Wagtails Nursery

A wild forest garden and a bright playroom with small alcoves give Wagtails Nursery two different scales of play: space for movement, and quieter corners for children to gather. Set within the grounds of St Paul’s Primary School in Brighton, it takes children aged two to four and has 30 places in total. Its appeal combines an outdoor setting with a carefully described approach to helping children settle.

At its July 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated Wagtails Nursery Good overall and Outstanding for behaviour and attitudes, found safeguarding effective, and judged that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress from their starting points. Those are dated judgements. The strongest examples from that visit were children collaborating in play, using mathematical ideas and developing independence.

Attendance can follow morning, afternoon, school-day or working-day patterns, with either term-time attendance or a 47-week arrangement. That gives families choices beyond a single daily timetable.

Rooms and Ages

The playroom is naturally light, with alcoves that create smaller spaces within the main room. Children also have access to a sheltered playground, a kitchen, an IT suite and a hall used for dance and gym. The alcoves and hall give quieter play and energetic movement separate spaces.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, including communication, physical development and personal, social and emotional development. In everyday terms, children learn through play, conversation, movement and relationships. Wagtails gives a concrete account of how communication fits into that day.

Daily circle sessions use a greeting song, stories, actions and a picture timetable. Children can contribute at a level that feels comfortable, rather than being required to speak. Pictures show what has happened and what comes next, helping children understand the sequence of their session. Makaton hand signals accompany spoken words and visual prompts, giving children another way to follow and join the activity.

Counting is woven into the group routine: a child moves around the circle with a feather or wand, touching and counting the other children with support suited to their confidence. Story props make a story more tangible, while songs give children repeated opportunities to experiment with sounds.

In July 2021, mathematical play included matching toys to numbers, recognising numerals and comparing the size of towers. Children also negotiated how to construct a cardboard-box rocket together. The examples show number work and cooperation happening within play, rather than as disconnected exercises. Staff extended an activity when children were ready for a greater challenge, including moving from cutting paper to cutting cardboard.

Outdoor and Community Life

The wild forest garden sits alongside a playground used for running. Together with the sheltered outdoor space, it gives children different ways to spend time outside, rather than one area serving every purpose.

In July 2021, children practised balancing on tree stumps in the forest area, joined yoga activities and ran regularly. They also grew produce and tasted what they had grown. Those experiences connected movement, the natural world and food in practical ways.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is allocated a key person before starting, with a backup practitioner for times when that person is away. The allocation can change if a child develops a stronger bond with someone else. That flexibility puts the child's relationship ahead of keeping the original arrangement unchanged.

Settling is gradual. Introductory sessions last approximately one to two hours, with a free settling period over a week adjusted to the child's needs and development. Parents can remain with their child during the early weeks, and separation can begin with brief periods before increasing. Where settling takes longer, staff develop a plan with the family; outings wait until the child is fully settled.

The First week free offer supports shorter settling sessions and applies once a family has registered for at least one term.

Online learning journals give parents password-protected access to photographs and assessment notes, with notifications when entries are added. They offer something concrete to discuss with a child at home. Wagtails also shares communication ideas with families, including following a child's interests, repeating familiar songs and making time for conversation with fewer distractions.

At the July 2021 inspection, Ofsted identified two improvements: sharing individual learning information more consistently with parents, including how to extend it at home, and giving children more chances to use their home languages.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes a special educational needs and disabilities coordinator with an early years practitioner qualification, and a manager with an education degree.

In July 2021, staff worked with other professionals to support children with additional needs. Staff also received coaching and training support from management.

Healthy habits appeared in play during July 2021: children used toothbrushes and pictures of teeth to explore toothbrushing, and discussed handwashing alongside growing and tasting produce.

Sessions and Attendance

Wagtails Nursery is based at St Paul's Church Of England Primary School, St Nicholas Road, Brighton, BN1 3LP. School day sessions run from 08:45 to 15:15, while the Working Day runs from 08:45 to 16:15; both have part-time options. The School morning session runs from 08:45 to 12:45, and the School afternoon session from 12:45 to 15:15. An After school hour runs from 15:15 to 16:15, and flexible hours are also offered.

Families can choose 38-week term-time attendance or 47 weeks across the year. For the latter arrangement, the set holiday closures are two weeks around Christmas and New Year, one at Easter and two at the end of August. Choosing between these calendars changes both the attendance pattern and how funding is spread.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, and viewings can be booked. The nursery's school setting does not guarantee a Reception place: families still use the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible two-year-olds. Standard three-year-old funding starts the term after the child's third birthday; extended funding starts then too, subject to application and receipt of the entitlement. The standard pattern is 15 hours weekly during term time or 12 hours over 47 weeks; extended funding can provide up to 30 term-time hours or 24 hours over 47 weeks. All sessions can be used for funding, with additional attendance beyond the funded allowance charged privately.

There is no top-up charge or separate consumables fee for funded sessions. Snacks are included in session fees; the morning session offers either a packed lunch from home or a hot meal charged separately.

A registration charge applies except to families receiving two-year-old funding, and no deposit is required. A sibling discount applies to chargeable hours for the second child when both attend at the same time. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the sessions and fees page explains the charge structure.

• Learning updates. In July 2021, individual learning information did not reach every parent consistently. During a viewing, ask how journal entries now explain your child's next steps and useful activities at home.
• Home languages. The July 2021 improvement point concerned opportunities to use languages other than English in play. Families raising a multilingual child should discuss how their language will be included in everyday activities.
• Settling commitment. The First week free offer requires registration for at least one term. Discuss how the shorter introductory sessions would fit your child's needs before choosing an attendance pattern.
• School setting. Wagtails occupies school grounds, but nursery attendance does not secure a Reception place. Keep the nursery decision and the local authority school application as separate steps.

Wagtails suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as school-day or working-day attendance, with a choice between term-time and 47-week calendars. The wild forest garden, small playroom alcoves and detailed communication routines give the offer substance. Its key-person arrangements and gradual settling plan are also useful for children who need time to build familiarity.

The July 2021 assessment was positive, while identifying improvements to learning updates and home-language opportunities. Those dated concerns sit alongside a current offer of varied spaces and gradual settling.