weekly, or 22 for children receiving the extended offer. Funding is claimed from Hampshire County Council, and parents sign a claim form retained at the nursery.

Private childcare and additional paid hours are also offered. Food and drink are included in nursery fees; families using funded or partly funded attendance can purchase additional hours and are encouraged to opt into enhanced provision. The distinction between funded hours, private time and that enhancement matters when comparing the overall arrangement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with further charge information on its fees page.

• Independence and engagement. In November 2024, opportunities to complete tasks independently were inconsistent, and staff sometimes took too long to notice children needing help to join an activity or play safely. On a visit, ask how snack preparation and oversight of children beyond an adult's immediate activity now work.
• Younger children. Maples now advertises baby care alongside its two-to-five age range. Families considering a younger child should establish the applicable age arrangements and how the baby's day is organised.
• Funded attendance and enhancements. Term-time and stretched funding sit alongside private hours and an opt-in enhanced offer. Ask for a written breakdown covering your chosen sessions, food and non-food consumables before comparing costs.
• Specialised diets. Fresh food follows a three-week menu, and specialised diets can be accommodated. Families managing allergies should discuss current preparation and serving procedures during their visit.

Maples suits families who value practical exploration, frequent outdoor access and a named key worker, whether they need Full Days, School Days or morning and afternoon attendance. The garden is central to the experience: building materials, planting and messy play give children concrete things to investigate.

The November 2024 improvement points deserve attention alongside the Good judgement. Independence is a clear ambition here; consistent opportunities to practise it, and timely help for children who drift away from activities, are the details that families should weigh most carefully.