The Little Bambinos Nursery

A garden, a creative room and weekly nature sessions give The Little Bambinos Nursery a clear play-led identity. Children can move freely between indoor activity and the garden, while painting, movement and outdoor exploration provide different ways to join in. This is a setting where the physical spaces matter to the day, rather than simply serving as a backdrop.

At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The improvement priorities were specific: sharper teaching for younger children, better organisation of group activities and more explanation of everyday risks. Those points matter alongside the grade.

Based at Victoria Hotel on Millmead Road in Bath, the nursery has 32 places in total and accepts children from 3 months to 60 months. Morning, afternoon and all-day bookings operate within a term-time timetable, with a separate Holiday Club covering selected school holidays.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides learning through play, conversation and exploration, including early language, literacy and maths. It is the common framework for early-years provision; the character here comes from how those experiences are organised. Early Learning combines individual key-person support with small key-group sessions, storytelling and circle time, with observations used to plan each child's next steps.

Creative Play gives children painting, music, imaginative storytelling and messy activities, with sensory exploration for babies and toddlers. There is room for expression through materials as well as words. A child pretending to be a pirate or experimenting with textures has a different entry point into shared play from one joining a performance or a group activity.

Physical Development includes baby yoga, dance, obstacle courses and soft play, extending from babies to preschool children. These activities give movement a place alongside quieter stories and creative work.

The example daily routine alternates free play with key-group activity, outdoor time and stories. Singing and storytime have a separate slot for babies and two-year-olds, while lunches are staggered by age. It is an illustrative rhythm rather than a fixed timetable for every child: activities and timings can change with the group and the day.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds weekly outdoor sessions during term time, with nature exploration, stories and singing. Themes include making dens, rubbing bark and building insect homes; the programme identifies ages 2–5 and also describes adaptations for younger children.

The garden has mud kitchens, sandpits, music boards and water play, plus a flat area for ride-on toys and a vegetable patch. These are practical resources for experimenting, moving and growing food. Cooking activities use herbs selected from the garden, change theme each week and let children take their creations home, connecting outdoor growing with something they make themselves.

Community trips include parks, shops and the library. In March 2024, garden play also involved ramps, climbing and jumping, with children's interest in worms becoming an opportunity to explore measurement. The connection between a child's discovery and an adult's teaching was concrete. More precise teaching for younger children remained an improvement priority at that time.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who observes their development and plans individual next steps. Three settling sessions are recommended before starting, with more where needed; home visits can also be arranged when parents or the nursery feel they would help. An all-about-me pack is completed with the key person at the first settling session.

Tapestry is the secure online learning journal used for photographs, observations and development updates. Parents can add comments and milestones from home, while staff use observations to plan what comes next. This gives communication a developmental purpose: families can contribute to the picture of their child, rather than only receiving an account of activities completed.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received good support, with the SENCo working with parents and professionals and using additional funding to target help.

In March 2024, staff had undertaken emotions training to help children who found managing feelings difficult. The same visit identified a need to explain why certain actions were risky, rather than relying on reminders to be careful. Understanding the reason behind a boundary was the missing step, including during bicycle play and when sand spilled onto the floor.

For rest, there is a quiet area where children can nap. Families supply bedding and comforters where needed, and bedding goes home weekly for washing. Parents also bring labelled milk with instructions for babies. Medication requires written consent, and children should stay at home when unwell, giving families clear responsibilities alongside the nursery's care arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, during BANES term time. The booking choices are an all-day session from 8.30am to 5.30pm, a morning from 8.30am to 1pm, or an afternoon from 1pm to 5.30pm. Funded sessions run from 9am to 3pm, with breakfast and early drop-off from 8.30am charged separately for children whose funded hours begin at 9am.

Holiday Club operates on selected school holidays, Tuesday to Thursday from 9am to 3pm, charged at the child's usual hourly rate. It does not run at Christmas, and summer provision covers only the first three weeks. This is a specific holiday arrangement, rather than a year-round extension of the term-time timetable. Nursery training days can also affect opening dates.

The address is Victoria Hotel, Millmead Road, Bath, BA2 3JW. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or on 01225 789193; the form requests the child's date of birth and preferred start date. The nursery aims to respond within three working days during term time, which is useful when planning the pace of an enquiry.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is accepted, subject to eligibility, with entitlement delivered during term time. The funding options include the 30 hours working parent entitlement for children aged 9 months to 4 years, 15-hour funding for eligible two-year-olds from low-income families, and 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds. Private paid childcare is offered alongside funded hours.

A separate funded-hours consumables charge helps cover snacks, staff training and staffing ratios. Hot lunch is also charged separately. Families provide nappies, wipes, sun cream and babies' milk, so the funded-hours charge does not replace the daily essentials supplied from home.

There is a non-refundable registration charge when booking, payable by the first settling session. Ongoing fees are paid monthly in advance. Current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation; families using funding should read the distinction between entitlement hours, additional childcare and the associated charges carefully.

• Term time and holiday coverage. Regular sessions follow BANES terms, while Holiday Club runs on selected holidays with specific Christmas and summer limits. Families needing holiday care should compare those arrangements with their working calendar.
• Teaching and group organisation. In March 2024, younger children's teaching needed greater precision and some group activities made it harder for older children to participate and concentrate. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how key groups now work and how children learn to recognise risks.
• Funding extras and supplies. Funded hours carry a separate consumables charge, hot lunch costs extra, and nappies and wipes come from home. These are separate responsibilities to weigh alongside the childcare entitlement.
• Settling and age groups. Three settling sessions are recommended, with more where needed and possible home visits. During a visit, how are babies grouped within the nursery day? That question helps families connect the settling plan with their child's everyday experience.

The Little Bambinos Nursery suits families seeking morning or afternoon care as well as all-day attendance within a term-time pattern. Forest School, Creative Play and the garden's growing and cooking opportunities give its play-led offer substance. Key-person planning and Tapestry provide a clear route for parents to stay involved.

The Good judgement from March 2024 sits alongside meaningful improvement priorities, especially for younger children's teaching and group participation. Families whose calendars fit the term-time model have several attendance choices to consider; those needing holiday coverage must weigh the narrower Holiday Club timetable just as carefully.