Fizzy Fish, Tudor Close

Starfish downstairs, Clownfish and Seahorse upstairs, and a Busy room for meals and messy play: Fizzy Fish, Tudor Close gives babies and toddlers different spaces within a semi-detached house in Hove. Sleep has its own rooms, too. The layout makes this a setting to consider for families who want early childcare organised around the routines of very young children.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective, with warm relationships and familiar home routines among the strengths. That judgement belongs to that visit. The current age range is three months to three years, and the nursery has capacity for 24 children in total.

Morning and afternoon half days, full days and a shorter School day sit alongside all-year and term-time contracts. There is flexibility in the menu, but the minimum attendance and single-setting rules matter when deciding whether it fits family life.

Rooms and Ages

Starfish serves children under 18 months, with books, toys and a cosy area downstairs; the Busy room brings children together for painting, playdough, cooking and meals. For children aged 18 months and over, Clownfish and Seahorse provide upstairs play spaces that children can move between. These are different environments within the same house, rather than a single room carrying every part of the day.

Older children generally nap after lunch, while babies' rest follows their individual needs; staff monitor children throughout their sleep. Two separate sleep rooms and a choice of travel cots, prams or mats support those different routines. For a family whose baby still has an unpredictable nap pattern, that distinction between play space and sleep space is a useful practical detail.

The garden has an astroturf surface for use across the year. Its play resources include a wendy house for pretend play, a picnic sand table and a raised den within a small wooded area. A raised pond is used for tadpoles each year, giving children something living to watch change rather than only pictures of the natural world.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS is the required framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play, conversation and growing independence turn those expectations into everyday experiences. Picture labels help children identify toy boxes, and low shelves let them choose resources themselves. Adult-led activities sit alongside that choice, so the day includes both children's interests and planned opportunities to learn.

The first group time usually includes The Welcome Song, giving children an opportunity to share their news. Stories and singing also bring the group together before meals. Practitioners use speech, Makaton signing and children's individual ways of communicating to understand what they need; communication is broader than waiting for spoken sentences.

Planning begins with a topic for babies and a storybook for toddlers, with activities linked to individual next steps. A baseline assessment follows at least 20 hours in the setting, allowing the key worker time to begin knowing the child before setting a starting point. Plans usually cover four weeks, but children's interest and the success of activities can shorten or extend that period. The practical emphasis includes feeding themselves, washing hands and faces, putting on shoes and learning to use an open cup.

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted identified two connected improvements: leaders needed to make their intentions for learning clearer to staff, and practitioners needed to plan the order of learning more precisely so that children who had mastered a skill were stretched further. This is the central qualification to the Good judgement. Interesting activities and a clear next step are different things, and families should weigh both.

In September 2023, children explored sensory materials and filled containers with sand; construction play included working out how to attach wheels. Staff supplied words for what children were attempting. Visits to a park and the local library also introduced children to their community at that time. Sand, construction and community visits formed part of children's experiences in September 2023.

Relationships and Communication

A key person takes particular responsibility for each child's care, learning and contact with parents. That person can change when a child moves rooms, and shifts mean another practitioner may pass on information at the beginning or end of a session. Parents can arrange a longer conversation with the key person, rather than relying entirely on brief daily exchanges.

Home routines shape the nursery day, especially for younger children. Before starting, the Child Record Form and, where needed, Baby Information Sheet capture routines and other practical information close to the child's start date. Sleep needs are discussed when joining. That gives staff a starting point for individual care rather than expecting every baby to follow the same pattern.

Famly, the communication app, carries updates about eating, sleep, nappy changes and activities, as well as photographs and observations. Parents can also add observations from home to their child's Journey. This two-way exchange matters: a new word or interest outside nursery can inform what practitioners offer during the next session.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Across Fizzy Fish's settings, termly ECAT assessments examine children's communication skills against age expectations. Where a child continues to need more help, staff discuss the next steps with parents and can involve outside agencies for assessment and advice. Between the second and third birthdays, a further developmental discussion leads to a written account on Famly. These are specific routes for recognising a need and discussing support, rather than a blanket promise about outcomes.

