Willowdene Nursery School

Flower petals added to water play capture Willowdene’s emphasis in May 2023: familiar activities became opportunities to experiment and build vocabulary. At its 26 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective.

Willowdene Nursery School has 78 places in total for children aged 0 to 60 months, at Tangmere in Chichester. The inspection picture combines warm relationships and practical learning with a clear qualification: quieter children needed more consistent involvement.

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care. In May 2023, this took practical form through play and conversation: children explored colour changes by combining paints, while containers and petals extended their investigations with water. Familiar materials gave them something concrete to discuss.

In May 2023, practitioners built activities around what children already knew. Returning to water play with different containers and flower petals gave the activity another purpose: children could investigate the materials while extending the language they used to describe them. The learning lay in the conversation as well as the equipment. Adults joined play, listened to children’s questions and encouraged experiments, including discovering how combining paints changed their colours. These were opportunities to try an idea and talk through what happened.

Social learning was visible in May 2023 too. Children used polite language with adults and one offered the inspector a cushion. Alongside taking turns during shared play, these small exchanges showed children putting consideration for others into practice. They give families a concrete picture of the social habits being developed, rather than simply a list of activities.

Outdoor activity was part of each day in May 2023. Bicycles, climbing apparatus and chasing games gave children different ways to move. Shared play also provided practice in taking turns and sharing.

The May 2023 inspection identified uneven participation: staff sometimes concentrated on more vocal children outdoors, and group activities did not consistently involve younger or less confident children. This matters for families whose child needs encouragement to contribute, rather than readily claiming an adult’s attention.

In May 2023, babies sought out their key person, and practitioners used cuddles, songs and conversation during their care. Animal dressing-up offered another route into sounds and language. These examples make relationships central to the inspection-era account of baby care.

Daily updates connected families with nursery life in May 2023. Staff also reported feeling valued and supported by the manager. Communication and staff wellbeing both formed part of the picture, alongside the children’s activities.

Baby interactions in May 2023 combined physical affection with language: practitioners smiled and played with babies as well as talking and singing to them. Choosing animal costumes gave babies a way to connect dressing-up with animal sounds. Care and play were closely connected in these examples; language was part of the exchanges with adults, rather than confined to a separate activity.

In May 2023, staff understood signs of possible abuse and the procedures for raising concerns about a colleague or responding to an allegation. They supervised children attentively and checked for hazards each day. These practical routines explain the safeguarding judgement alongside the warmer relationship examples. For parents, both sides matter: affectionate interactions describe how adults related to children, while supervision and reporting procedures describe their protective responsibilities.

Mealtimes in May 2023 included home-cooked food, with conversations about healthy choices. Children practised independence by pouring drinks, preparing tables and handling cutlery; handwashing linked everyday routines with looking after themselves.

The address is 1 Tangmere Road, Tangmere, Chichester, PO20 2HW. Opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

In May 2023, the nursery received funding for free early education for three- and four-year-olds. That is a dated account of its funding provision.

• Participation for quieter children. In May 2023, some younger or less confident children missed opportunities to contribute. At a visit, ask how practitioners now bring these children into both shared play and adult-led activities.
• Attendance and total cost. The weekday opening window runs from 8am to 5.30pm. Ask which booking patterns fit your routine and request a written quotation covering funded hours, additional care, meals and consumables.

Willowdene merits consideration for families seeking weekday childcare in Tangmere who value practical exploration, conversation and everyday independence. Its May 2023 account contains memorable examples, from colour mixing to children preparing lunch tables. The deciding issue for a quieter child is how consistently adults make space for their ideas: warm relationships and access to activities need to translate into participation.