Hidden Garden Day Nursery and Pre-School

A cabin capped at six youngest babies gives Hidden Garden a clear starting point for families choosing their child's first nursery. Beyond it, children progress through Pips, Apples and Trees, with a larger toddler space and a garden divided into different areas. The physical progression matters: the youngest children have a smaller setting, while older children gain more space for movement, independence and preparation for school.

Hidden Garden Day Nursery and Pre-School accepts children from six months to five years at Pows Orchard in Midsomer Norton. At its April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. Its strongest practical features are the youngest babies' cabin, an emphasis on relationships with a key person, and preschool access between indoor and outdoor play.

Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, across the year except public holidays.

Rooms and Ages

Pips covers six months to two years: its youngest babies use a cosy cabin with a maximum of six, activities draw on sensory exploration and individual development, and children move into a larger toddler room as they develop. The cabin limit applies to that youngest group, rather than to Pips as a whole. The baby-room approach aims to follow each child's home routine, giving families a familiar reference point during the move into childcare.

Apples, for children aged two to three, combines early number and literacy experiences with art and messy play, while a more defined routine supports making choices and taking turns. Children's interests shape the planned activities. Independence is therefore part of ordinary play and group life, rather than something reserved for the preschool year.

Trees takes children in the September following their third birthday and combines a spacious room, movement between inside and outside, and school preparation centred on listening, communication and emotional readiness. That entry point is worth understanding: moving into the final room follows a September transition rather than simply a birthday.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care; in everyday terms, play, communication and growing independence sit alongside early literacy and number work. Trees adds phase one of letters and sounds phonics, together with activities supporting literacy and mathematics. The room's school preparation also includes personal and social readiness, keeping the emphasis broader than practising academic skills alone.

In April 2023, learning included sensory exploration for babies and sustained interest in storytelling among older children. Staff used developmental assessments to plan what came next, with practical goals such as learning to use an open cup. These examples make the learning approach tangible: progress could mean mastering an everyday task as well as engaging with a story.

Language was also the main improvement point in April 2023. Some opportunities to introduce vocabulary to younger children were missed during mark-making. For parents, the useful distinction is between providing an appealing activity and using the conversation around it to develop understanding.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden is divided into areas for exploration and supported risk-taking. Trees' indoor-outdoor play gives its preschool routine a physical dimension, while the toddler space includes outdoor activity to develop coordination and movement.

In April 2023, children went outside daily. Older children practised climbing and jumping, while younger children explored marks and shapes using shaving foam. Outdoor time served different developmental purposes across the ages, rather than being treated solely as a break from indoor learning.

Relationships and Communication

The key-person arrangement follows the relationship a child forms with a member of staff. That adult takes responsibility for the child's welfare, with daily communication involving other staff too. Settling usually takes a few weeks, so the transition is treated as a process rather than a single introductory session.

In April 2023, a buddy system supported children when their key person was absent. Small-group conversations used a worry monster cuddly toy to help children discuss feelings. Both examples address a practical parental concern: how a child receives emotional support when their usual adult is absent or they cannot readily explain what is troubling them.

Parents are invited to contribute to activity planning and nursery events. Their knowledge of a child's interests and needs can therefore shape the day, alongside the information exchanged with staff.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager also holds the SENCO and safeguarding-lead roles, while the deputy manager is the preschool room lead and deputy SENCO. Those responsibilities give families identifiable routes for discussing additional needs and care concerns.

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities progressed well, supported by adapted room layouts and coordination with special educational needs coordinators. In April 2023, staff also used words from children's home languages, and families could borrow dual-language books from the sharing library. These were concrete ways to connect nursery experiences with home life.

Food follows a two-week sample menu, with dishes including vegetable soup, pasta and fishcakes. The menu provides for allergy-related and vegetarian alternatives, with water offered at meals and accessible during the day.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Pows Orchard, Midsomer Norton, BA3 2HY. Hidden Garden opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, for 52 weeks excluding public holidays. This provides an opening window spanning the working day; the attendance arrangement itself belongs in the booking discussion.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01761 568188 or through the contact form. An introductory visit is arranged after an enquiry. Booking involves a registration document and parental contract, and a waiting-list system operates when needed.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered alongside privately paid childcare. The April 2021 terms describe two-year-old funding and Early Years Entitlement funding for three- and four-year-olds, delivered across the year; they set out 11 hours weekly for the latter and 22 hours for eligible working-parent families. These are dated arrangements, so families need a current written quotation before committing to a booking.

Under those April 2021 terms, privately paid hourly fees included meals and snacks, and two-year-old funded children incurred no additional charges because the grant covered all costs. For three- and four-year-old entitlement hours, meals, snacks and consumables were charged separately. The distinction matters: funded time and food or other supplies did not have the same charging structure for every age group.

Booking carries a non-refundable administration and place-reservation charge, detailed on the admissions and fees page.

• The youngest babies' cabin. Its maximum is six, within the wider Pips provision. On a visit, ask how movement from the cabin into the larger toddler space is decided and how home routines carry across.
• Language during play. Extending younger children's vocabulary was the April 2023 improvement point. Ask how practitioners now build new words into sensory activities and mark-making.
• September progression. Trees begins in the September after a child's third birthday. Discuss how that timing fits your child's development and the preparation offered before the move.
• Attendance and funded charges. The opening window is 7.30am to 6pm, while the fee terms date from April 2021. Request the proposed booking pattern and current funding, meal and consumables terms together in writing; families managing allergies should also confirm current meal arrangements.

Hidden Garden suits families who value a smaller space for the youngest babies, a relationship-led settling process and a clear progression towards preschool. The cabin, larger toddler room and indoor-outdoor Trees provision give that progression a concrete shape.

The April 2023 Good judgement provides a useful quality reference, with language development the specific area for further work. For a family considering nursery from infancy through to school preparation, the strongest decision points are how the room transitions work for their child and how the proposed attendance and funding terms fit their week.