Sussex House Nursery

A hospital connection and a city-facing nursery day give Sussex House Nursery its character. Linked to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, it combined individualised baby care with community visits in February 2024. It has 67 places in total, with a current age range of three months to five years.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective, while identifying improvements needed in teaching younger children, giving clear instructions and developing online-safety learning. That balance matters: there is a positive assessment here, alongside specific questions about how teaching has developed.

Opening hours are 7am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round operation and closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and daily routines become opportunities to build skills. In February 2024, staff drew on parents' knowledge of their children's interests and development, alongside their own observations, to plan activities. This connected nursery learning with what children were already doing at home.

Language threaded through the day. In February 2024, adults connected words with children's play, children joined familiar passages during stories, and toddlers acted out animals while singing. These were concrete opportunities to practise listening, recall and expression. Stories and songs gave children an active part in the activity rather than simply an audience role.

Movement had a place too. In February 2024, yoga sessions involved revisiting poses with adult demonstrations, giving children opportunities to practise controlled movement. Children also showed their achievements to friends. The activity brought physical practice and shared participation together.

Beyond the nursery, February 2024 visits introduced children to community life and people whose work helps others. Staff also gathered information about home languages and family heritage, using it to plan experiences around different customs and celebrations. Brighton was part of the learning, rather than just the nursery's address; family experience contributed another source of ideas.

In February 2024, care in the baby room centred on relationships and responses to individual needs. Staff paid attention to attachment, an important practical emphasis for babies learning to trust the adults caring for them. This is the youngest children's experience, distinct from the group activities described for toddlers and older children.

Emotional understanding was also made tangible. In February 2024, staff used puppets, books, pictures and conversations to help children communicate their feelings, then adjusted their responses accordingly. A child who could not yet explain an emotion in words had other ways to express it.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator worked with families, staff and external professionals, using referrals and targeted plans to support early intervention. The useful detail is the mechanism: concerns about development could lead to coordinated action, rather than remaining an informal conversation.

Sussex House Nursery is at Sussex House Building, 1 Abbey Road, Brighton, BN2 1ES, within University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Its connection with the Royal Sussex County Hospital makes it a relevant option for families considering childcare alongside hospital employment.

The weekday opening window runs from 7am until 5.30pm. Care operates across the year, with bank holiday and Christmas closures, so those breaks belong in a family's childcare planning.

A salary-related fee scale applies to Sussex House Nursery and Wendy House nursery. Employees using these nurseries can also join the salary sacrifice scheme to help with childcare costs. The employee condition matters when considering the overall cost; families should obtain their current prices in a written quotation.

In February 2024, the nursery accepted early education funding for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated participation fact, rather than a promise of a funded place or a particular attendance arrangement.

• Teaching younger children. February 2024 findings called for clearer sequencing and learning priorities for the younger age group. On a visit, ask how activities now build from children's existing skills and how practitioners choose the next step.
• Instructions and screen safety. In February 2024, some questioning gave children too little thinking time, instructions could be unclear, and online-safety teaching needed further development. Ask for examples of how staff explain tasks and teach safe screen use now.
• Matching care to work. The nursery opens until 5.30pm on weekdays and closes for bank holidays and Christmas. How would the proposed booking pattern and funded-hours arrangements fit your working timetable?

Sussex House Nursery suits families seeking year-round weekday childcare in Brighton, especially those for whom its hospital connection and employee fee arrangements are relevant. Its February 2024 experience combined language-rich play, physical activity and community visits with attention to babies' relationships and children's feelings. The decision deserves a practical visit: the teaching improvements are specific enough to discuss through examples, and the closing time needs to work with the family's day.