The Little Blue Door

Four indoor spaces and two outdoor spaces give The Little Blue Door’s Chichester setting a clear emphasis on play, with a private play area and interactive garden extending the day beyond the rooms. This is the nursery at 1 Laburnum Grove, PO19 7DL, with capacity for 60 children.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, identifying ambitious teaching and rapid development across children’s learning. Children aged 0 to 4 attended at that point. The strongest examples were practical: children compared numbers, helped shape activities and took responsibility for everyday tasks.

School Day and Full Day sessions serve different finishing times, with Early Blue Doors adding an earlier start. The choice matters for families fitting childcare around work or school collection.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: learning through play sits alongside support for communication, physical skills and growing independence. Here, the February 2024 examples show how those strands could meet in the same activity. Children compared the relative size of numbers and arranged them in sequence, turning mathematical language into something they could use together.

Language was deliberately extended in February 2024. A healthy-eating activity introduced vocabulary about what food contains, while staff used open questions to encourage children to think through possibilities. Activities were planned around children’s starting points and their next steps. For parents, the useful distinction is between keeping children occupied and giving their play a clear learning purpose.

Children also had a say in what happened. In February 2024, they helped plan activities and selected resources, rather than simply following an adult’s instructions throughout the day. Older children contributed to nursery rules and reminded younger children about them. These were opportunities to practise responsibility in small, understandable ways.

Outdoor and Community Life

The interactive garden and private play area provide space for outdoor activity at the Chichester branch. In February 2024, children worked together to position drainpipes for toy cars, discussing how their arrangement would work. Moving equipment, negotiating a plan and trying it out brought physical activity and problem-solving together.

Outings extend learning beyond the nursery. During February 2024, younger children visited a local museum and explored toys from different periods. The current offer includes trips involving local attractions, woodland, wildlife and community experiences; some off-site experiences carry an additional charge and are optional, with details communicated beforehand. Families can therefore distinguish the everyday session from a separately charged excursion.

Country of the Month Chichester-Ireland combines activities about Ireland with a request for children attending that day to wear something connected to the country. It gives families a specific way to participate in the learning theme.

Relationships and Communication

Close relationships were a prominent part of daily life in February 2024. Babies received warm responses to their early sounds and words, and children approached staff affectionately. Everyday independence was encouraged too: children tackled manageable difficulties themselves and helped clear the eating area. The balance was practical, with adult encouragement supporting children’s own attempts.

Communication with families had substance in February 2024. Parents received a daily account of learning and development, alongside information about activities and next steps. Children could take books home in their nursery book bags, giving families a shared activity that connected home and nursery learning.

Settling sessions also have a practical role at Chichester: family thumbprints are enrolled for the two-stage biometric access system during the first settling session. Additional carers or relatives can be added on request. This is an access arrangement, rather than a substitute for assessing how staff support an individual child’s separation from their family.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described prompt responses to developmental concerns, including work with other professionals and individual sessions for children needing extra support. Those examples give parents a concrete picture of the support used at that time, rather than a general promise about inclusion.

A chef prepares food freshly at the nursery each day, and children can take part in cooking where appropriate. Families with dietary requirements discuss them with their key person when starting so that suitable arrangements can be considered.

Sessions and Attendance

School Day runs from 8am to 4pm; Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm. Early Blue Doors starts at 7.30am and includes breakfast. These are separate attendance choices, so the finishing time is an important part of selecting a pattern that fits family routines.

Increasing attendance after joining requires an increased-session form and an email setting out the requested change; the nursery does not guarantee that an increase can be accommodated. A waiting-list fee contributes towards the acceptance fee when a place becomes available. For families using EYFE hours only, any acceptance fee charged is refunded shortly after headcount day.

The Chichester child registration form provides the joining route. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01243 530650 or by email to knockknock@littlebluedoor.co.uk. Families can also submit a visit-booking form and select Chichester as their preferred location.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted at this branch, alongside paid sessions. Some optional off-site experiences are charged separately because session fees and the Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) do not cover them; families receive the details in advance. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Changes to attendance. Extra sessions require a form and may not be accommodated. Choose an initial pattern with the School Day and Full Day finishing times in mind, rather than relying on a later increase.
• Settling. The first settling session includes enrolling family thumbprints for access. At a visit, ask how settling is tailored to your child.
• Dietary arrangements. Dietary needs are discussed with the key person when starting. Families managing allergies should confirm current food preparation and serving arrangements before joining.

The Little Blue Door suits families choosing between an 8am-to-4pm School Day and an 8am-to-6pm Full Day, with an earlier breakfast start through Early Blue Doors. Its Chichester character comes from the indoor and outdoor spaces, community outings and practical learning examples: children making decisions, using mathematical language and trying everyday tasks for themselves.

The February 2024 judgement gives this a strong inspection foundation. The attendance-change rule is the main practical consideration for families whose working arrangements may shift, while optional trip charges need to sit alongside the chosen session pattern in the family budget.