Charlotte's Web Pre-School Nursery

A sensory Wellbeing Room and daily summer access to a large field give Charlotte's Web Pre-School Nursery two clear points of interest for families choosing preschool care in Bournemouth. The indoor offer combines a Main Room for learning and play with a separate space designed around sensory experiences. Outdoors, children have a play area as well as the seasonal field access.

Children aged 2–5 attend this church-hall setting. At its 3 December 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good.

Morning, afternoon and whole-day bookings serve different attendance needs, with breakfast and later collection options adding flexibility. The important practical distinction is that attendance runs across the year: funded hours are stretched, and term-time-only places are excluded.

Rooms and Ages

The Main Room supports children's individual learning experiences, while the Wellbeing Room uses sensory experiences to support physical, emotional, cognitive and mental health. These spaces give parents two different aspects of the indoor environment to explore: the central learning space and the room dedicated to sensory experiences.

Outside, children can play and explore in the nursery's outdoor area. During summer, access to a large field is daily. For families who value outdoor space, that seasonal addition matters alongside the everyday play area.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS Framework shapes the educational offer, with learning through play helping children work towards the Early Learning Goals. In everyday language, the emphasis is on exploring, staying involved in an activity and thinking through ideas, rather than simply being given answers. Children's interests and their stage of development also inform the nursery's educational aims.

In December 2021, practical activities included dough play for older children and comparisons between sand and artificial snow for younger children. These experiences exercised the hands used later for writing. Resources were arranged to encourage experimentation, with quieter places for reading and resting alongside activity spaces.

The same dated account gives a useful picture of outdoor learning: older children connected drainpipes and tested how to send balls further, while younger children practised riding scooters. A weekly class led by a sports coach also combined physical activity with following instructions and working together. These are examples from December 2021, rather than a current activity timetable.

There was a clear curriculum weakness at that point. In December 2021, staff sometimes struggled to translate curriculum plans into purposeful activities, so opportunities to extend children's existing knowledge were inconsistent. The improvement action was to strengthen staff understanding of what activities were intended to teach. That distinction matters: attractive resources and busy play need a clear educational purpose too.

At the December 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described effective support for children with special educational needs or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language, including prompt identification of needs and engagement with specialist professionals. Those findings concern practice at that date.

In December 2021, practitioners knew their key children well and gave parents regular information about learning, together with ideas for play at home. The relationship therefore extended beyond updates about the nursery day: parents received practical ways to continue activities themselves.

Social learning was visible in the same period. Younger children practised sharing and waiting for a turn, while older children helped younger ones with tasks. Staff used encouragement and gentle reminders. Those examples show how everyday interactions could build participation and cooperation alongside planned activities.

The December 2021 staffing snapshot comprised eight childcare staff, seven of whom held childcare qualifications at levels 2 and 3. These figures describe that period; they are not a statement of today's deployment or group sizes. Staff development then included supervision, meetings and colleagues observing one another's practice.

Current enrolment terms include settling sessions within the non-refundable enrolment charge. That makes settling part of the joining arrangement, rather than a separate activity mentioned only in the educational offer.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Alban's Church Hall, 19 Linwood Road, Bournemouth, BH9 1DW. Opening hours are 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday, over 48 weeks each year. Closures cover public holidays, two weeks at the end of August and two weeks around Christmas and New Year.

Morning sessions run from 9am to 1pm, afternoons from 1.30pm to 5.30pm, and Whole day bookings from 9am to 5.30pm. Breakfast club runs from 8am to 9am; an extension allows collection at 6pm. Extra hours can also be added to a morning booking, with 9am–3pm given as an example. The minimum booking is two sessions each week.

Enquiries can be made through the nursery's enquiry form, telephone or email, and visits can be booked. The different booking patterns allow families to choose shorter sessions or a whole day, then add time where the terms permit it.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15-hour funding and 30-hour funding are offered on a stretched basis across 48 weeks. Funded hours can fall between 8am and 6pm. Term-time-only attendance is not offered, so families comparing funding arrangements need to consider the annual pattern as well as the entitlement's headline hours.

Breakfast and snacks sit outside funded provision, as do non-food consumables including wipes and cleaning products; these are treated separately from funded hours. The additional-fee structure includes an Essential Voluntary Contribution. Other exclusions from funded provision include outings, visitors, baking, special events and enrichment experiences, so funded education and the wider nursery offer are separate parts of the cost structure.

Joining involves a refundable deposit credited against the first invoice and a non-refundable enrolment charge that includes settling sessions and a preschool t-shirt. An administration charge applies if a place is not taken up. Fees are initially payable a month ahead, then monthly by the 5th; additional hours and the later extension are charged at the standard hourly rate. Families should obtain a current written quotation using the fees and funding terms.

• An across-year commitment. Attendance has a two-session weekly minimum, and funding is stretched over 48 weeks. This suits an ongoing pattern of care; families seeking term-time-only attendance need a different arrangement.
• Purpose behind the play. The December 2021 improvement action concerned staff understanding of curriculum intentions. On a visit, ask how practitioners now explain what a chosen activity will help a child learn.
• Settling and sensory space. Settling sessions form part of the enrolment charge, and the Wellbeing Room supports sensory experiences. Ask how those two elements would be used for your child's adjustment to nursery.
• The funded-hours boundary. Breakfast, snacks and wipes are outside funded provision, alongside several activities and resources. A written quotation should distinguish funded education from the voluntary contribution and other charges for your chosen pattern.

Charlotte's Web suits families with children aged 2–5 who want morning or afternoon sessions, or whole-day attendance with options to extend the day. Its sensory Wellbeing Room and daily summer field access add concrete reasons to consider the environment. The dated Good judgement sits alongside a specific curriculum improvement action, while the stretched funding and across-year booking model are central to whether it fits family life.