Forest House Day Nursery

A separate Baby Garden, a chef-led Gardening Club and doors from every suite into the garden give Forest House Day Nursery a clear character: outdoor play and everyday independence shape the setting. The Bordon nursery combines spaces for different stages of childhood with practical details such as low-level baby play stations and drinking fountains for older children. These are useful features, rather than decorative extras.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 18 August 2021 inspection. That judgement is dated; the present-day rooms and facilities give families a separate basis for considering the offer. Forest House accepts children from three months and has 110 places in total, a whole-setting capacity rather than a measure of any individual room's size.

For babies, the strongest practical detail is the separation of sleep, play and outdoor space. For older children, the emphasis moves towards choosing activities, managing personal routines and preparing for school. The gardening provision connects those stages through an activity children can see developing over time.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Suite serves children aged three to 15 months, with partition doors between its two rooms, low-level activities, soft furnishings, different floor surfaces and a separate Sleep Suite supporting play, crawling, messy activities and rest.

From 15 months to two years, the Toddler Suite combines treasure baskets, natural materials and tray-based exploration with garden access and a summer gazebo, giving children scope to investigate objects and move between indoor and outdoor play.

For two- to three-year-olds, the Pre-P Suite emphasises construction, pretend play, stories and early mark-making, while its toileting area accommodates nappies, potty training and toilet use as children develop.

The Pre-School Suite turns towards confidence, independence and a more structured routine in preparation for school, making the child's ability to manage everyday tasks part of the learning emphasis.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, learning extends across play, communication, movement and growing independence; it is the shared foundation for nursery education, rather than an extra programme exclusive to Forest House.

The room arrangements give that framework a practical expression. Babies have space close to floor level, toddlers explore materials, and the Pre-P Suite makes room for stories, construction and imaginative activity. The progression is easy for parents to understand: the environment changes as children become more mobile and ready to do things for themselves.

In August 2021, literacy activities included adults reading with babies, toddlers experimenting with paint and gloop, and older children retelling stories through a sensory trail. Those examples show how preparation for reading and writing can start with listening, movement and making marks, rather than formal lessons. At that visit, staff used observations of children's interests and achievements to plan subsequent learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Gardening Club is run by the chef and links growing plants with the food children eat, introducing patience and care through an activity with a visible result. A gardening patch supports that connection. Forest House won the nursery category of Bordon & Whitehill Town in Bloom in 2024 and 2025, adding a concrete local connection to its outdoor identity.

Garden access belongs to every suite, through French or bifold doors, while babies have their own separated outdoor area. That arrangement makes outdoor activity part of the room design, rather than a destination reached only through another part of the building. Air conditioning and integrated speakers add practical support for indoor comfort, music and rest.

In August 2021, children grew tomatoes through a weekly gardening activity and used the outdoor space for football and climbing a slide. The same visit identified a need for more varied garden resources and more opportunities for younger children to learn about communities and cultural backgrounds. Garden access and garden learning are separate considerations; both matter.

Relationships and Communication

In August 2021, babies sought reassurance from familiar adults, and key staff exchanged essential information with parents. Staff also gathered information about children's home experiences when they started, using it to inform their learning. For families, the useful detail is the connection between home knowledge and nursery planning, rather than communication treated as an administrative task.

The current enquiry route uses Famly, an early childhood platform through which families can contact the team. It provides a direct way to begin a conversation about the nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described staff identifying children needing additional support, working with parents and other professionals on learning plans, and helping those children make progress. These findings belong to that inspection date.

Practical care is built into the younger rooms: the Baby Suite has a bottle-preparation station and changing area, while the Pre-P Suite accommodates different stages of toileting. The separate Sleep Suite is especially relevant for families weighing how rest fits alongside a busy nursery day. Older children have drinking fountains in the Pre-P and Pre-School areas, supporting independent access to water.

Food is prepared each day by an in-house chef, with breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea offered and menus changing with the seasons. The chef caters for special dietary requirements, while International Days introduce food associated with the home countries of children and staff.

Sessions and Attendance

Forest House is open Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6.30pm. It operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for five working days over Christmas. The opening window is useful for parents coordinating work and childcare, but the Christmas closure still needs a place in the family calendar.

Getting There

The address is Pinehill Road, Bordon, Hampshire GU35 0BS. Forest Shopping Centre, Lidl and Pinehill Doctors Surgery are nearby landmarks, making the position easy to identify when planning a visit.

Contact with the nursery can begin through its Famly enquiry route. The team uses this to discuss family requirements and arrange visits.

School preparation sits within the Pre-School Suite's emphasis on confidence, independence and routine. That describes the work children do before moving on, rather than an admissions advantage at a particular school.

• Teaching beyond planned activities. In August 2021, staff sometimes missed chances to extend learning as children's play developed. During a visit, ask for an example of how an adult follows an unexpected interest and adds a new challenge.
• Garden learning and community understanding. The August 2021 improvement priorities included more varied outdoor resources and broader opportunities to explore cultures and communities. Look at how the current gardening provision sits alongside other outdoor exploration and community experiences.
• Attendance and the family budget. The opening window spans 7.30am to 6.30pm, with a Christmas closure. What booking patterns, funded hours and charges for food or consumables would apply to your intended attendance? Request a current written quotation alongside that discussion.

Forest House suits families who value direct garden access, a practical progression between age-stage rooms and a visible connection between growing food and eating it. Parents of babies have specific care arrangements to weigh, including a separate sleeping space and Baby Garden; those approaching school age can consider the emphasis on independence and routine.

The Good judgement provides an August 2021 reference point. The teaching, outdoor-resource and community-learning priorities from that visit deserve attention alongside the current facilities. This is a nursery to assess through the relationship between its spaces and the activities staff build around them.