Accident and incident information is sent through Famly, while a head injury prompts a telephone call. Prescribed medicines require prior consent, and parents must acknowledge recorded accidents, incidents and medication on the day. These arrangements make timely information sharing part of the care routine.

Meals are cooked freshly at the Tudor Close nursery by a resident chef, and the allergy arrangements include catering for excluded foods and using picture placemats to identify children's allergies or preferences. Families managing an allergy should discuss current preparation and serving practice during a visit.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 21 Tudor Close, Hove BN3 7NR. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with a Christmas closure; term-time contracts cover 38 weeks. General enquiries can be made by telephone or through the enquiry form, while requests for specified attendance patterns use the contracted-sessions form.

Half days last five hours, with morning starts at 7.30am, 7.45am or 8am and an afternoon start at 1pm. The Tudor Close rate table also gives a full day from 8am to 6pm. A seven-hour School day has starts running from 7.30am through to 9am. It is a nursery booking label, offering a shorter attendance pattern within the opening day.

The minimum commitment is two sessions each week across two days, and children attending another setting are not accepted. A signed contract specifies the requested sessions, followed by the consent and child-information forms before starting. A non-returnable registration charge applies when a place is booked.

Contracted absences for illness or family holidays remain payable, as do bank holidays falling on contracted sessions. The bank holiday swap scheme allows the same session type to be taken within 28 days afterwards, subject to space. Ending a contract or changing sessions requires at least four weeks' notice, worked in whole weeks and excluding periods when no fees are paid.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding includes support for eligible working families from nine months and eligible two-year-olds receiving council support. Funded hours can be used during term time or spread over the all-year contract. Additional private hours and sessions are also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and fees page explains the contract structure.

For standalone funded hours at the Hove nursery, the all-year afternoon pattern for a 30-hour entitlement runs Monday to Friday, 1.30pm to 5.54pm. The 15-hour pattern runs on Monday, Friday and one other day, from 1.30pm to 5.06pm. Tea is provided with these standalone sessions, which are offered completely free.

Other funded sessions carry a Consumables and Extras charge covering food preparation and meals, suncream, Calpol and occasional activities supplied by third-party companies. Fully paid sessions include meals, and the separate charge does not apply to fully paid sessions or privately paid hours within a session. Parents supply nappies and formula milk; wipes are provided, while suncream falls within the inclusive paid-session structure or the extras charge in flexible funded sessions. The distinction between standalone funding, flexible funded attendance and private hours is essential to understanding the bill.

• Learning beyond the next activity. The September 2023 improvement priorities concerned clearer teaching intentions and better progression. During a visit, ask how staff build on a skill your child already has, using a recent example from the child's age group.
• One setting and two days. The minimum is two weekly sessions over two days, and attendance elsewhere is not accepted. This needs to fit any existing childcare arrangement before a contract is signed.
• Funding pattern and extras. Completely free standalone afternoons have fixed days and times; other funded sessions attract the Consumables and Extras charge. Match the written quotation to the precise pattern you intend to book.
• Sleep and food routines. Separate sleep rooms, individual sleep discussions and allergy arrangements are part of the offer. A visit is the opportunity to discuss how your child's naps, feeding and any allergy requirements would work in practice.

Fizzy Fish, Tudor Close suits families seeking either shorter morning or afternoon attendance or full-day care for babies and toddlers, with both term-time and all-year contracts. Named play rooms, separate sleeping spaces and a day built around young children's routines give it a clear identity. Famly and termly communication assessments add practical ways for parents to stay involved.

The September 2023 Good judgement comes with meaningful curriculum improvement priorities, and the booking rules deserve equal attention. For families whose arrangements fit the two-day minimum and single-setting policy, this is a nursery with a detailed early-years offer and a funding structure that rewards careful choice of attendance pattern.