Catherington Nursery

A mud bistro and access to Catherington Infant School’s grounds give Catherington Nursery a clear outdoor identity. Opposite Catherington Downs, with rural surroundings and a village pond nearby, this is a setting where the immediate environment supplies material for children’s curiosity. Its approach follows children’s interests, allowing their choices to help shape activities.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than an assessment of today’s daily practice. The current age range is two to five, while the nursery’s day-to-day offer starts at two years nine months.

Attendance is term-time only, with three weekday booking windows ending at noon, 1pm or 3pm. That makes the nursery relevant to families seeking either a shorter morning or a day extending into the afternoon.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support learning alongside their care needs. Catherington adds a curiosity-based approach, with planning responding to children’s interests as they emerge. Children choose activities that interest them, giving their questions and preferences a practical role in what happens next.

In January 2023, children investigated a wasp nest and sought further information about it. This was an example of an object prompting questions and further exploration, rather than an activity ending with its first discovery. Stories also supplied ideas to discuss: children recalled a book about plastic affecting oceans and animals, connecting language and memory with environmental concerns.

Mathematics entered play through counting, shapes and construction with blocks of different sizes. In January 2023, however, the resources and opportunities did not stretch the most able children sufficiently. The improvement priority was to broaden what those children could use to explore mathematical ideas independently. For families whose child already enjoys numbers or patterns, the level of challenge matters as much as the presence of counting activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

The mud bistro gives messy outdoor play a specific setting, while use of Catherington Infant School’s grounds extends the nursery’s outdoor environment. Catherington Downs, All Saints Church and the village pond also help define its surroundings. Access to school grounds is an outdoor arrangement, rather than a reason to assume an admissions advantage.

In January 2023, children had room to run outdoors and worked together on a treasure hunt, using a map and solving problems to reach their goal. Conversation with a farmer delivering hay to animals in surrounding fields brought another dimension: children could connect the people they met with the work happening nearby. The community was something to discuss, rather than simply a location on an address.

Relationships and Communication

Parents can join nursery life through a session rota, signing up to help with activities. A parent fundraising group offers another route to involvement. These are concrete ways for families to participate, beyond receiving updates about their child’s day.

In January 2023, parents were involved in planning children’s next learning steps, helping connect nursery experiences with learning at home. Staff listened to children’s questions, while routines gave children opportunities to take responsibility: they served their own snacks and washed their cups and plates afterwards. Dressing for outdoor play also involved practising buttons and zips. Such tasks put independence into ordinary parts of the day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that targeted key-person support helped children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children receiving additional funding, make steady progress, but identified inconsistent information-sharing with other professionals. Both parts matter: individual support was working, while coordination around changing care needs needed attention.

The nursery adopts Pre-school Learning Alliance policies, reviews them regularly and makes them accessible at the setting. For parents, this provides a practical route to understanding the procedures that guide care. The January 2023 observations also described children practising sharing and managing their emotions, linking social routines with growing independence.

Sessions and Attendance

Catherington Nursery operates from Catherington Village Hall, on Catherington Lane, Waterlooville, PO8 0TD. From Monday to Friday during school terms, families can book a morning from 9am to noon, a longer session from 9am to 1pm, or a term-time day from 9am to 3pm. The different finishing times allow attendance to fit around a shorter morning or a longer nursery day.

School holidays sit outside this attendance pattern. Families needing care throughout the year should therefore weigh the term-time calendar alongside the session length. Visits can be arranged by contacting the nursery by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children aged two, three and four can receive 15 hours government funding here; eligible three- and four-year-olds can receive 30 hours government funding. These funded hours are delivered within the nursery’s term-time operation. Eligibility remains a condition of each entitlement.

Private paid attendance is also offered, and a registration and administration charge applies on application. Families should obtain a current written quotation for prices. The distinction between funded entitlement and privately paid attendance is useful when planning a booking that includes additional hours.

• The term-time calendar. All three attendance windows run during school terms. A noon finish and a 3pm finish serve different routines, but neither provides holiday care.
• Starting age. The overall age range begins at two, while the nursery’s day-to-day offer starts at two years nine months. At a visit, how would your child’s proposed starting age fit the offer?
• Challenge and coordinated support. January 2023 improvement priorities concerned mathematical challenge for the most able children and information-sharing with other professionals. Ask how these work now, and what meals and non-food supplies your chosen booking includes.

Catherington Nursery suits families seeking either morning attendance or a longer term-time day, especially those who value outdoor play and opportunities to participate in nursery life. The mud bistro, school grounds and interest-led planning give that choice substance.

The Good judgement belongs to January 2023. Its improvement priorities remain useful questions for families, while the term-time calendar is the clearest practical consideration when matching the nursery to a working week.