Teddy Bears Day Nursery

Spaghetti pushed into play dough, a model volcano and stories about feelings give Teddy Bears Day Nursery a recognisable educational character. These were learning experiences in March 2023, rather than activities chosen simply to fill the day. The emphasis was on what children could discover, say and do for themselves.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 16 March 2023 inspection, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. Today, this Hove setting has 34 places in total and accepts children aged three months to five years.

Full days, mornings and afternoons give families different ways to use the nursery. Its fee structure also bundles food and several everyday care supplies into the price, reducing the number of separate items parents need to organise.

Rooms and Ages

Little Teds covers babies and toddlers up to three years, with books, music, puzzles and toys supporting exploration, social interaction and growing independence. Each child has a designated key person, giving individual care a clear point of responsibility.

Big Teds serves children aged three to five, using games and shared activities to develop language, reasoning and problem solving before school. Planning follows the EYFS, Early Years Foundation Stage: activities take account of each child's development across seven areas of learning. In parent terms, preparation for school reaches beyond practising isolated skills; communication and working with others belong alongside thinking things through.

The two age groups have different emphases. Younger children explore through play and familiar resources, while preschool activities give more explicit attention to solving problems and expressing ideas. The whole-setting capacity should not be read as the size of either group.

Learning and Activities

In March 2023, younger children experimented with inserting spaghetti into play dough, handling it carefully so it stayed intact. That combined finger control with a practical problem: how to manipulate something fragile. A volcano model introduced scientific vocabulary, including magma and ash, and prompted children to ask questions about the pictures they were exploring.

Mathematics also had a tangible starting point that March. Children arranged gems and stones into patterns, with staff questions encouraging them to think further about what they had made. These examples show the substance behind the activity: materials provided something to investigate, and conversation extended the learning.

The Colour Monster, a story used to connect colours with emotions, was another March 2023 example. Children remembered the story and discussed those connections; bringing books from home gave them a way to share their reading interests with friends. Learning about Holi introduced a festival as part of exploring the wider world. Neither example needs a grand programme name to explain its value: stories opened discussion about feelings, while festivals brought other experiences into nursery life.

For Little Teds, the key-person arrangement makes individual needs somebody's specific responsibility. Full-time staff working across the nursery also provide continuity in children's relationships, rather than care depending entirely on a changing sequence of adults.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described prompt identification of children needing additional help, with strategies introduced and speech and language therapists involved where necessary, including support for children with SEND. This is a dated assessment of practice, supported by concrete actions rather than a general promise about inclusion.

Everyday responsibility was visible in March 2023 too. Children took on a daily job and put resources away independently. A picture board helped them indicate when their turn using technology had ended, making turn-taking and decisions about screen time part of the routine.

Relationships between children also mattered that March: when a task became difficult, children sought help from friends and tackled it together. That gives independence a useful counterbalance. Children were learning to take responsibility, but also to recognise when another person could help.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at 59 Glebe Villas, Hove, BN3 5SL. It opens Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, throughout the year apart from bank holidays.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. These are separate booking patterns, so a family considering a shorter session can compare a morning or afternoon with the full-day option directly.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01273 412100. The nursery also accepts appointment requests.

Getting There

Portslade Station is five minutes walk away. New Church Road has buses 1, 1a and 6, while Portland Road is served by 46, 46a, 49 and 49a, giving families named public-transport options on either side of the nursery.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government funding is offered for children aged nine months to two years and three to four years. Paid sessions are also offered; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page sets out the session structure.

The all-inclusive session fees cover breakfast, drinks, snacks and a hot lunch with two courses. Non-food supplies included in those fees are wipes, nappies and sun cream, with formula milk included up to one year old.

For families comparing costs, that bundled structure matters alongside the session length. Food and routine supplies form part of the paid-session package; arrangements for using funded entitlement deserve their own discussion rather than being assumed from the private fee structure.

• Funded attendance. Government funding covers the stated younger-child and preschool age bands, while the all-inclusive package accompanies paid sessions. Ask how your proposed funded booking is delivered and which food or supply charges apply to it.
• Moving between groups. Little Teds extends to three years and Big Teds starts at three. During a visit, discuss how the move between them is handled for your child and how the key-person relationship continues.
• Choosing the session. Mornings end at 1pm and afternoons begin then, while a full day ends at 6pm. Compare those handover times with your working day before choosing a pattern.

Teddy Bears suits families considering either full-day care or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with continuity from a full-time staff team and a key person for younger children. Its March 2023 learning examples give the educational offer substance: practical investigation, stories about emotions and small responsibilities all had a clear purpose.

The all-inclusive paid-session package is another useful feature, especially for parents organising food and everyday supplies. For a funded booking, the delivery and extras question belongs alongside the choice of session. The strongest case here combines a small overall capacity with specific evidence of thoughtful nursery learning, while keeping that dated inspection picture separate from today's practical arrangements.