Tootsies Private Day Nursery, Bordon

A garden with outdoor musical instruments, a quiet space for yoga and local woodland walks gives Tootsies Bordon a clear outdoor character. Children can investigate nature, make music and find somewhere calmer within the same day. This Forest Road nursery has capacity for 60 children and accepts ages from 3 to 60 months.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective, with positive findings on children's progress and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. There was also a clear improvement point: staff needed a more consistent understanding of the learning intended in activities. That matters alongside the appealing facilities.

Little Tootsies, Stompers, Tiptoes and Pre-School Wellingtons organise children's progression, while dance, yoga and sport add different ways to move and express themselves. Morning, afternoon and core-day bookings sit alongside term-time and stretched funded arrangements.

Rooms and Ages

Little Tootsies combines individual routines with painting, musical play and cosy spaces for cuddles, alongside its own enclosed outdoor area with a soft play surface, water activities and ride-on trucks. The room gives younger children space for both exploration and quieter contact with adults.

Stompers develops everyday independence through drinking from an open cup, using cutlery and beginning toilet learning when appropriate, supported by a predictable daily routine. These are practical steps children can carry into family life.

Tiptoes introduces a more structured rhythm before preschool, with scissors, colour sorting and imaginative play, plus key chat times with the child's key person. Conversation gets a place in the routine as well as taking place during activities.

Pre-School Wellingtons combines preparation for school, including the Letters and Sounds system, with book, creative, woodwork and construction areas, regular outdoor activities and community walks. Its spaces allow children to move between quieter concentration and making things with their hands.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the educational framework: children learn through play and adult interaction, with activities shaped around their interests and development. Tootsies' group-wide curriculum organises this around communication, relationships, health, understanding the world and a developing sense of self. These aims guide the day alongside the framework.

Open-ended materials and real objects allow children to decide how to explore and use them. Adults join children's play, introduce vocabulary, demonstrate techniques and use questions to develop their thinking. Planning can change as children's interests change, rather than requiring every activity to follow a fixed script.

Movement has several named outlets. Magic Feet uses dance, stories, singing and rhythm for babies through to preschool children. Yogibeans Yoga brings games, stories and group movement to relaxation and self-calming. Sports 4 Kids uses imaginative exercise to develop movement, balance and handling objects. These activities are included in private daily fees; funded-only attendance has a separate charging arrangement.

In June 2024, babies explored movement through sensory resources while adults talked through what they were doing. Toddlers investigated toy insects frozen into coloured ice and made insect impressions in dough. Preschool children created body shapes and talked about how their bodies worked. These examples show how physical activity, creative work and conversation can be connected within one experience.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Wanderlust Nature Programme connects children with seasonal changes, wildlife and outdoor investigation, using local woodland walks as well as bringing natural experiences into nursery life. Its practical appeal is the opportunity to notice weather, sounds and living things directly. Outdoor exploration continues in different weather conditions.

Within the main garden, a paved space supports wheeled toys, while all-weather grass provides room for ball games. A mud kitchen, planting containers and outdoor musical instruments offer different forms of exploration. The quiet garden and large story chair give children somewhere to pause, listen or take part in yoga.

Older children also visit a nearby care home. That extends relationships beyond their own age group and gives community life a concrete place in the curriculum.

Relationships and Communication

Parents help identify the next steps in their child's learning, informed by regular observations. In June 2024, staff shared progress through conversations with families and an online recording application. This gives parents a way to connect nursery experiences with what they notice at home, rather than receiving information only at formal review points.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used individual educational plans, kept these under SENCO oversight and worked effectively with families, professional services and local authority advisers to support children with additional needs. The useful detail is the mechanism: plans, review and shared working, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

In June 2024, children practised recognising emotions and using breathing during yoga and mindfulness activities. Adults encouraged turn-taking, sharing and explaining feelings. However, a newer room team was still developing a shared approach to activities, and the intended learning was sometimes inconsistent across the nursery.

Slice of Pie supplies breakfast bread and meals for lunch and tea, with a weaning menu for younger children and breakfast, lunch, tea and three snacks for full-day attendance. The nursery's allergy arrangements involve gathering dietary information and, where appropriate, working with parents on a risk assessment and individual diet plan.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is on Forest Road, Bordon, Hampshire, GU35 0BJ, and opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 7.30pm. It operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas. This opening window is broader than the standard core-day booking.

The Core Day runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm. Morning Session bookings run from 7.30am to 1.30pm, and Afternoon Session bookings from 1.30pm to 6.30pm. Late care extends from 6.30pm to 7pm, with Extended Late continuing until 7.30pm. Two sessions a week are recommended for friendships, but this is not compulsory; additional flexible sessions depend on availability.

Funded attendance uses set windows. Stretched options include 8am to 1.30pm, 1.30pm to 6.15pm and 8am to 3.30pm. Term-time options include 8.30am to 1.30pm, 1.30pm to 6.30pm and 9am to 4.30pm. Families therefore need to distinguish the hours they book from the portion covered by funding.

Enquiries can be made through the Bordon contact form or by telephone on 01420 479109. Private fees are payable monthly in advance, and extra sessions and late collection charges are payable on the day. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the disadvantaged two-year-old offer, universal provision for three- and four-year-olds, and working-parent entitlements for eligible children, starting from the funded term following their nine-month, second or third birthday, as applicable. Funding can be used over 38 term-time weeks or stretched across 51 weeks. Additional hours outside the funded allocation are charged privately.

Private charges include food, snacks, drinks other than formula, nappies and wet wipes. Activities are also included in the private daily fee, while external activities may carry an additional charge.

For funded-only bookings, meals, snacks, care consumables, sun cream and activities are charged separately. The itemised contributions are voluntary and are not a condition of accessing funded hours; parents can opt out and provide their own alternatives under the Alternatives Policy.

• Learning consistency. June 2024 brought an improvement point about staff understanding and delivering the intended learning in activities. On a visit, ask how room teams agree what children should gain and how that work is reviewed.
• Funded booking and extras. Funding follows set attendance windows, and funded-only extras have an opt-out arrangement. Request a written quotation separating funded hours, private hours and the services you choose, including how alternatives work in practice.
• Individual routines and allergies. Little Tootsies follows children's routines, and dietary planning can include an individual risk assessment. Discuss settling arrangements and confirm current allergy practice against your child's particular needs.

Tootsies Bordon suits families who value outdoor exploration and practical independence, whether they need a morning session, afternoon care or a core day with a later finish. Term-time and stretched funding add further choices.

The June 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with learning consistency the point to test most closely. For parents, the other decisive detail is the bill: private attendance includes food and several consumables, while funded-only attendance requires choices about separately charged services and alternatives.