Burton Day Nursery

Books, imaginative play and practical independence give Burton Day Nursery's preschool provision its character. Children have their own outdoor play areas, while learning indoors includes early number work, language and the social skills needed for school. This is the provision at 138 Salisbury Road, Burton, Christchurch, BH23 7JP, with capacity for 47 children aged 3 to 5.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with engaging learning activities and constructive relationships with parents. There was also a specific improvement priority for children needing additional support, which deserves attention alongside that positive judgement.

Attendance can be built around mornings, afternoons or whole days, with no minimum number of sessions. That flexibility is useful for families seeking a modest weekly commitment as well as those arranging a longer childcare day.

Rooms and Ages

The Pre-School occupies a single-level setting; its learning combines language and number skills with creative work, physical development, understanding the world and getting along with others. Children use outdoor areas belonging to the preschool and also visit the nursery's nature garden and playground. Outdoor activity therefore extends beyond their own play space.

The distinction between the nursery and preschool matters here. They have separate spaces and separate virtual tours, rather than being presented as one undivided building. For a preschool child, the relevant experience is the older children's setting and the movement between those outdoor areas.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, that means play and planned activities support language, physical skills, relationships and early understanding, rather than treating childcare and learning as separate parts of the day.

In February 2024, children used dough they had mixed and weighed to create pretend biscuits, choosing designs with help from recipe books. Conversations added words for shapes and quantities. This is a useful example of how one activity can bring together practical handling, number language and children's own choices.

Books were also woven through the day in February 2024. Children shared stories, rhymes and factual texts with adults, then explored books independently or with friends. Storytelling included acting out an imaginary journey through mud. The emphasis was on participating in language, rather than only listening to an adult read.

Cooperative play supplied another strand. In February 2024, children worked together on puzzles and sustained pretend games involving doctors and patients. Board games gave them practice in waiting and taking turns. These examples show the everyday opportunities to negotiate, listen and keep a shared activity going.

Each child has a learning journey documenting development across seven areas of learning, together with achievements along the way. The file stays with the child through nursery and goes home with the family when they leave. It gives parents a lasting account of development, rather than only a collection of finished pictures.

In February 2024, staff spent extra time comforting children who were unsettled before helping them return to play. Adults also listened to parents' developmental concerns and shared ideas and updates. Those exchanges connected what families noticed at home with the support children received during their sessions.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified developmental gaps and worked with external agencies on teaching materials, but some children with special educational needs and/or disabilities needed more targeted teaching time to practise skills and make faster progress. The important distinction is between identifying a need and consistently giving a child enough opportunities to work on it.

School preparation includes practical independence. In February 2024, children helped prepare tables, served their own vegetables and tidied away after activities; staff had consulted local schools about self-help skills and attitudes to learning. Preparation was therefore about managing ordinary tasks and joining in with others, alongside early literacy and numeracy.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 8am to 1.30pm, afternoons from 1.30pm to 6pm, and full days from 8am to 6pm. There is no minimum session commitment, so a single morning is an accepted booking pattern. The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

Funding-only attendance has an 11am to 6pm window. For the 15-hour entitlement, the stretched arrangement includes a two-day pattern from 11am to 4.30pm, totalling 11 funded hours each week. The 30-hour arrangement stretches to 21 funded hours weekly across 51 weeks, with attendance from 11am to 6pm over the relevant days. These are different arrangements from a paid morning session or an 8am start.

The online registration form starts enrolment, followed by a conversation with the team. A non-refundable registration charge applies, and payment is taken only after that conversation. Families receive a Parent Pack containing the nursery's policies and procedures when they enrol.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15-hour and 30-hour funding are offered, with the 30-hour entitlement subject to eligibility criteria. Funding is spread across 51 weeks rather than confined to term time. The nursery also accepts Tax-Free Childcare and childcare vouchers.

Meals and snacks are included in ordinary session fees: chefs prepare lunch for morning and full-day attendance, while afternoon children receive tea and a snack. Food is charged separately under the funded arrangements.

An 8am to 6pm day involves paid hours beyond the funded allocation, and charges for those additional hours are not voluntary when that attendance pattern is chosen. Children receiving government funding do not qualify for the sibling, full-time or holiday discounts. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the sessions and fees page sets out the attendance options.

• Targeted SEND teaching. The February 2024 improvement priority concerned the amount of focused teaching time some children received. Families needing additional support should discuss how practice opportunities are planned and reviewed for their child.
• Preschool setting. The nursery and preschool have separate spaces and tours, and preschool children also use the nursery's outdoor areas. Use a viewing to explore the preschool itself and how those movements work during the day.
• Funded attendance and extras. Funding-only hours begin at 11am, while the paid full day starts at 8am. Compare the relevant attendance pattern and separate food charges in the written quotation before choosing it.

Burton suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, especially those who value a low minimum commitment. Its preschool offer combines its own outdoor space with practical school preparation and a learning journey that families keep.

The February 2024 judgement gives a positive overall assessment, supported by concrete examples of books, imaginative play and growing independence. The targeted-teaching concern remains an important decision point for families whose children need additional support. The strongest fit is with parents who want flexible attendance and a preschool day built around active participation.