Mulberry Garden Nursery & Pre-School

Nine places in Babies, beds and cots for sleep, and routines shaped around each child give Mulberry Garden a clear starting point for its youngest children. This Bathampton nursery combines small-scale baby provision with outdoor play and an increasing emphasis on independence as children grow. The progression is practical: sensory exploration for babies, imaginative play for toddlers, then letters, sounds and everyday self-care in Preschool.

At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The useful detail beneath it includes children making choices about their play, staff extending vocabulary and opportunities to practise doing things for themselves, alongside improvement points about adult interactions and the organisation of meals.

Mulberry Garden cares for children from 3 months to 5 years and has capacity for 41 children in total. Its address is Mulberry House, High Street, Bathampton, BA2 6SY. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings are offered, with a short-day option for Toddlers and Preschool.

Rooms and Ages

Babies serves children aged 3 months to 2 years, with a maximum of nine children, beds and cots, access to indoor and outdoor areas, and activities including treasure baskets, tummy time, stories and sensory exploration. The room's individual-routine approach matters as much as its size: feeding, rest and opportunities to move can follow the child rather than requiring every baby to fit the same timetable.

Toddlers has space for twelve children aged 2 to 3, with child-led play expressed through pretend games, creative work and music. Preschool, for ages 3 to 4, has capacity for 20 children and combines indoor and outdoor play with letters and sounds, physical games and practice with coats, shoes and handwashing.

Room capacities are separate from daily attendance; the nursery's overall age range extends to 5 years.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care. Play follows children's interests and development: sensory discovery for babies, imaginative activity for toddlers and early reading and writing preparation for older children.

Preschool combines child-chosen play with individual, smaller-group and whole-group activities. Little Piccolos adds a music-teacher role supporting listening, music and movement, alongside everyday singing and stories.

In June 2023, babies practised taking turns with balls and toy vehicles, toddlers acted out nursing, and older children searched for garden insects using picture charts. Sharing, pretending and discussing where to search gave each age group a different way to play together.

Outdoor and Community Life

Preschool's garden supports physical activity; outings may include welly walks and visits to the canal, a local park or a farm.

In June 2023, children explored sand and water, babies used movement equipment and older children joined keep-fit games. Adult input in the upper garden sometimes fell short of extending older children's learning. Access to outdoor space and the teaching within it both matter.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated to each baby and toddler, with parents involved in matching care to individual routines. Nappy-change information is recorded and shared, and feeding is undertaken by the key person where possible. These are useful points of continuity for a child whose day includes several intimate care routines.

The non-refundable registration charge includes the option of up to three morning or afternoon settling sessions. Settling also follows individual needs, giving families an introductory structure that can account for different speeds of adjustment.

Sleep receives detailed attention. Nursery bedding is individually labelled, while children who prefer a sleeping bag need one supplied from home. Sleep checks are documented at ten-minute intervals, with five-minute checks possible for younger or newly attending babies, and sleep times are shared with parents. Families may also bring bedding and comfort objects.

Online learning-journal photos and videos require written parental permission and use nursery-owned devices. Staff phones stay outside the children's building during working hours; parents and visitors must keep phones switched off and out of sight inside.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO coordinates an assess, plan, do and review process with the key person and parents. Support plans are reviewed every six weeks, with professional liaison and transition arrangements for other settings and schools. Families have agreed actions and regular review points.

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified developmental delays, worked with families and professionals on support, and helped children expand their vocabulary. These are dated findings alongside the current SENCO-led arrangements.

Food for babies includes meals and snacks across the day, with bottles prepared when required. A designated preparation area is used for baby food and milk, and parents are involved in weaning arrangements.

In June 2023, children practised serving food and clearing plates, but some toddlers experienced lengthy waits before eating, and mealtimes did not consistently support older children's social interaction as well as they could. The improvement requirement was to reorganise meals and strengthen staff interactions. The learning concern also extended to questioning: an experiment with dissolving bath products prompted predictions, but discussion did not sufficiently explore why the results happened.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with bank holidays excluded. Opening time and the standard booking day differ: Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm, AM from 8am to 1pm and PM from 1pm to 6pm. Toddlers and Preschool also offer Short Day, from 8am to 3.30pm.

Breakfast Club provides nursery early drop-off between 7.30am and 8am for an additional charge, subject to advance agreement and adequate staffing. A parent can collect earlier within a booked session, but the session charge still applies. Regular extra time after a morning or short-day booking can also be arranged beforehand for an additional fee.

Admissions priorities start with looked-after children, followed by children known by the local authority to have SEND whose needs can best be met at the nursery and vulnerable children receiving specified support. Siblings and families living locally follow. A full-time booking may take preference over part-time attendance, depending on parental work commitments, occupancy and room availability; a waiting list operates.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by email, and enrolment uses a completed registration form. Session charges are payable a month ahead and apply during planned and unplanned absences. Changes to attendance or cancellation require one month's written notice. These terms make the booked pattern a financial commitment, including when a child is away.

Getting There

Mulberry House stands at the end of Bathampton High Street, on its corner with Dark Lane.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible working-parent funded places are offered from 9 months, subject to eligibility and places, while universal funding applies for children aged 3 from the relevant January, April or September funding start. Funded sessions are arranged flexibly, but the nursery reserves the right to restrict them or designate particular sessions according to its business requirements.

For funded sessions, food and drink, consumables and extra activities are covered by a separate session charge. Families should therefore distinguish funded early education from the accompanying charges when comparing attendance patterns. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the terms and conditions also explain payment, registration and notice arrangements.

• Meals and adult interaction. June 2023 improvement points concerned waiting at mealtimes and how staff extended children's thinking, including outdoors. On a visit, ask how meals are organised now and how practitioners develop an older child's ideas during play.
• Baby routines and settling. Babies has a nine-child cap, individual routines and an option of up to three settling sessions within the registration charge. Individual routines make sleep and feeding part of settling.
• Booking commitments. Full-time attendance may receive preference under specified conditions, and session changes need a month's written notice. Morning, afternoon, short-day and full-day patterns give families several ways to plan attendance.
• Funded-session extras. Food, drink, consumables and extra activities attract a separate funded-session charge. Request an itemised written quotation for your intended pattern before agreeing to it.

Mulberry Garden suits families looking for morning or afternoon care as well as those needing a full day, with a shorter day also offered for Toddlers and Preschool. Its clearest practical strengths are the baby-room cap, individually planned routines and a progression towards independent play and self-care.

The June 2023 Good judgement sits alongside limitations around mealtimes and adult interaction.