The Village Nursery

An old tractor tyre used to grow pumpkins and tomatoes captures the character of The Village Nursery: practical play, outdoor exploration and learning drawn from everyday surroundings. In March 2024, children investigated their local area through outings and conversations, with growing, movement and books providing further starting points for learning.

Based at East Meon Village Hall, Workhouse Lane, Petersfield, GU32 1PF, the nursery has 40 places in total. At its 26 March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest examples concerned children's independence, language and relationships, alongside clear priorities for improving mathematical learning and responding promptly to developmental concerns.

The current opening window is 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. That calendar is a central consideration for families arranging childcare around work.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides learning through play, with activities shaped around children's development and progress. Children take part in both adult-guided activities with their key person and play in which they make decisions about resources and what to do with them. These provide different opportunities to practise making choices, communicating and completing an activity with support.

Progress tracking helps staff choose subsequent activities. The emphasis is on using what they know about an individual child to plan their learning, rather than treating every child as ready for the same task. The curriculum and special needs information explains how the key person contributes to that process.

In March 2024, language work grew out of children's interests. Diggers near the nursery prompted conversation, while picture books introduced unfamiliar vocabulary. This connected talk to something children could see or were already curious about. Stories also gave them practice in sustaining attention.

Mathematical learning needed more consistent attention at that time. Staff did not always extend children's initial ideas or make enough use of opportunities to develop mathematical understanding. For parents, the useful distinction is between providing an engaging activity and taking a child's thinking further within it. Both matter.

Outdoor and Community Life

Large indoor and outdoor play areas provide space for exploration. The outdoor offer also has a practical thread: in March 2024, children grew vegetables in a reused tractor tyre and explored nearby places including allotments, a church and a farm. Paddling in a stream added another experience of the local environment.

Movement was varied at the same date. Children practised yoga movements around low balancing beams, joined a parachute game and worked on hand control with construction bricks and tweezers. These were concrete opportunities to practise balance, coordination and handling small objects.

The local surroundings also supplied things to listen to and discuss. In March 2024, staff drew attention to wildlife and aircraft sounds outdoors. That made the environment itself a resource for conversation and observation.

Relationships and Communication

A key person gives each child a consistent staff contact, with responsibility for communication, developmental checks and support. Parents have someone who follows their child's experience over time. Settling is approached through work with families, so the relationship begins with information shared between home and nursery.

In March 2024, practical independence featured in children's routines: they learned to manage outdoor clothing, locate their water bottles and bring their lunch boxes to the table. Sand timers helped them understand waiting for a turn. These small routines gave children opportunities to do things for themselves and practise sharing resources.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The nursery has a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator role and describes involving external agencies when needed, including support with the move to school. Its key-person arrangements provide a regular channel for discussing a child's development, rather than leaving those conversations to chance.

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND participated enthusiastically and received support, but also identified occasions when staff were slow to obtain parental consent for outside intervention after developmental concerns emerged. This is a material point for families whose child may need additional help: an established relationship needs to lead to timely action as well as conversation.

In March 2024, additional funding was used to obtain weatherproof clothing for children who had fewer opportunities to play outside at home. At the same visit, children brought packed lunches and practised carrying their own boxes to the table. Those examples connect care with participation and independence.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 4pm on weekdays, with attendance during term time. The nursery can be contacted by telephone on 07305 062321 or by email at hello@thevillagenursery.co.uk.

Fees continue during a child's absence unless an alternative arrangement has been agreed. Six weeks' notice is required when reducing or changing the number of sessions attended, or when leaving. Those terms matter when planning changes to work, childcare or the move to school.

Getting There

The address is East Meon Village Hall, Workhouse Lane, Petersfield, GU32 1PF. Onsite parking gives families a practical option when travelling by car.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for children aged one and over. The entitlements include the working-families offer of 30 hours, subject to eligibility, and 15 hours from the term following a child's third birthday. Attendance is term-time only, so families should plan their childcare around that calendar.

Private hours and hours beyond funded entitlement are charged separately. A monthly concessional charge also applies; families should obtain a current written quotation covering their intended attendance and the additional charge. Payment plans can be discussed with families experiencing difficulty, and concessions can be made when siblings attend together.

• Extending children's thinking. In March 2024, activities did not consistently stretch children's ideas, including mathematical learning. During a visit, ask for an example of how staff develop a child's initial interest into a more challenging activity.
• Acting on developmental concerns. Communication about emerging needs was an improvement priority in March 2024. Ask how a concern moves from discussion with the key person to consent and contact with an outside agency.
• Term-time planning. Weekday opening runs from 8am to 4pm during term time, and attendance changes require six weeks' notice. Weigh both the calendar and the notice period against your working arrangements.

The Village Nursery suits families seeking term-time childcare with space outdoors, practical learning and a consistent key-person relationship. Its March 2024 examples give that description substance: vegetable growing, local exploration, conversations prompted by children's interests and everyday tasks that build independence.

The balance is clear. A Good judgement sits alongside specific improvements needed in extending learning, mathematics and the speed of intervention. For families comfortable with the weekday opening window and term-time calendar, those are the points to explore when deciding whether the nursery's approach fits their child.