Greatham Village Nursery

A quieter space for babies to sleep, gardens reached directly from the rooms, and weekly Forest School for preschool children give Greatham Village Nursery its character. Forest School takes learning outdoors through stories, making things and exploring the natural world. The setting occupies a purpose-built building beside the village hall in Greatham, with capacity for 53 children aged three months to five years.

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The practical detail behind that judgement matters: children experimented with materials, developed language through conversation and used movement and breathing to relax. There was also an improvement point about responding to unwanted behaviour promptly and consistently.

Families can choose morning or afternoon sessions, a morning including lunchtime, and additional early or late hours, with term-time attendance or extended weeks. The appeal is the combination of shorter attendance patterns, outdoor activity and a named key person who follows each child's development.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars class accommodates children from three months to two years, with one adult to three children and separate baby and toddler spaces for quieter baby sleep. Bumble Bees class serves children aged two to three, with walking children under two sometimes joining at staff discretion. Ladybirds class is for children aged three to five.

The Messy Area brings painting, modelling, collage, play dough, water, sand and tactile exploration together. Book and home corners in the main rooms support quieter reading and pretend play alongside the more physical experiences.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning through play, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and later skills such as reading and mathematics. It is the common foundation for nursery education. Here, adult-supported activities and children's interests shape the play, with observations used to plan what comes next.

Books are accessible in each classroom, and story activities encourage children to join in and recognise familiar sounds and letters. Mark-making uses different materials and tools; when children are ready, staff support writing their names.

In January 2024, language work included adults talking through babies' play and introducing older children to words for the textures they felt while painting. Colour mixing prompted children to discuss what changed.

Weekly Forest School sessions take a group of preschool children into the garden, using a different story as the starting point for making objects and exploring nature. Activities include whittling and using a flint to make fire, alongside learning about fire safety, berries and handling sticks. Zoolab visits bring large insects into children's learning through a ranger's explanations and stories.

Outdoor and Community Life

Doors from the rooms lead to the gardens, where climbing equipment, wheeled toys and playhouses support movement and imaginative play. Covered verandas provide space for outdoor learning, while the younger children's garden includes a covered pond within an area set aside for exploration.

In January 2024, snow became an investigation into melting, temperature and the effect of water on paper. Children also practised balancing on broad beams made from crates, while squeezing and stretching dough exercised their hands.

Celebrations across the year include Diwali, Chinese New Year and Christmas, with a Christmas Concert and party. An annual open day brings prospective families and children together.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an allocated key person, giving parents a consistent contact and children a familiar adult during settling. Parents may stay with an unsettled child and tell the key worker when they leave. That makes settling a process involving the family, with continuity provided by someone who also maintains the child's achievement records.

Learning Book is the digital journal used to share photographs and written observations. Parents receive individual password access and can add their own comments, while the key person uses the records to plan further learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO works alongside a behaviour management coordinator and a child protection liaison coordinator. An area SENCO visits regularly, and staff work with outside agencies. These are identifiable routes for coordinating additional support, with responsibilities extending beyond the child's immediate room team.

In January 2024, yoga involved stretches, listening to instructions and breathing exercises. Children were learning ways to settle their bodies and manage emotions. The same visit identified occasions when adults waited too long to address unwanted behaviour, interrupting some children's learning. Prompt, consistent responses therefore remain an important topic for a family discussion.

A qualified first aider is present at every session. Collection arrangements use a confidential security number, which parents must pass to another person collecting their child. These are practical procedures families need to understand, alongside the policies they are asked to read when joining.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Greatham Village Hall, Petersfield Road, Liss, GU33 6EY. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01420 538893 or by email to office@greathamvillagenursery.com.

Core opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. The morning session runs from 9am to noon, the morning including lunch from 9am to 1pm, and the afternoon from 1pm to 4pm. An early morning session runs from 8am to 9am, with an evening session from 4pm to 5pm and a separately bookable lunch hour from noon to 1pm.

Term dates follow school terms closely and are fixed for invoicing. Alternatively, families can book extended weeks: the nursery opens for 47 weeks, closing for two weeks at Christmas, one at Easter, two in July and bank holidays. That distinction matters for parents whose working arrangements continue through school holidays. Fees remain payable when a child is ill or a family takes a holiday.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 30 hours for eligible working families with children aged nine months to four years, starting from the term after the child reaches nine months; eligibility must be reconfirmed every three months. The universal entitlement provides 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday, for 38 weeks per academic year, and funding is also offered for eligible two-year-olds whose families claim certain benefits.

Funding follows the term-time structure. Additional private hours are charged, and early morning, evening and lunchtime sessions remain payable even when a child qualifies for grant. Families should use a current written quotation to understand the cost of their chosen pattern; the fees and funding page explains the attendance and charging arrangements.

Parents supply packed lunches; nursery snacks are charged separately, with the option to bring snacks from home, and cooked tea for children booked into extended hours carries an additional charge. The lunch policy asks families to exclude eggs and nut products because of allergies, so food planning needs attention alongside the attendance pattern.

• School-holiday coverage. Extended weeks provide attendance beyond term time, but Christmas, Easter and July closures still require other arrangements. Match those closure periods to your working calendar.
• Funded-session boundaries. Lunch, early mornings and evenings are payable even for grant-eligible children. A written quotation should distinguish funded time, additional attendance and food charges for your chosen sessions.
• Behaviour and settling. January 2024 practice included occasional delays in responding to unwanted behaviour. At a visit, discuss how the team now responds consistently and how the key person will support your child's settling.
• Food and daily supplies. Packed lunches exclude eggs and nut products under the nursery's policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food practice.

Greatham Village Nursery suits families looking for morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those who want to add lunchtime, early mornings, evenings or extended weeks. The quieter baby sleeping arrangement, direct garden access and weekly story-based Forest School give different ages practical reasons to use the setting.

Learning Book and the key person system create clear routes for sharing a child's development with home. The January 2024 Good judgement provides the quality reference, balanced by the need for more consistent responses to behaviour at that time. Attendance decisions should centre on the fixed term structure, holiday closures and the payable hours around funded sessions.