The Wishing Tree Nursery

Five bird-named groups, garden access from every classroom and a growing area give The Wishing Tree Nursery a recognisable character. At 14 Carden Avenue in Brighton, children can move between indoor activities and outdoor exploration, with mud kitchens, climbing frames and planting adding substance to the day. The garden is part of daily life.

The nursery has capacity for 86 children and accepts ages from six months to five years. At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective, with communication support helping children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. The improvement point concerned babies waiting for meals.

Full-day attendance and flexible wraparound care serve different family schedules. The important practical qualification is a minimum booking of two full days each week, alongside a Christmas closure that families need to build into their childcare plans.

Rooms and Ages

Puffins introduces babies to nursery life; Hummingbirds emphasises toddlers’ increasing independence; Toucans serves children aged two and over through play; Flamingos uses structured routines to prepare children for preschool and works with Toucans on the move between groups; Owls serves ages three to five, building activities around children’s interests and preparation for school.

Resources suit each group’s age and stage.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children’s learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday routines support emerging skills. Alongside it sit the Foundations for the Future and ME models, intended to encourage independence and creativity, drawing on Montessori, Hygge and the Curiosity Approach. The concrete experiences here include sensory play, music, sports and yoga.

In February 2024, babies handled textured storybooks and older children predicted stories from illustrations. Repeated vocabulary and simple signs helped children express needs while speech was developing.

In February 2024, yoga, clay and pipettes developed balance and hand control for later writing. Adults supporting a challenging jigsaw let children try their ideas before giving clues.

Sing and Sign is part of the enrichment package, alongside instruments and sports; it adds a named session to the nursery’s music and movement experiences. Yoga also forms part of the current activity offer, giving children time for stretching and relaxation as well as more energetic play.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Growing Garden lets children tend plants and explore how they grow. Mud kitchens, climbing frames and messy play provide different ways to use the outdoor space, from handling materials to practising movement. Seasonal activities include autumn leaf hunts, so changes outdoors become something children can investigate.

Withdean Park is beside the nursery. Regular outings reach local amenities and a nearby forest. Enrichment includes library and high-street visits, contact between generations and community visitors, extending learning beyond the classroom.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2024, staff sought children’s permission before intimate care and allowed them to choose which adult helped. For a young child, that is a practical form of being listened to: their preferences matter during the most personal parts of the day. Babies also practised wiping their own noses using mirrors, while older children helped prepare tables for meals.

The Grandir UK app gives parents updates during the day, including meals and activities. An open-door approach allows families to discuss progress with staff, and stay-and-play sessions offer a way to share nursery experiences with their child. Social events and a monthly grab-and-go breakfast add opportunities for contact that go beyond a brief exchange about routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCo supports children with additional needs. The team includes early years teachers and nursery practitioners, with training in safeguarding, first aid and food hygiene.

During February 2024, adults divided the day into manageable stages to help children understand what would happen next, and discussions around stories explored differences in children’s backgrounds. Parents received updates about learning and changes to routines, while staff worked with families and other professionals. This connected nursery experiences with support beyond the setting.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted identified avoidable waits before babies’ meals because of the handwashing arrangements, which sometimes left them upset or restless, and asked for the routine to be strengthened. It is a specific concern about how care was organised, and deserves attention alongside the positive findings.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 14 Carden Avenue, Brighton, BN1 8NA. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and the full-day pattern is a ten-hour day. The minimum weekly booking is two full days. That is a substantial attendance commitment for a family seeking only a small amount of regular childcare.

Early Bird care runs from 7.30am to 8am, and flexible wraparound options are also offered. Full-year attendance extends care beyond school terms. The nursery opens for 51 weeks, closes on bank holidays and has a one-week Christmas shutdown; Christmas Eve closes earlier, at 4.30pm.

Booking priority goes to full-time working families. Enquiries can be made through the nursery’s question form, by telephone on 01273 551515 or through the Parent Engagement team. A personal tour can be requested through the visit form.

Getting There

Withdean Park provides a useful landmark beside the nursery, and access is via the A23, A27 and public transport links. Brighton train station is also named as a nearby transport connection.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid hours are both offered. The entitlements include 15 hours for eligible families receiving additional government support with children aged two to three, the universal 15 hours for ages three to four, and up to 30 hours for eligible working families with children from nine months to four years. Working-family funding starts in the term after the child turns nine months, with a valid code required before the start of term. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks: the corresponding weekly allocations are 11.17 hours and 22.34 hours.

For funded attendance, families complete a separate Parent/Carer Agreement Form and return it to the local authority’s deadlines. Funding covers the agreed education and care hours and is applied in continuous blocks. Additional private hours are charged separately. Monthly billing spreads the annual total into 12 equal payments, helping families plan around a consistent invoice.

Private attendance prices include the Everyday Essentials package, covering food, care products and enrichment. Catering includes snacks, breakfast, a cooked lunch and tea, with vegan and vegetarian choices; nappies, wipes, sun cream and hand sanitiser are included through the care-products element. During funded hours, catering, consumables and enrichment are charged separately, but funded-only sessions can be taken without buying the package or paying additional charges.

A non-refundable administration charge applies when securing a place and covers enrolment, settling sessions and the settling pack. Families using funded hours only instead pay a deposit, credited to their account and returned within a month of starting. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Babies’ mealtimes. The February 2024 concern was unnecessary waiting during handwashing before food. On a visit, ask how that sequence now works for Puffins, especially when several babies need help together.
• Weekly commitment and closures. The minimum is two full days, with a one-week Christmas shutdown and an earlier Christmas Eve finish. Weigh that pattern against the amount of care you need and the cover your family can arrange during closures.
• Funded hours and Everyday Essentials. Catering, consumables and enrichment carry separate charges during funded hours, while funded-only sessions can be taken without extra charges. Ask for the written quotation to distinguish private hours, the package and the funded-only arrangement; families managing allergies should also confirm current food-handling practice.
• Sing and Sign. This named enrichment session sits alongside instruments and sports. Ask what it involves for your child’s group and how participation works within the package.

The Wishing Tree suits families seeking regular full-day attendance and those combining it with Early Bird or flexible wraparound care. Garden access from every classroom, the Growing Garden and community outings give the offer practical substance, while bird-named groups make the progression from babies to preschool easy to understand.

The February 2024 Good judgement supports the choice, alongside the babies’ mealtime concern. Families need to weigh the two-full-day minimum, Christmas cover and paid Everyday Essentials.