The Mulberry Bush Hedge End

Small acts of independence give this Hedge End nursery its clearest character: babies helping with sun cream, toddlers practising with cutlery and preschool children choosing a story together. In May 2025, these everyday experiences linked language, physical skills and making choices. Learning happened through ordinary routines as well as organised play.

Ofsted rated the setting Good at its 13 May 2025 inspection, with inconsistent responses to older children's behaviour the improvement priority. The Mulberry Bush Hedge End has capacity for 60 children aged 3 to 60 months. Its address is 19 St. Johns Road, Hedge End, Southampton, SO30 4AF.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in practical terms, play and everyday interactions help children build language, movement and social skills. In May 2025, staff used babies' participation in applying sun cream to introduce words for sensations and body parts. A care routine became an opportunity to connect words with something children could feel and do.

For toddlers that month, using cutlery and experimenting with tools during creative activities gave practice in controlling small movements. Helping put things away also brought responsibility and encouragement. These were manageable tasks with an immediate purpose, rather than isolated exercises.

Preschool children had a say in their shared reading. In May 2025, they used gestures to vote for a story, giving staff an opportunity to develop attention while showing children that their preferences counted. During building work, older children also discussed adapting an indoor group activity to keep it safe. That connected thinking about risk with a real situation they needed to understand.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor play was part of the nursery day in May 2025. Staff carried children's interests between indoors and outdoors, including using coloured construction blocks to revisit colour vocabulary. Repeating an idea through play gave children another way to practise it, rather than treating outdoor time as a break from learning.

The large preschool room and outdoor space also featured in the behaviour concern that month. Some older children ran about and threw resources, and staff did not respond consistently. Space to move needs dependable boundaries too; this is a practical consideration for families choosing preschool care.

Relationships with the youngest children were a clear part of daily care in May 2025. Staff recognised babies' signs of tiredness and let them sleep when they needed to. Familiarity with individual children mattered here: responding to a baby's cues made rest part of their own rhythm.

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receiving individual support from staff who understood their needs and worked with the professionals involved, enabling good progress. For families needing additional support, the useful detail is that connection between knowledge of the child and the people supporting them.

In May 2025, leaders used induction and training systems to support staff development, and staff felt supported in their work. The behaviour improvement priority nevertheless showed why training also needed to translate into consistent responses during children's play.

A group-wide food arrangement reproduced for Hedge End provides meals and snacks prepared by chefs on site. This gives children opportunities to encounter different tastes and textures within their nursery day.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. These hours give families a broad weekday window when planning care around work.

Enquiries go to the Hedge End team through its enquiry form, by email at managementhe@themulberrybush.co.uk or by telephone on 01489 795 860. The enquiry route includes arranging a tour and requesting an information pack.

Registration follows agreement about sessions: families complete an online form and pay a non-refundable administration charge, then receive written confirmation once the start date and attendance days are agreed. Subsequent changes to those arrangements can be declined. The practical implication is to settle the intended pattern before committing to registration.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2025, the setting received early education funding for children from birth to four. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The registration charge is separate from the process of agreeing attendance days.

• Preschool behaviour. Consistent responses to older children's behaviour were the May 2025 improvement priority. During a visit, ask how staff now apply shared boundaries during indoor and outdoor play.
• Attendance changes. Once registration is confirmed, changes to the start date or attendance days can be refused. Families with changing work patterns should weigh this before agreeing their booking.
• Starting with a baby. Care in May 2025 included responding to individual sleep cues. Ask how settling visits and the key person will help staff learn your baby's routines.

For Hedge End families seeking weekday care across the year, this nursery merits consideration, especially for its practical approach to early independence. The May 2025 examples show how small tasks became learning opportunities, while individual support and responsive baby care added substance to the overall Good judgement. Preschool behaviour deserves equal attention: consistent boundaries are the key issue to explore when assessing whether the setting suits your child.