Maggies Day Nursery Eastbourne

A three-storey Victorian house, a large garden and the beach nearby give Maggies Day Nursery Eastbourne a clear character: indoor play has room to spread out, while outdoor exploration extends beyond the nursery grounds. This Pevensey Road setting takes children from 3 months to 5 years. Its garden combines balancing beams, bikes and opportunities to build dens, giving children different ways to move, experiment and play together.

At its 30 August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement sits alongside two important improvement points: a clearer shared understanding of how learning should develop, and more consistent support when a child's usual key person is absent.

Full-day and half-day attendance are offered, with a minimum booking of two days a week. The practical appeal is the combination of those patterns, funded-only childcare and detailed communication with parents.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care, covering language, physical development and relationships alongside early literacy, mathematics and creative exploration. Here, practitioners plan around children's interests and their next steps. An individual learning plan is reviewed every six weeks, giving the planning a regular point for reconsideration as a child develops.

Development Matters is used alongside Quality Improvement in Learning and Teaching, an assessment and review process involving information gathering, planning, putting changes into practice and evaluating them. The useful detail is the cycle of review: planning is revisited rather than simply filed away. Free music and multi sports classes add further opportunities for children to participate in shared activities.

In August 2024, conversations grew from what children were doing and noticing, including identifying insects uncovered during garden digging. Visual prompts helped children understand transitions and instructions. Books also travelled between home and nursery: children shared favourites from home, and story sacks could be borrowed for family reading. These examples connect language practice with interests children already have.

The curriculum's longer-term direction needed work in August 2024. Staff could adapt activities to individual children, but did not yet all share a full understanding of how leaders wanted skills and knowledge to develop over time. For parents, that makes the link between an enjoyable activity and the child's next stage of learning an important consideration.

Outdoor and Community Life

The secure garden supports both energetic and quieter play. Balancing equipment and bikes sit alongside sand, water and outdoor art activities, while den building gives children materials and space to shape their own play. These are different kinds of outdoor experience, rather than a single exercise area.

Outings explore the surrounding area, with Eastbourne beach close by. In August 2024, children also visited the library and beach, connecting nursery experiences with places in their community. No fixed outing frequency is needed to appreciate the benefit: the setting uses its surroundings as another source of discovery.

The social calendar includes yearly sports days and Christmas plays. A child's final week includes a graduation celebration, marking the end of their nursery time. These occasions also give parents opportunities to take part in nursery life beyond everyday updates.

A key person is assigned during induction and works with parents to understand the child's strengths and needs. Parents can remain with their child during initial visits, allowing that relationship to develop together. The key person also supports children as they move into new environments within the nursery, so settling is treated as a continuing relationship rather than a single introductory appointment.

Famly, the online learning journal, lets parents contribute to observations and discuss their child's progress. Daily updates cover sleep, food, nappy changes and activities, alongside assessments and significant moments. That combination makes communication useful both for understanding the day and for sharing information that may affect the next one.

At the August 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted teaching effectively for children with SEND, but identified inconsistent replacement support when key people were absent or children were new. The practical question is who takes responsibility when the usual adult cannot be there. Warm relationships alone do not answer that organisational point.

Home routines informed care in August 2024, including familiar approaches to potty training. Current arrangements also include refrigerated storage for labelled breast milk and space for mothers to breastfeed or express milk. Parents supply disposable nappies for children who need them and sealed formula for bottle-fed babies.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 94-96 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 8AE. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year. Bank holidays, a week at Christmas and the first week of August are closures, so families need cover for those breaks.

Full-day, morning, afternoon and half-day bookings are offered. The minimum attendance requirement is two days a week. Applications use an online form, with a response promised within one working day; the contract requires a completed registration form and written acceptance of the application.

For privately paid arrangements, a deposit and non-refundable registration charge are required before settling sessions can be booked. The contract gives termination notice as at least one full calendar month in writing, with fees payable during that period. An absence through illness does not remove the fee obligation.

Getting There

The nursery is a 3 minute walk from Eastbourne beach and a 15 minute walk from Eastbourne station. Those walking links may help families combine nursery attendance with a rail journey or time by the coast.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes two-year-old funding, the 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, and 30-hour funding for eligible three-year-olds with the required code before the term begins. Eligibility must be checked each term. The 15-hour entitlement runs over 38 weeks; the funded-only 30-hour pattern uses 8am to 6pm across three days during term time, with full childcare fees applying during half terms and summer holidays. Additional privately paid attendance is also offered.

Lunch and tea are included in core private-day charges; funded-only meals and snacks carry a separate charge, with a packed-lunch alternative for the 15-hour arrangement, while children attending four or five days under the 30-hour arrangement pay for additional childcare without a separate meal charge. Food is cooked from scratch on site by an in-house chef, and the dietary policy provides for working with parents on diagnosed allergies and dietary needs.

Parents provide nappies and sealed formula, including when using funded childcare. The funded-only 15-hour arrangement has no deposit or childcare top-up charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page sets out the attendance and funding arrangements.

• Continuity of care. Replacement key-person support was inconsistent in August 2024. At a visit, ask who takes over during absence and how that adult learns a new child's routines.
• Learning over time. In August 2024, staff did not all fully understand the curriculum's longer-term intentions. Ask how the six-week learning-plan reviews connect activities with the next skills your child is developing.
• The family calendar. Two days a week is the minimum booking, and closures include Christmas and the first week of August. Match those commitments to your working pattern before signing.
• Funded attendance and food. Funded-only meals are charged separately, while the dietary policy involves parents in planning for diagnosed needs. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food-handling practice and agree the relevant meal arrangement.

Maggies suits families choosing full-day or half-day attendance who value a substantial garden, local outings and a clear channel for sharing their child's day. Six-week learning-plan reviews and Famly give parents concrete ways to participate, while funded-only attendance provides another route into the setting.

The Good judgement from August 2024 provides a useful quality marker, but the improvements requested on curriculum planning and key-person continuity deserve attention. The strongest choice will be for families whose attendance pattern fits the two-day minimum and who are satisfied with how those care and planning arrangements work for their child.