First Friends Day Nursery, Wootey

A children's committee with enough influence to arrange a tractor visit gives First Friends Day Nursery, Wootey a recognisable character. In June 2026, children's requests also led to an outing with bikes and scooters and a practical change when there were too few dough rollers. Their ideas shaped nursery life.

Based in the grounds of Wootey Infant School in Alton, the nursery accepts children from six months to five years and has 50 places in total. At its 9 June 2026 inspection, Ofsted awarded Strong standard in all six assessed areas and recorded that safeguarding standards were met. Those area judgements cover achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, teaching, inclusion and leadership; they are not an overall grade.

Outdoor play, growing food and activities involving the surrounding community give the experience its shape. Attendance options include morning, afternoon and full-day sessions, alongside a preschool term-time pattern.

Rooms and Ages

The Nest is the baby room, Explorers serves toddlers and Inventors is the preschool room.

In June 2026, babies explored a bee-themed mud kitchen, mixing oats, soil, flowers and coloured water while staff supplied words for their actions. Toddlers practised throwing balls towards buckets and adjusting their movements for different ball sizes, while preschool children used stilts and spent time digging, jumping and running outdoors.

A spacious outdoor area supports daily play beyond the rooms. Gardening also connects the outdoor space with the nursery kitchen: children help grow vegetables and take part in food preparation. Growing and preparing food are connected.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care. In practical terms, the day combines play, communication, movement and growing independence, rather than treating learning as a separate lesson. First Friends adds its group-wide enhanced curriculum through the Premium Package, with named activities and resources charged separately from childcare hours.

Earth Explorers has weekly sessions at Wootey. In June 2026, it connected exploration of the local community with learning to care for the planet, and parent stay-and-play sessions included planting, foraging and making things with natural materials in the woods.

Movement & Mindfulness is also weekly. In June 2026, the programme combined physical activity with learning about bodies and managing feelings; children explored warming up, winding down and noticing their heartbeat after exercise. Thoughtful Food runs bi-weekly at this branch. Its June 2026 activities included growing vegetables, baking, preparing food and helping clean up afterwards, so participation extended beyond eating the finished meal.

Weekly Makaton and home-learning programmes also form part of the enhanced curriculum. For funded families, the Premium Package can be declined, with the possibility that children will not participate in its enhanced activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2026, children investigated minibeasts during regular forest school sessions and tended potatoes and tomatoes. Here, forest school meant outdoor exploration and learning about the natural world.

Visits to a local care home involved painting, planting and picnics. These gave children activities shared with people outside their own families and nursery rooms. Access to the on-site school's library and grounds also formed part of the June 2026 experience, introducing a school environment before the move to Reception.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts ahead of the first booked day. Around a month before the start date, settling begins with an offer of three or more sessions for each child; families also meet their child's key worker. This gives the relationship time to develop before attendance becomes routine.

In June 2026, babies' feeding and sleep followed their individual patterns, and babies sought comfort from their key person. Everyday independence was also encouraged, including nose-blowing and daily toothbrushing, so care routines doubled as opportunities to practise doing things for themselves.

The Wootey family page brings together menu access, term dates, extra-session requests and direct contact with the nursery manager. It also offers a newsletter sign-up and home-learning activities.

Parent participation was tangible in June 2026: Saturday movement sessions introduced yoga to parents, while outdoor stay-and-play activities let families join children's learning. The next step identified in June 2026 was to develop partnership with parents further so it would have a greater effect on children's achievement and wellbeing.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that settling sessions helped identify barriers early, staff worked effectively with in-house special educational needs coordinators and outside agencies, and children with SEND made very good progress. Support began with information gathered during settling.

Practical adaptations in June 2026 included protective all-in-one clothing so non-walking children could crawl outside. Staff also helped toddlers pause and breathe when emotions became difficult.

Food is freshly cooked by an in-house chef, with breakfast, snacks, a two-course lunch and tea; menus rotate over three weeks, with seasonal versions. The nursery's allergy policy excludes packed lunches, which makes its food arrangements a significant part of the decision for families managing dietary needs.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Wootey Infant School, Wooteys Way, Alton, GU34 2JA. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across 51 weeks, closing for a week around Christmas and New Year, bank holidays and an annual summer staff conference.

Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm and full days from 8am to 6pm. The minimum booking is 10 hours a week, arranged as two half days or one full day.

Preschool children aged three to five can attend term-time from 9am to 3pm across 38 weeks. Funded families choosing the meal opt-out pattern have sessions from 9am to noon or 1pm to 4pm, with a separately charged snack.

Extra sessions can be requested through the Wootey family page. Eight weeks' notice applies when leaving. Parking is next to the school, and the branch offers tour booking and enquiries through its contact routes.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and private hours are both offered. The funding options include 15 or 30 term-time hours, with a stretched arrangement spreading them across 51 weeks as 11 or 22 hours a week respectively. Eligibility still applies; participation in funding does not make every booking wholly funded.

Meals and snacks are charged separately from the hourly childcare rate for both funded and private attendance. Non-food items also have separate charges: nappies and wipes are optional additions, while a toothbrush, sun cream, sun hat and activity T-shirt come within the separately charged Premium Package. Funded families can opt out of that package. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page explains the charging structure.

An enrolment fee and/or deposit applies according to the funding arrangement. The deposit is refunded when the child starts, subject to the enrolment terms.

The nursery describes links with the on-site infant and junior schools as supporting transition. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process. Familiarity with school facilities is useful preparation, but it does not settle admissions.

• Funding and participation. Food, the Premium Package and optional nappies and wipes sit outside the childcare hourly rate. Before agreeing a booking, request a written quotation showing the chosen sessions, funding treatment and which extras are included.
• The youngest children's day. The Nest serves babies, and settling begins around a month before starting. During a tour, ask how the room's usual group size and sleep arrangements would work for your child.
• Working with parents. June 2026's next step concerned extending the effect of parent partnership. Ask how your observations from home will shape your child's activities and support, beyond receiving updates.
• School transition. The school-site setting and links with the infant and junior schools support familiarity. Plan the Reception application separately, because nursery attendance does not guarantee admission.

First Friends Wootey suits families seeking outdoor experiences and practical learning alongside a choice of morning, afternoon or full-day attendance. Its preschool term-time pattern gives it another useful fit for families organising care around school terms.

The June 2026 examples give substance to that appeal: children influenced decisions, worked with food they had helped grow and joined activities beyond the nursery rooms. The financial decision needs equal attention. Funded hours, food and enhanced activities are separate parts of the booking, so the most useful comparison is the experience and total quotation for the pattern a family actually intends to use.