Bournemouth Day Nursery, Lansdowne Road

A spacious house, an outdoor play area and food cooked on site give Bournemouth Day Nursery, Lansdowne Road a practical identity. This is the Bournemouth setting at 75 Lansdowne Road, BH1 1RW, accepting children from three months to five years, with capacity for 85 children across the nursery. That whole-setting figure should not be read as the size of any child's daily group.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The useful detail beneath that judgement concerns everyday relationships and learning: children were known individually, independence was practised through ordinary routines, and stories and number play featured in the day. There were also clear teaching improvements to make.

Full-day and half-day bookings sit alongside funded and mixed funded/private packages. The combination makes attendance and the treatment of extras central to the family decision, rather than the opening window alone.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for learning and care: children develop language, physical skills and relationships through play and everyday experiences. At Lansdowne, current activities include making art, listening to stories and physical play. Spacious interiors provide room for activities and play, while the outdoor area has resources for children to explore.

In September 2025, children selected books for staff to read and joined action songs together. New vocabulary was introduced through conversation and questions. Preschool number work included pretending to be frogs, counting the children taking part and exploring what happened as frogs left the imaginary pond. It was mathematics made tangible through movement and make-believe.

The September 2025 inspection found that teaching needed closer adjustment to children's next learning steps, especially for younger children, and that staff needed to allow longer for children to formulate answers. Water play illustrated the first issue: filling and emptying containers kept children occupied, but the teaching did not consistently develop the activity further. For parents, the distinction is between an enjoyable experience and an experience that deliberately extends a child's understanding.

In May 2021, Lansdowne children under two used Singing Spoons to choose songs before experimenting with instruments and movement. This gave them a say in a shared musical activity.

In July 2021, preschool children created a healthy café, comparing fruit textures and colours, counting ingredients and preparing smoothies. Fruit washing and kitchen-safety discussions connected practical tasks with language and number work.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor space supports exploration and physical activity. Historical Lansdowne projects also show the garden supplying materials for imaginative work: in March 2021, preschool children collected natural items to make a home for Snake from The Gruffalo. A familiar story became something children could build and discuss together.

In January 2022, a Lansdowne outing to Meyrick Park combined puddles, winter weather and a story-inspired search through a wooded area. Road safety was practised on the return journey. This linked a real place with language about seasons and the practical habits needed beyond the nursery.

In May 2022, Lansdowne's Jubilee Bournemouth in Bloom project combined model-making with planting a flower display. Models included a swan and a London bus, connecting imaginative work with a local event.

Relationships and Communication

Settling-in sessions are tailored to the child once a start date is agreed. Parents can stay during the early stages, allowing a gradual start. Each child has an assigned key worker, and access to the online system is optional.

In September 2025, staff gathered information about children's lives at home, interests and development when they joined. This informed how staff related to them and the experiences offered. Families also received daily updates about development and activities to try at home, giving them something practical to continue beyond nursery hours.

Behaviour was handled patiently in September 2025. Staff redirected unwanted behaviour, demonstrated considerate interactions and acknowledged children's efforts. Children took turns and encouraged friends to participate. The emphasis was on showing children how to manage shared experiences, with adults providing the example.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Independence was built into daily care in September 2025: babies practised feeding themselves, toddlers learnt tissue disposal and handwashing, and older children helped themselves at lunch and contributed to tidying. These were ordinary tasks with a useful purpose. They allowed children to practise taking responsibility in manageable stages.

Continual welfare and development assessment gives families a route to discuss emerging needs. Concerns prompt discussion and, where needed, requests for further information from parents.

Fresh meals and snacks are prepared in the on-site kitchen. Meal choices are subject to the nursery's allergy advice, including consideration of other children's safety.

School preparation also forms part of the Lansdowne offer, with parents involved in getting children ready for their first school year. The September 2025 routines around self-care provide a concrete example of preparation extending beyond letters and numbers.

Sessions and Attendance

Lansdowne opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm. Full-day and half-day rates are offered, while private hours operate between 8am and 6pm on weekdays, across 51 weeks; Lansdowne also has an early-start option. Those private-hour limits and the nursery's opening hours are different pieces of information.

Funded sessions are typically arranged across three to five afternoons a week. Flexible packages combine funded hours with private hours and elective extras, so the package selected affects both attendance and the resulting bill. A funded afternoon arrangement is a different proposition from buying full days.

English bank holidays are closures. The Christmas break starts on 25 December 2026, with reopening on 4 January 2027, a useful planning point for families arranging care over the holiday period.

Getting There

The address is 75 Lansdowne Road, Bournemouth, BH1 1RW. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01202-295737, by email at bournemouthday@email.com or through the contact form, which accepts requests for quotations, applications and session changes.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted, including funding for up to 30 hours for eligible children aged nine months to four years. Eligibility remains a condition. The funded package provides learning and care without charge or condition, while extras are parent choices; private hours can be added through a mixed package.

Meals are included in the private package and charged separately as choices during funded hours. Non-food consumables have separately priced funded options, and parents are also advised which consumables to bring each day. The practical distinction is between items bought through the package and items supplied from home.

The private package includes access to sport, drama, parent events and an electronic learning log; funded families can choose extras separately. Private packages include a registration charge and a refundable first-month deposit, while funded packages also describe a refundable deposit. Registration charges apply where applicable.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fees and funding page sets out the package structure, with a breakdown of costs provided before a family commits to a start date.

• Teaching beyond the activity. September 2025 identified the need to extend younger children's learning more deliberately and allow longer answers. During a viewing, ask how staff now use an activity such as water play to develop the child's next step.
• Afternoons and funded extras. Funded sessions typically span three to five afternoons, with meals and activities treated as choices. Ask for one written package covering your intended attendance, the funded-hours schedule and the extras you want.
• Your child's daily group. Capacity is 85 across the whole nursery, while settling-in is individually arranged. Use the child-inclusive viewing to ask about the group your child would join and how their key worker will support the start.
• Allergies and consumables. Meal options depend on allergy advice, and some non-food items come from home. Allergy-affected families should confirm current meal practice and agree which daily supplies they need to bring.

Lansdowne suits families choosing between full-day and half-day care, as well as those considering funded afternoons or a mixed funded/private arrangement. Space for indoor and outdoor activity, an on-site kitchen and child-led settling are useful practical strengths.

The September 2025 judgement provides a positive inspection position, with specific teaching refinements still important to the decision. The strongest fit is for parents who value everyday independence and a gradual start, and whose chosen attendance pattern works with the package and extras they agree.