Cherry Pie Day Nursery

Personal care is the strongest thread at Cherry Pie Day Nursery: babies’ routines shaped around home life, signing used to support communication, and practical help for children who need extra support. This family-run, independent setting in Brighton accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. Its blend of Montessori and Reggio Emilia approaches uses natural materials and resources that children can explore in different ways.

At its June 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged inclusion, children’s welfare and wellbeing, behaviour and routines, and leadership and governance to be at Strong standard, with safeguarding standards met. Those are substantial strengths for families weighing relationships and individual support alongside learning.

Attendance spans 51 weeks, with a Full day and a shorter School day booking pattern. The distinction matters: families can choose between different finishing times rather than organising every booking around the longest day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: play, communication, physical development and learning to manage relationships belong together in the nursery day. Montessori and Reggio Emilia sit alongside that framework here, with natural and open resources forming the concrete basis of the nursery’s blended approach. The materials leave room for children to explore rather than prescribing a single use.

At the June 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged curriculum and teaching and achievement to be at Expected standard, finding that children progressed but teaching did not consistently extend their understanding as far as it could. This is the central qualification to the otherwise strong picture of care. The next step was to make the quality of staff interactions more consistent.

In June 2026, language ran through activities across the ages. Babies heard words repeated clearly, while older children discussed feelings and practised conversation through exchanges with staff. Signing accompanied speech for children needing additional communication support. That connects language to everyday experiences rather than confining it to a separate activity.

Physical learning was equally concrete that June. Babies practised pulling themselves upright using play equipment; other children squeezed and rolled dough, or worked out how to extract toy fish through narrow openings. These activities exercised hands, coordination and persistence. Books and pretend play added different ways to participate.

Sensory ice play and shared stories also featured in June 2026. Activities were chosen around children’s interests, with personal, social and emotional development given particular attention. The useful distinction is between engaging children in play and extending what they learn through it: both matter, and the latter remained an area for development.

Outdoor and Community Life

A garden featured in the June 2026 nursery day. Children helped one another negotiate a small step leading into it, turning an ordinary change of space into a chance to practise care for a friend. Turn-taking and helping others also formed part of play and routines. The outdoor detail is modest, but the social learning attached to it is tangible.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2026, key persons and other staff built relationships through responsive attention and familiar routines. Babies’ feeds, stages of weaning and sleep arrangements were adjusted to match home patterns. For a family with a young baby, that makes the exchange of everyday information consequential: care can follow the child’s routine rather than expecting the child to fit a fixed timetable.

Communication with parents worked in both directions that June, with guidance tailored to individual families. Staff also supported families through referrals for specialist help. This gives parent partnership a practical role beyond updates about activities: information from home and advice from professionals can inform what happens during the nursery day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In June 2026, staff drew on specialist advice and parents’ knowledge when putting together individual support plans. Plans were shared across the team, while signing and visual prompts helped children understand what would happen next. Older children also used signs with spoken language when communicating with friends. These are specific mechanisms for participation, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

Additional funding was used that June for extra attendance, more intensive adult support and access to activities, with its impact monitored. Familiar routines and targeted strategies also helped children manage emotions and prepare for changes during the day. Families seeking support can use these concrete practices as the starting point for discussing their own child’s needs.

Health habits appeared in everyday care in June 2026. Older children learnt about toothbrushing, and staff explained sun safety and drinking enough water. Mealtimes combined eating with opportunities to practise independence and spend time together.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 151 Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 0AG. Standard opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; a paid 7.30am early drop-off can be arranged on request. That earlier start is an additional service, so it should be distinguished from the standard day.

Full day bookings run from 8am to 6pm, while School day bookings finish at 4pm after the same start. Attendance operates across 51 weeks, with bank-holiday closures and three days between Christmas and New Year. Enquiries and registration of interest use the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

The 15 Hours EYEE and 30 Hours EYEE entitlements are offered on a stretched basis: respectively 11 and 22 hours each week across 51 weeks. For 2- and 3-year-old children receiving 15-hour funding, this could cover three sessions of 3.5 hours per week; extended 30-hour funding could cover five sessions of four hours. Funded session timings are subject to change. The funded Full day and School day calculations allow a maximum of six funded hours per day. Eligibility remains a condition, rather than a promise attached to a booking.

Private hours can sit alongside funding, and additional ad hoc sessions are billed in the following month. Fees are spread across monthly invoices using the 51-week year. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees page explains the attendance and funding structure.

Meals, snacks, nappies, wipes and creams are included in the fees. Food is home-cooked, with vegan, halal and dairy-free options among the dietary requirements the nursery can accommodate.

For children attending solely through funded hours, neither a deposit nor a registration fee is required. Where a deposit has been paid, it is credited against the final month’s invoice. The funded-only exemption is an important distinction when comparing that arrangement with paid attendance.

• Consistency of teaching. In June 2026, extending children’s understanding through staff interactions remained the development priority. On a visit, ask how coaching now helps staff move an activity beyond participation into deeper learning.
• Matching the funded pattern. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, and funded session timings can change. Ask how the proposed funded schedule fits the School day or Full day pattern your family needs.
• Babies’ daily routines. Home-linked feeding and sleep arrangements featured in June 2026. A visit is the place to discuss how your baby’s routine would be shared with the key person and followed through the day.

Cherry Pie suits families seeking either the 8am–4pm School day or the 8am–6pm Full day across the year, with an earlier start by arrangement. Its clearest strength is the practical attention given to care and individual participation in June 2026: home-linked baby routines, communication aids and shared support plans. The balance is clear. Relationships and inclusion carry considerable weight here, while consistency in stretching children’s learning deserves attention alongside them.