Croft Day Nursery, Oakdale

A converted former Methodist church, a modern pod extension and separate outdoor space for the youngest children give Croft Day Nursery, Oakdale a recognisable setting. The building combines large indoor spaces with different garden arrangements for younger and older children. That distinction matters: babies have their own outdoor area, while the oldest children can move freely between indoors and outdoors.

At its April 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good overall, with practical learning, supportive relationships and two improvement points concerning cutlery guidance and quieter preschool children. The nursery now belongs to The Croft Nursery Group. Its capacity is 92 children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months.

Standard days and an additional early-start session serve families needing regular part-time or full-time attendance. Funding is stretched across the year, so the financial arrangements deserve as much attention as the building and outdoor provision.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the learning and care requirements: children develop language, physical skills and independence through play, conversation and activities supported by adults. At Oakdale, the funded provision includes books, construction materials, role play, puzzles and creative resources. These give children different ways to investigate an idea, express themselves and practise new skills.

In April 2024, learning included shopping for cookery ingredients and music with movement. The shopping trips connected an activity inside the nursery with an everyday task outside it. Babies explored water and joined action songs, while older children made models and developed imaginative games. These were experiences from that period, rather than a timetable for today's sessions.

Early mathematical thinking also had a practical shape in April 2024. Preschool children played quantity games and experimented with making sandcastles stay upright. That combination brought counting and problem-solving into play: children could test an idea and see what happened, rather than simply hear an explanation.

Outdoor and Community Life

Separate garden for our youngest children, alongside secure outdoor spaces with free-flow access for the oldest, makes outdoor provision age-specific. Alongside the church conversion, the pod extension adds learning space indoors. Families comparing environments can weigh both the outdoor separation and the extra space inside, rather than treating the building as one undifferentiated playroom.

In April 2024, outdoor activities included obstacle courses and team games for older children, with wheeled toys and ball play for toddlers. A toddler bug hunt prompted an indoor spider activity, connecting an interest in the garden with further exploration. Babies used soft-play blocks for climbing and rolling. The physical experiences differed by stage.

In April 2024, babies' care followed their individual routines, and children developed relationships with adults and other children. Independence was practised in ordinary tasks: babies tried feeding themselves, while older children worked on handwashing and putting on coats. The Proud Cloud display celebrated achievements, giving these small steps a visible place in nursery life.

Books offered another route into interaction. In April 2024, babies chose stories for adults to share, and older children read together in a den. Staff used questions and books to extend vocabulary. However, noisy preschool playrooms sometimes meant quieter children's contributions went unheard. For a child who takes time to speak, the organisation of group activities is therefore a meaningful consideration.

At the April 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described staff working with outside agencies and using additional funding to address gaps in children's development, alongside communication with parents about wellbeing and progress. This supports the dated assessment of care, while keeping the judgement tied to that visit.

Mealtime support needed greater consistency in April 2024: some adults did not give children enough guidance on handling cutlery safely. Learning to eat independently involves supervision as well as practice. That improvement point belongs beside the positive examples of self-care, rather than disappearing behind the overall grade.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 75 Oakdale Road, Poole, BH15 3LD. Oakdale operates Monday to Friday across 51 weeks, with a standard full day from 8am to 6pm and an early-start session from 7.30am to 8am. The early start is requested separately and carries an additional charge.

Regular part-time and full-time attendance are both offered. Closures include bank holidays, inset days and a week between Christmas and New Year. Monthly payments are averaged across the year, and bank holidays and inset closures remain payable; sickness and holidays do not receive refunds. These terms affect the cost of maintaining a regular booking even when a child is absent.

Getting There

A car park sits behind the nursery, which is just off the A3049 near Canford Heath. Oakdale's direct contact routes are telephone and email, and visits can be booked.

Funding and Paid Extras

The 15 and 30 free hours entitlements are offered from nine months onwards, subject to the applicable entitlement. Funding is spread across 51 weeks rather than reserved for term time: the weekly allocations are 11 hours for Universal FE and 22 hours for Extended FE. Term-time-only places are not offered, and newly funded children in the Summer Term may have a slightly different allocation.

During funded hours, meals and snacks are covered by the separately charged Dining and Nutrition Package. Families who opt out receive an FE Only Place and supply meals, snacks, nappies, wipes and sun cream; opting into the package also includes the additional products and services without further charges. The package charges are already incorporated into the fee schedule, rather than added again.

From September 2026, opting out requires a term's notice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, so families can assess their private hours and chosen package together.

• Quieter preschool children. In April 2024, noise sometimes prevented adults from hearing quieter children. During a visit, ask how group activities now make room for children who speak less readily.
• Independent eating. The April 2024 improvement point concerned consistent guidance on safe cutlery use. Ask how staff balance children's self-feeding with practical help at meals.
• Funding across the year. Entitlements are stretched over 51 weeks, and term-time-only attendance is excluded. This suits a year-round arrangement better than a booking confined to school terms.
• The food-package decision. Opting out means providing food and specified consumables, with a term's notice required. Allergy-affected families should confirm how their child's food requirements fit the nursery's food policy.

Oakdale suits families seeking regular part-time or full-time standard days, with an early-start option for an earlier working day. The separate youngest-child garden, free-flow outdoor access for older children and additional pod space give parents concrete environmental features to weigh. The Good judgement provides a dated assessment of quality, with quieter children's participation and mealtime guidance remaining useful points for a visit. The other decisive choice is financial: stretched funding and the dining-package alternative need to fit the family's year-round childcare pattern.