Piglets Day Nursery

Country-park surroundings give Piglets Day Nursery its character: a large lawn behind the setting, outdoor access from the rooms and walks intended to draw children's attention to what they hear and see. Set within River Hamble Country Park in Bursledon, it combines space for movement with indoor rooms that are open-plan and air-conditioned. The setting matters to the day here.

Piglets accepts children from 3 months to 5 years and has 50 places in total. At its 12 January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. The learning examples were practical: experimenting with ice, working out how to balance safely and learning to handle serving utensils rather than having everything done for the children.

Three age-based rooms organise the nursery day, with routines that change as children grow. Full days and two half-day patterns give families different attendance options, while eligible children can attend during term time. The January 2024 concern about slow responses to spillages also deserves attention.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room takes children from 3 months to 2 years, with low-level toys, storage units dividing the floor and a substantial deck for indoor-outdoor play. Rotated resources, songs, stories and messy play sit within a routine adjusted to individual needs, allowing babies to follow their own rhythms.

For children aged 2 to 3, the Tigger Room combines picture-labelled toy boxes with garden access, beds and mats, and a changing area with two child-sized toilets and potties. Children choose activities alongside adult-led play; those needing sleep can rest while others play quietly. Potty training and rest have practical space here.

The Pre-School Room serves ages 3 to 5, combining flexible indoor space and outdoor play with music, dancing, stories and quiet time after lunch. Group activities alternate with children's chosen play, while encouragement of confidence and independence supports preparation for school.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play, conversation, movement and everyday routines give children opportunities to practise new skills. The room timetables show how that translates into the day, with songs and stories sitting alongside messy play, outdoor activity and shared meals.

In January 2024, children's interest in colder weather led to an experiment with salt and ice, with adults encouraging them to find words for the changes they noticed. Counting songs became opportunities to show numbers on their fingers. Babies scooped oats into containers, while toddlers shaped play dough and added pretend candles. These were concrete ways to combine language, number and hand control, using materials children could manipulate themselves.

Outdoor and Community Life

A large grassed area behind the nursery gives children room to move and explore natural surroundings. Piglets aims to offer outdoor time whatever the weather and to arrange regular country-park walks, using sights and sounds as starting points for conversation. Those are intentions rather than a fixed outing timetable.

In January 2024, children also practised balancing on beams, with staff helping them consider how to position and use the equipment safely. This kind of activity gives children a chance to make decisions about manageable risks, alongside developing their balance.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2024, settling arrangements were shaped around each child after staff took time to learn about them. Communication combined an app, reports each term and everyday conversations; parents were also encouraged to share learning from home. The practical value is continuity: what happens outside nursery can inform the next activity or the support a child receives, rather than remaining separate from the nursery day.

Concerns go first to the child's key person, then to the manager if unresolved. A complaints procedure provides a formal route, giving families clear steps for raising difficulties.

The current team structure includes room leaders, a nursery cook and lunchtime support. Staff have first-aid and food-hygiene certificates, enhanced DBS checks and ongoing training. These are arrangements for care and staff preparation, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted found effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including collaboration with other agencies and training informed by parents and professionals. The useful detail is the mechanism: staff were learning about individual needs from those already involved in a child's care.

In January 2024, babies were checked regularly while sleeping, but staff did not consistently deal with spillages quickly enough to reduce slipping risks. Prompt responses to environmental hazards were the required improvement. That concrete weakness sits alongside the positive care findings.

Home-cooked food follows a three-week menu rotation, with fresh fruit and vegetables daily and a cook on the team. The allergy policy involves individual risk assessments and acknowledges that cross-contamination cannot be excluded or every child's needs accommodated.

Illness arrangements allow the nursery to decline attendance or request collection when a child has a temperature, sickness and diarrhoea, or a contagious illness. Parents must notify the nursery about absence, and the parent pack includes permissions for medicine and emergency treatment. These terms make health-related responsibilities part of the joining arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Piglets is at Pylands Lane, Bursledon, Southampton, SO31 1BH. It opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, operates for 51 weeks of the year and closes on bank holidays.

Families can book full days, morning half days or afternoon half days. Requests for additional sessions or different hours are considered where they are workable for the setting.

Term-time attendance is offered when a child is eligible for funded hours; for children without funding, it requires an individual agreement with management. Changes to the number of attendance days require written notice and lead to an amended invoice. Ending a place requires one month's written notice.

The contact route is by telephone or email. Joining requires a completed, signed registration form and a non-refundable registration charge, with the form completed within five days of the prospective visit. A confirmation letter follows, together with packs for parents to complete and retain.

Getting There

Road access uses Junction 8 of the M27, heading towards River Hamble Country Park and Manor Farm.

Funding and Paid Extras

Piglets accepts all Government funding schemes, as well as Tax-Free Childcare and childcare vouchers. Funded attendance can involve separate charges for extra hours and food, so entitlement hours and the total childcare bill need to be considered separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Fees are paid in advance at the month's start, normally in equal monthly payments unless another session arrangement is agreed, and reviewed annually in April. Absences, including sickness and holidays, do not attract refunds, even on funded attendance: families need to budget for their agreed pattern.

• Spillages and safety. Prompt action on environmental hazards was the improvement required in January 2024. During a visit, ask how staff now respond to spillages while supervising children's play.
• Allergy arrangements. Individual risk assessments sit alongside an explicit warning that cross-contamination cannot be ruled out. Families affected by allergies should confirm the current meal arrangements for their child before joining.
• Term-time commitments. Funded eligibility supports a term-time option, while non-funded attendance needs management agreement; absences do not attract refunds. Make sure the agreed calendar and payment terms match the care you need.
• Baby-room organisation. The Baby Room serves children from 3 months to 2 years and adapts routines to individual needs. Ask how its group is organised across that age span and how sleep and play are managed together.

Piglets suits families looking for either full-day care or shorter morning and afternoon attendance, with a term-time option for eligible funded children. Its country-park setting and rooms with accessible resources give those choices substance: children have space to explore, rest and practise doing things for themselves.

The January 2024 Good judgement sits alongside a specific safety improvement about spillages, which families should take seriously. For parents drawn to outdoor surroundings, adaptable baby routines and practical independence as children grow, Piglets offers a clear and appealing combination of setting and daily structure.