Oasis Charity

In November 2024, sand timers for sharing, fruit-cutting at snack time and conversations about friendship gave Oasis Charity a practical emphasis on learning to manage everyday life. Based at The Cedar Centre And Library in Cobham, it has 24 places in total. The clearest strengths at that inspection were the small moments that helped children become more independent: taking turns, trying a task themselves and finding words to explain what they meant.

At its 27 November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. Children attending then were aged two to four. The assessment also identified two important teaching priorities: more consistent mathematics and activities that stretch older children further. Those qualifications matter alongside the positive picture of relationships and personal development.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the November 2024 day brought those responsibilities into play, conversation, practical tasks and physical activity.

Language featured in ordinary exchanges between adults and children. Staff talked alongside children, demonstrated clear speech and introduced vocabulary through subjects that interested them. Crown-making, for example, became an opportunity to explore words connected with national celebrations. That gives a creative activity another purpose: children have something concrete to discuss while practising unfamiliar language.

Sensory play included cornflour mixture and foaming soap, while toy dragons prompted imaginative games. These were engaging experiences, but enjoyment did not consistently translate into sufficient challenge for older children. The important distinction for parents is between an activity that keeps a child involved and one that extends what that child already knows.

Mathematics was the other weakness. Opportunities to develop counting and recognise numbers were not used regularly enough in November 2024. A broad curriculum therefore did not always produce the intended mathematical learning. Families with children approaching school age should give this teaching priority particular weight.

Outdoor and Community Life

In November 2024, the outdoor play space contained equipment arranged for climbing and balancing. Adults encouraged children to attempt these movements, and children helped each other while playing. The physical environment gave them opportunities to practise coordination as well as cooperate with friends.

Independence also ran through everyday tasks. Children tried tools for cutting fruit and talked about washing their hands before preparing food. These activities connect physical skills with a useful purpose, making self-care part of the learning day.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2024, children formed close relationships with their key person and settled readily into activities. Conversations about the morning routine helped them understand what would happen next. For a young child, that combination of a familiar adult and a recognisable sequence can make participation easier.

Behaviour expectations were applied consistently. Sand timers helped children manage sharing, while adults discussed kindness and friendship and supported turn-taking. The method was concrete: children had a tool for handling a disagreement rather than only being told to wait.

Noticeboards explained the day's activities to parents, and staff spoke with them directly at handover. These were complementary ways to keep families connected with nursery life: one showed what children had been doing, while the other allowed a conversation about the individual child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received targeted support through individual plans and collaboration with professionals, including speech and language therapists. This gives families a specific support mechanism to consider, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

During that month, health education included toothbrushing and discussion of how different foods help the body. Children also practised completing tasks themselves. The emphasis was on habits they could use, with health and independence threaded through ordinary activities.

Oasis Charity's address is The Cedar Centre And Library, Cedar Road, Cobham, KT11 2AE. It has 24 places in total.

In November 2024, opening hours ran from 9am to 3pm on weekdays, with attendance during term time. That timetable matters for families planning care around work and school holidays. It describes the opening window at that date rather than a choice of separately timed booking packages.

Government-funded places for children aged two, three and four were offered in November 2024. That establishes participation at the time, rather than an individual family's entitlement. Current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation.

• Mathematics in everyday play. Counting and number recognition were not developed consistently in November 2024. During a visit, ask how staff now build these skills into activities and follow children's understanding.
• Challenge for older children. Activities did not always extend older children's knowledge in November 2024. Ask for an example of how the same activity is adapted for a child who has already mastered its starting point.
• Attendance arrangements. The November 2024 timetable was term time, with weekday opening from 9am to 3pm. What attendance pattern and funded-hours arrangement would apply to your child now?

Oasis Charity's November 2024 inspection picture makes it worth considering for families who value practical independence, close key-person relationships and clear ways of teaching cooperation. Its term-time timetable at that date would have suited families seeking a nursery day within school-hour boundaries. The strongest examples from that inspection were tangible: sand timers, fruit preparation and climbing and balancing outdoors. The decision should also give proper weight to the two teaching priorities, especially for an older child needing greater challenge.