Ashburton House Day Nursery

Books in an outdoor den, pretend building in the garden and babies learning to use a spoon give Ashburton House Day Nursery a recognisable character. These are snapshots from September 2021, rather than a description of today's daily routine. At its 20 September 2021 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective.

The Weybridge setting has capacity for 75 children aged 3 to 60 months. Its opening window runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: learning and everyday care belong together. In September 2021, play provided concrete opportunities to practise language, movement and early writing. Children made marks with sticks in shaving foam, while older children practised writing their names.

Imagination also had a practical role. In September 2021, cardboard boxes became pretend spacecraft, with adults joining the play and extending children's vocabulary. Outdoors, children collaborated on a building game using a toy cement mixer. Balancing beams offered a different challenge, with adults nearby to assist.

Books reached beyond indoor activities. In September 2021, children browsed them in an outdoor den and listened to stories; yoga and activities combining music with movement also formed part of their physical play. These examples give parents useful detail about the nursery's inspection-era day.

Language ran through these September 2021 activities. Practitioners introduced unfamiliar words during play, including more complex vocabulary for older children. One conversation involved a centipede engraved on a pebble, examined through a magnifying glass. That small example connects speaking with close observation: children had something specific to investigate and discuss, rather than vocabulary being detached from their play. Staff also supported children learning English as an additional language.

Mathematics featured in pretend play in September 2021, while managers observed practitioners and reviewed how the curriculum was being put into practice. Activity planning took account of individual children's interests and developmental needs. For parents, these details help distinguish the materials used from the adult contribution: a cardboard box supplied the imagined spacecraft, but the practitioner joining in created further opportunities for conversation. The inspection-era examples therefore encompass both independent exploration and play that adults helped develop.

In September 2021, babies sought comfort from their key person and received cuddles when upset. Practitioners helped babies practise feeding themselves with a spoon, and worked with parents on toilet learning when children were ready. Care routines offered opportunities to build independence.

In September 2021, practitioners agreed individual support plans with parents for their key children, using those plans to address gaps in development. This gave conversations about a child's needs a practical purpose: identifying what help to provide, alongside the everyday relationship with a familiar adult. The weakness in developmental checks matters within that picture, because a plan within the nursery and information that parents can take to another professional serve different purposes.

Sharing and turn-taking were also part of care in September 2021. Adults modelled these behaviours, and children sometimes expressed affection by hugging friends. Together with the cooperative garden building game, these observations describe opportunities to practise relationships as well as individual skills.

There was also a specific weakness in developmental communication. In September 2021, the developmental checks covering two- and three-year-olds needed fuller explanations to help parents involve other professionals and obtain support.

Ashburton House Day Nursery is at Ashburton House, 3 Monument Green, Weybridge, KT13 8QR. It opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6.30pm, across the year, closing for bank holidays, Christmas week and two staff training days.

That opening window matters for parents arranging work and collection. The annual closures also need a place in the family calendar.

• Mealtime supervision. Ofsted required better supervision of babies during meals in June 2023, accepted the resulting actions, and in July 2025 recorded a further supervision shortfall at meals that the provider had acted to correct. The recurrence makes mealtime arrangements an important consideration for families with younger children.
• Developmental checks. In September 2021, checks for children aged two to three needed more useful detail for parents seeking support. These checks matter when information must be shared with other professionals.
• Attendance planning. With weekday opening from 7.30am to 6.30pm and specified annual closures, which booking pattern would fit your family's working week?

Ashburton House suits families considering weekday childcare in Weybridge whose children fall within its 3-to-60-month age range. Its September 2021 examples combine imaginative play, books and growing independence. The Good judgement provides a dated quality reference; the later recurrence of mealtime supervision concerns deserves weight alongside it.