Dell Cottage Day Nursery

Colour-coded play rooms, upstairs sleep rooms and weekly music and dance give Dell Cottage Day Nursery a recognisable character. Children can move between different kinds of play downstairs, while the youngest children have their own upstairs accommodation and garden space. The building supports different stages of childhood rather than putting every age into the same arrangement.

At its April 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Dell Cottage Outstanding overall and for education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. The practical detail behind that judgement is useful: children explored rhyme, measured play dough, rehearsed conversations in pretend shops and used outdoor climbing walls. Learning was woven into things children could do, handle and discuss.

The nursery accepts children aged one to five at 76 Walkford Road in Walkford, Christchurch. It opens throughout the year, with weekday opening hours from 8am to 6pm and closures for public holidays and Christmas. A minimum booking of two sessions applies.

Rooms and Ages

The ground floor belongs to children aged two to five, with movement between rooms and outdoor space. Purple Room emphasises sensory exploration; Blue Room supports pretend play and dressing up; Messy Room provides art and craft activities; Yellow Room connects directly to the patio garden; Green Room provides play space. These are different spaces for different activities, so children need not stay in one room for every part of their day.

For children aged two and under, Baby Rooms occupy the upper floor, with play and creative spaces, two rooms for sleep and a garden reserved for this age group. Soft astroturf and a summer house form part of that outdoor area. Separating sleep accommodation from play space is a practical feature for families comparing the youngest children's daily arrangements.

The age descriptions overlap at two, so age alone does not distinguish the upstairs and downstairs arrangements.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS 2021) provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday language, this means learning through play and interactions, with staff observing what children can do and planning their next steps. Dell Cottage also uses Tapestry, an online journal that brings together photographs, observations and comments about each child's experiences.

Twinkle Toes Local Music Group adds a weekly session combining movement, singing and instruments. Explore Creative Dance Session also takes place each week, using dance to act out fairy tales. These offer two different ways for children to participate: making music together and expressing a story through movement. Both sit alongside the everyday learning framework.

In April 2024, activities connected language to practical experiences. Staff extended babies' attempts at speech during sand play, younger children changed the words of familiar songs, and older children played with rhyming sounds. The examples show how communication activities differed by stage, rather than relying on the same exercise for everyone.

Mathematical play was equally tangible in April 2024. Children counted successful throws through a hoop on a chalkboard and used metre rulers to measure rolled play dough. Shapes also became a subject for conversation during painting. Numbers and measurement were attached to actions children could see, repeat and talk about.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor provision includes a front garden and a patio garden for preschool children, alongside the youngest children's separate garden. Painting, water play, books and planting extend activities beyond the indoor rooms. Growing plants and investigating insects give children things to observe and discuss as they explore the outdoor environment.

In April 2024, children used climbing walls outdoors and visited the local post office to experience posting and receiving letters. Staff also made supermarket videos before children tried shop conversations in role play. Those experiences linked familiar places with the vocabulary needed to take part in everyday exchanges.

Family activities extend beyond the ordinary nursery day. The annual Summer Trip takes families and staff to destinations such as Paultons Park and Adventure Wonderland, with the venue changing between years. December's Christmas Play takes place in a village hall, with costumes, singing and a short nativity performance. The latter is a performance children prepare for, rather than simply a family gathering.

Relationships and Communication

Parents can access their child's Tapestry journal whenever they wish, and regular discussions accompany the online updates. An open-door policy gives families another route for talking about development. Photographs and observations can make those conversations more concrete: parents have examples to discuss rather than relying solely on a brief account of the day.

In April 2024, staff shared their observations with parents and invited them to help shape children's next steps. Staff also discussed training together, demonstrated ideas to colleagues and considered how to use new learning in daily practice. This describes a team approach to planning, with children's development informing what happened next.

The team undertakes regular training in safeguarding, first aid and food hygiene, and many staff have worked at Dell Cottage for between ten and eighteen years. That length of service is relevant to families who value continuity, though it does not establish which practitioner will work with a particular child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its April 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, activities closely matched to children's individual needs, including SEND, and rapid progress for children with gaps in learning. Joint training for parents and staff supported consistent ways of interacting with children with SEND. The practical mechanism matters: support extended to shared approaches between nursery and home.

Sleep has dedicated accommodation upstairs, rather than being described only as part of the general play space. For younger children, that is an important element of the room arrangement alongside their separate outdoor area.

A home-cooked, two-course lunch is available daily, with vegetarian choices and alternatives for allergies; children can instead bring a healthy packed lunch, subject to restrictions including nuts and fizzy drinks. Breakfast is available for children attending at 8am, snacks accompany the morning and afternoon, milk is free, water is offered throughout the day, and another two-course meal is available for children staying between 5pm and 6pm.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Dell Cottage operates across the year and closes for public holidays and the Christmas period. Its minimum requirement is two sessions, so families planning a lighter attendance pattern need to take that booking condition into account.

Fees are paid in advance, and registration carries a non-refundable charge. Families should obtain a current written quotation from the nursery before committing, so the price and payment arrangements are clear together. The contact form provides an enquiry route, and the nursery can also be reached on 01425 274411.

Getting There

The address is 76 Walkford Road, Walkford, Christchurch, BH23 5QG. This is the address for both the nursery's enquiries and its day-to-day provision.

• The move between age groups. Upstairs accommodation serves children aged two and under, while the ground floor serves ages two to five. Ask how a child's move between these spaces is planned, including changes to sleep and outdoor routines.
• Attendance commitment. A two-session minimum applies and fees are payable in advance. Discuss which booking pattern fits your week and obtain the written quotation before registering.
• Food and allergies. Vegetarian choices and alternatives for allergies are available at lunch. Families managing allergies should confirm current food preparation and handling arrangements.
• Funded hours and extras. Ask how funded attendance would work for your child and which food or non-food items you would pay for or supply. This is a useful question to include when reviewing the quotation.

Dell Cottage suits families who value separate accommodation for younger children, varied downstairs play spaces and regular creative activities. Weekly music and dance provide clear additions to the everyday programme, while Tapestry offers a practical way to follow a child's experiences between conversations with staff.

The Outstanding judgement from April 2024 carries weight, and the examples behind it are more useful than the label alone: language through play, practical mathematics and experiences linked to familiar places. For families whose plans fit the two-session minimum and weekday opening window, this is a nursery worth considering for its room arrangements, communication and combination of indoor and outdoor activity.