The Green Door Nursery

A covered garden area reserved for babies, preschool Forest School and a youngest-room limit of eight children give The Green Door Nursery a clear character: outdoor play starts early, while care for the youngest children has its own space. This St Andrews setting has capacity for 36 children, accepting ages from six to 60 months. Its appeal lies in the detail of the day rather than a grand curriculum claim.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement comes with a useful qualification: planning needed further development so that group activities consistently stretched children's learning. It is a positive assessment, with a specific improvement to weigh.

Separate areas for babies, two-year-olds and preschool children give different stages their own surroundings. Weekly French and Forest School add to preschool learning, while individual care plans shape the start for younger children. Attendance includes whole-day sessions and shorter funded afternoon sessions, with funding spread across the year.

Rooms and Ages

The 0-2 Years area occupies a front room and has a covered part of the rear garden reserved for babies, giving the youngest children outdoor space that remains usable in wet weather. The baby-and-toddler care policy sets a maximum of eight children in their separate room. That is a room limit, distinct from the nursery's total capacity, and a useful starting point for parents weighing the scale of their baby's day.

For 2 Years, the second front room overlooks a courtyard, with learning centred on communication, friendships and growing independence, alongside garden and covered-deck play at least twice daily. These are practical priorities for children beginning to assert themselves: expressing a need, sharing an activity and finding ways to play alongside someone else.

Pre-school uses rear rooms with patio-door access to the garden and an outdoor classroom, allowing children to move between indoor and outdoor activities through the day. This arrangement gives outdoor learning a place in ordinary play, rather than reserving it for a separate outing. The garden also has evergreen planting and a soft, hygienic surface.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the common framework for children's learning and care; here, learning happens through play, with activities shaped by children's interests and observations of their development. Adults organise some experiences, while children initiate others. The important distinction is between that shared framework and the additional experiences this nursery brings to it.

Forest School is a weekly preschool activity using nature-based crafts and tools to explore the natural world. Sessions include groups of up to seven children, and the examples include learning about pollinators and wildflowers. Hammers and bow saws feature in the programme's craft work. This gives the named approach concrete substance: children handle materials and explore ideas about nature through an activity, rather than simply hearing about them.

Weekly French classes also serve preschool children. In January 2023, children practised counting and naming colours in French, connecting new vocabulary with familiar objects. Singing is initiated at least twice daily, and children can use musical instruments and story-phones. These experiences offer several routes into listening and communication: conversation, songs, stories and another language.

Yoga adds another recurring activity, although its weekly frequency needs clarification before families build expectations around it. The garden provides space for large movements and active play. In January 2023, children also visited local parks regularly; that is a dated example of outdoor life beyond the nursery itself, rather than a promise about today's outings.

Relationships and Communication

A key person coordinates each child's care needs, learning records and progress, with those needs shared across a Keyteam. The key person is therefore an individual point of contact within a wider group of carers. For parents, the useful feature is continuity of information: a child's routine should be understood by more than one adult.

Before a child starts, an induction meeting produces a care plan and settling sessions are arranged. The nursery recommends at least two half-days before the first whole day, with some settling sessions free and further sessions possible on request. This is a gradual introduction, not a guarantee that every child will settle to the same timetable. Sleep and separation can need different adjustments.

Parents can contact their child's key person or team by telephone, text or email during the day. Development is recorded in an online learning journal, and information about interests at home helps shape subsequent activities. That makes communication useful beyond a daily update: something a child enjoys with family can become a starting point for learning at nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found strong support for children with SEND and disadvantaged children, with additional funding used to address individual needs. Current SEND arrangements describe a SENCo working with key persons, parents and outside professionals through assessment, planning, action and review. Support plans are reviewed every four weeks, giving families a defined point for discussing whether an approach is helping and what should change next.

Settling is adjusted to individual needs, and the SEND policy includes liaison over transitions to other settings and schools. Home-language development also has a place in the learning policy, alongside opportunities to develop English. These are specific mechanisms for responding to different children, rather than a blanket assurance that every need will be met in the same way.

