The Enchanted Wood Day Nursery

Woodland, real household objects and a garden with a music wall give The Enchanted Wood Day Nursery a recognisable character. This purpose-built nursery sits within 19 acres of woodland on The Deanes Academy site in Benfleet, taking children from three months to five years. Its appeal lies in the combination: space for outdoor exploration, practical learning indoors and a settling process that gives families time to build relationships.

At its 7 August 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and across all assessed areas. The detail behind that judgement matters more than the label. In August 2025, children investigated dough with a pasta machine, compared herbs and worked together on building projects, with adults extending the language and ideas that emerged from their play.

There are Full Day and School Day bookings, alongside funded attendance options. For parents, that creates a choice between different lengths of nursery day rather than a single attendance pattern. The distinction between those sessions, including their meals and funding arrangements, deserves attention before choosing a booking.

Rooms and Ages

Bunnies takes babies from three to 18 months, while Hedgehogs caters for children aged one to two years. Squirrels is for rising twos; Badgers is the first preschool room, for rising threes; Foxes is the second preschool room, covering three and a half to five years. The overlapping stages make the room transition process relevant to families whose children are approaching a move.

That move has its own preparation. Children spend settling time in their next room accompanied by their existing key worker, before getting to know the new key worker and children. Family books, learning records and transition reports move with them. Familiar adults and information therefore accompany the change of room, rather than leaving the next team to start from scratch.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: children's play develops communication, physical skills, relationships, early literacy and mathematics, alongside creative exploration and understanding of their surroundings. The nursery uses development matters to help plan that learning, with children's interests shaping what happens next.

Alongside this sits the Curiosity Approach, which uses genuine everyday objects as resources for exploration. The nursery is working towards accreditation, so this is an approach in development rather than an accreditation already achieved. Its practical value is easy to understand: familiar objects can invite children to investigate how things feel, work and fit together. The curriculum information also explains how learning and family communication connect.

In August 2025, younger children explored a water tray while adults introduced vocabulary and helped them practise balance. Older children used a pasta machine and examined rosemary and parsley, connecting texture, smell and problem-solving. A building activity brought another layer: children discussed roof shapes and agreed what to construct together. These were purposeful conversations arising from something children were already doing.

Additional charged activities include Mini Stars, combining singing, percussion, movement and drama. Football coaching takes place in The Deanes School sports hall, while Multi-Skills uses throwing, catching, movement and coordination games. These additions serve different interests, from performing with others to practising control of a ball or movement.

Outdoor and Community Life

The renovated middle garden includes a beach, construction site, mud kitchen, painting easels, book nook and music wall. Those spaces give children different ways to use the outdoors: making, pretending, reading and experimenting with sound. Squirrels and Badgers can choose between room and garden during parts of the day, while outdoor access runs through the seasons.

Community contact has also extended beyond nursery families. In December 2025, residents from a local care home attended the preschool Nativity, performed as the Inn Keepers Breakfast. Further baking and gardening visits were planned for the new year. That is a documented visit and a subsequent plan, rather than a claim that a recurring club is already running.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is given a substantial lead-in. Around a month before a child's start date, families are contacted to arrange sessions across a three-week period; an optional home visit brings the key worker and a management colleague into the preparation. Parents stay for the first hour-long session, meeting the key person and seeing how their child responds to the people and surroundings.

The sequence then grows from an hour and a half to two hours, followed by longer sessions, with lunch included in the final settle. That progression lets the nursery day become familiar in stages. A settle pack covers procedures, while family photographs contribute to individual books that children can use during their time at nursery.

Famly App gives parents a learning journal, photographs, videos and messaging, as well as a diary recording meals, sleep and toileting. Families can add their own comments and media, so the exchange includes experiences at home as well as nursery updates. Parents are also invited to contribute to projects and activities or join excursions, giving involvement a practical form beyond receiving messages.

In August 2025, staff encouraged children to prepare snacks and spread their own bread. The emphasis was on helping children attempt manageable tasks themselves, with encouragement afterwards. Independence here included ordinary routines, giving learning a place in the care day as well as in planned activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged that individual settling arrangements, close tracking of learning and advice from other professionals helped children with SEND make substantial progress. This is a dated assessment of practice, supported by specific mechanisms rather than a general promise of support.

The current route for a developmental concern begins with the child's key person, who involves the SENCO. Where additional needs are identified, the nursery establishes strategies and contact with professionals already working with the child. For families, that gives a clear starting point for sharing information and coordinating support.

School preparation includes photo books supplied by local schools, uniforms for role play and transition reports for each child. Visits with key workers are arranged where possible, and Reception teachers are encouraged to visit nursery. These activities help children recognise aspects of their next setting before the change happens.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Deanes School, Daws Heath Road, Benfleet, Essex SS7 2TD. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm. Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm; School Day runs from 9.30am to 4.30pm; Fully Funded Day runs from 8am to 6pm. Funded Hours Only attendance sits within the 8am to 6pm window.

The nursery closes for public bank holidays, approximately two weeks at Christmas and two staff training days each year. Families planning care across the year need to account for those breaks as well as the session they choose. The shorter School Day and earlier-starting Full Day also have different meal arrangements.

The booking form places a child on the waiting list and does not guarantee a place. An offer must be accepted within one week; after acceptance, a deposit is required to hold the place. Applications require a completed booking form. For enquiries, telephone 01268774242 or email info@enchantedwoodnursery.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts 15 hours and 30 hours funding for eligible children, with a choice of term-time use or spreading entitlement across the year. Funding applies between 8am and 6pm, up to a maximum of 10 hours per day. Attendance before 8am and hours beyond the funded entitlement are charged separately, so the opening day and funded day are different arrangements.

Food on funded hours carries a charge that families can opt into or out of. Those opting out provide their child's meals and snacks instead. Lunch is provided by Zebedee’s, tea is made at nursery, and meals follow a two-week menu cycle; lunch accompanies Full Day and School Day sessions, while tea accompanies Full Day only.

A booking charge covers settling, and fees are paid monthly in advance. Illness and holiday absences remain payable; nursery closure refunds are deducted from invoices. At least one month's notice is required to reduce attendance or leave, with written notice required when ending the agreement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Although the nursery shares The Deanes Academy site, attending does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still use the local authority admissions process for a state school place. Nursery transition work prepares children for the move; it does not determine the admissions decision.

• Room transitions. Bunnies extends to 18 months, while Hedgehogs begins at one year. During a visit, ask how the team chooses the right time and room for your child's move, and how the accompanying key-worker settles operate.
• Funded food choices. Families can pay for food during funded hours or provide meals and snacks themselves. If your child has an allergy or dietary need, discuss current dietary arrangements and the separately charged, opt-in food option during funded hours.
• Settling and work commitments. Settles span three weeks, and parents remain for the first hour-long session. Plan how that preparation will fit around work before the normal attendance pattern begins.
• The full booking cost. Extra private hours, food choices, charged activities and notice terms affect the eventual bill. Match the written quotation to the exact session and funding pattern you intend to use.

The Enchanted Wood suits families choosing either a Full Day or the shorter School Day, as well as those arranging funded attendance. Its strongest decision points are tangible: woodland surroundings, a garden with multiple uses, genuine objects for exploration and a staged settling process supported by a key person and Famly App.

The August 2025 judgement gives weight to that combination, with practical learning examples behind it. The choice still needs to work at family level: the room transition, food option and session length should fit the child and the household's routine.