St Richard's School Nursery Unit

A natural garden connected to the nursery room gives St Richard's School Nursery Unit its clearest character: children can move between indoor play and outdoor exploration as their interests develop. This Catholic nursery on Cawley Road in Chichester respects all faiths and religions. Child-led play shapes its approach, with creative activities giving children practical ways to explore their ideas.

At its 9 June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The current age range is 33 to 60 months. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions make this a term-time choice for families seeking different lengths of nursery day.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning through play, with activities shaped around children's interests and development. Here, child-led creative work is the nursery's chosen way of putting that into practice. Children have access to the natural garden from the nursery room, so learning can continue outdoors rather than being confined to an indoor activity.

In June 2025, fabric printing brought conversation and physical coordination together. Children used mallets to press leaves and flowers between pieces of fabric, while staff encouraged them to explain the patterns and colour changes. It was a concrete task with several purposes: handling tools, noticing changes and finding words for what they had made.

Building offered another route into learning. In June 2025, children worked together on brick towers while staff introduced comparisons of length and size. Mathematical language grew out of something children were already making. Stories also held their attention: children discussed illustrations and joined in with familiar passages, making books a shared activity rather than simply something read to them.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is a substantial part of the day. In June 2025, children used a tree swing and slide, giving them opportunities to practise movement and coordination. Imaginative play included pegging socks onto a washing line. These examples show the practical mix of physical activity and make-believe that parents can weigh alongside the nursery's creative approach.

Donate for Ducklings supports an annual egg-hatching experience through fundraising. It adds a recurring encounter with living things to the nursery calendar. Beyond the nursery day, the Parent Toddler Group meets on Mondays during term time, from 8.45am to 10.45am in the Lower Parish Rooms at St Richard's Church, providing a separate opportunity for families to spend time together.

Outdoor improvement plans need to be read as plans. The garden redevelopment includes a proposed sandpit, an AstroTurf area and accessible planters, alongside work on the existing slide and playhouse. Those ambitions explain the fundraising effort; they are not a description of completed facilities.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2025, staff responded affectionately to children, who readily talked with them and sought comfort. Children also managed small responsibilities, including putting their belongings in individual drawers. For a parent, these are useful examples of how relationships and independence worked together in the nursery day.

Behaviour support was practical. In June 2025, adults helped children settle disagreements, praised their efforts and encouraged consideration for others. Older children made room for younger children to take a turn on the slide. The emphasis was on helping children participate together, with adults modelling the behaviour they expected.

Parents received information about learning and development in June 2025 and were invited to stay-and-play sessions with their children. That gave families both an account of progress and a chance to take part in nursery activities themselves. Staff also received storytelling training, supporting the way books were shared with children.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that the curriculum addressed the needs of children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language, with staff sharing and reviewing information with parents and professionals, making referrals when needed and using additional funding appropriately. These are specific support mechanisms, rather than a blanket promise about every child's experience.

Hygiene was the improvement point. In June 2025, children washed their hands before lunch, but staff did not consistently reinforce handwashing after bathroom use. Strengthening these routines was the action required. It matters because growing independence should include reliable self-care habits.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery operates during term time, Monday to Friday. Its morning session runs from 9am to noon, its afternoon session from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and its all-day session from 9am to 3pm. The different finishing times matter when organising collection: an afternoon booking ends later than the standard all-day booking.

Early Bird Sessions are pre-bookable extensions from 8.30am to 9am. Roosters Sessions extend all-day attendance from 3pm to 3.30pm. Both carry a separate charge. They provide short additions around the core sessions rather than an evening childcare arrangement.

The nursery opens for 38 weeks each year and follows West Sussex County Council term dates. This pattern suits a household organised around school terms; school holidays require a separate childcare arrangement.

Getting There

The address is Cawley Road, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1XB. In June 2025, the nursery occupied a purpose-built building within the grounds of St Richard's Primary School. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place, and families still need to use the local authority admissions process.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01243 776728 or by email at strichardsnursery@gmail.com. A contact form provides another route to the nursery.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts 15 and 30 hour Free Entitlement, with universal funding accepted from the term after a child's third birthday. Attendance is term-time. Fees apply to children who do not qualify for Free Entitlement Funding, so the funding position and the chosen session pattern need to be considered together.

For all-day attendance, parents supply a packed lunch for the noon to 12.30pm lunch period. The nursery also requests a donation towards administrative costs as a charitable non-profit organisation. The fees page sets out the funding and session charge structure.

• Collection times and holidays. All-day attendance ends at 3pm, while afternoons end at 3.30pm; Roosters extends an all-day booking. The 38-week calendar needs to fit the family's working year.
• Handwashing routines. In June 2025, bathroom handwashing was not consistently reinforced. On a visit, ask how staff now help children establish reliable hygiene habits.
• Garden redevelopment. The outdoor upgrade is a fundraising project, including proposed new surfaces and play spaces. A visit can establish which improvements have been completed and how the garden is used now.
• Packing for the day. All-day children bring a packed lunch. What should families pack for a nursery day?

St Richard's suits families seeking morning or afternoon nursery sessions, as well as those wanting an all-day term-time pattern with short extensions. Its appeal lies in child-led creative play and movement between the nursery room and natural garden. The June 2025 examples of storytelling, fabric printing and collaborative building give that approach substance.

The timetable is a decisive consideration, and the hygiene improvement deserves a direct conversation. For families whose routines fit its sessions and school-term calendar, this is a nursery with a clear approach to play and a practical connection between indoor and outdoor learning.