Rest has physical space allocated to it. Each age group has a quiet area with cushions, blankets and mats, while the two-year room is arranged for rest after lunch. Sleep routines are discussed with parents rather than imposed rigidly; the baby-and-toddler policy also provides for labelled bedding and documented sleep checks. For children who need daytime sleep, the combination of agreed routines and places to rest matters as much as the activity timetable.

Staff development includes monthly supervision and individual training plans. A safeguarding lead role and a SENCo role sit within the team structure. These describe how responsibilities are organised; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the assessment of effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 35 Belvoir Road, St Andrews, Bristol BS6 5DQ. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5.45pm, and the whole-day session follows those times. The funded afternoon pattern ends at 5pm for the 12-hour allocation, while the 24-hour allocation uses sessions from 9am to 5pm.

The nursery operates across the year, with 50 opening weeks. Funded hours are stretched across the year. Bank holidays are not funded, and a funded session falling on one is not moved to another day. This matters when comparing a weekly allocation with the actual calendar of attendance.

Admissions prioritise siblings of children already attending, then families living nearby, followed by other families in order of application. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. These are durable arrangements for approaching the nursery, rather than an indication of how many places are free.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare covers working-family entitlements for under-twos and two-year-olds, plus universal and extended entitlements for three- and four-year-olds. Universal provision is 12 hours weekly; universal and extended hours can combine to make 24. The working-family offer provides 24 expanded hours weekly from September 2025. Eligibility checks apply, and working-family codes need reconfirming every three months.

Private childcare and additional paid hours are also offered. Payments are calculated annually and divided into fixed monthly amounts, with funded hours and other charges itemised. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page sets out the charging patterns.

Meals and snacks are charged separately through the consumables arrangement, including on funded attendance. For children aged three and over, activities and resources above core provision are separately charged within the optional consumables arrangement. The consumables charge is optional for all children: families choosing to opt out must supply their own resources, so funded hours and the extras package need to be considered separately.

A refundable deposit is credited against the first month's fees, and a monthly registration charge applies. Funded attendance involves a termly commitment; when a child moves provider, funding may not transfer until the next term. Additional hours and extra charges have a six-week notice period. Those terms affect both the initial commitment and a later change of childcare.

Early Years Catering (EYC) prepares lunches in its own kitchens for daily delivery, using a three-week seasonal menu cycle, while nursery staff prepare snacks and tea. The nursery's food policy excludes added sugar and provides for pre-ordered vegetarian, vegan and allergy-related lunches, with fruit served for dessert.

• Youngest-room scale and settling. The baby-and-toddler room has a maximum of eight children, and at least two introductory half-days are recommended. On a visit, discuss how the care plan, familiar carers and sleep routine will work together for your child.
• Stretch in group learning. In January 2023, some group activities did not take learning far enough. Ask for a current example of how an activity is adapted for children who are ready for a greater challenge.
• Funded attendance and extras. Funding descriptions conflict between 47.5 weeks and all 50 opening weeks. Which funding calendar will apply to your child's attendance? Meals and, for children aged three and over, above-core activities and resources sit within an optional charging arrangement. Review the written quotation alongside the termly commitment and six-week notice terms.
• Yoga and dietary arrangements. Yoga frequency differs between weekly and twice-weekly classes. Clarify its frequency during a visit, and, if allergies affect your child, confirm the current ordering and serving arrangements for their meals.

The Green Door Nursery suits families seeking either full days from 8am to 5.45pm or funded afternoon sessions ending at 5pm. For babies, the eight-child room limit and individual settling plan are the strongest practical details. For preschool children, weekly Forest School, French and direct outdoor access give the day recognisable substance.

The January 2023 Good judgement supports a positive view, tempered by the need to stretch group learning more consistently. This is a setting to assess through its care routines, outdoor opportunities and actual charging arrangement. Families who value communication with a key person and team, and want nature-based activity alongside play-led learning, have concrete reasons to consider it.