Sapphires Nursery School

A miniature stream, a wormery and a canopy-covered garden give Sapphires Nursery School a recognisable character: children have water, growing things and small creatures to investigate, alongside a play-led Froebel approach that gives them choices with adult guidance. Nature is part of the learning here. The setting occupies St Mary’s Church Hall in East Molesey and has capacity for 60 children, with a current age range of eight months to five years.

At its October 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Sapphires Good and found safeguarding effective, while identifying improvements needed in mealtime organisation and some staff interactions supporting language. Those are useful qualifications to the overall judgement. The garden and attachment-based settling arrangements give families concrete reasons to consider the nursery; the inspection’s recommendations provide equally concrete questions for a visit.

Attendance is built around full days, with a minimum booking of three days each week. That is a substantial commitment rather than a casual session arrangement.

Rooms and Ages

Bluebells, Dragonflies and Kingfishers give the nursery its progression from baby care to preparation for school. Across the rooms, wooden furniture and open-ended play equipment support activities children can take in different directions, rather than resources with only one prescribed use. Room names draw on the natural surroundings near the River Mole.

Bluebells combines a wooden mole hole for crawling with treasure baskets for sensory exploration, while songs, puppets and messy play give babies opportunities to explore movement, sound and texture. Dragonflies, for children aged two to three, brings role play, construction, books and creative work together with access to garden sand and water activities throughout the day. Kingfishers, for ages three to five, has areas for discovery, early reading, mathematics and creative work, plus a computer smart board, with both child-chosen activities and adult-led learning supporting preparation for school.

These are different stages of nursery life, rather than one programme repeated across age groups. For the youngest children, exploration starts with bodies and senses; older children have more opportunities to use symbols, numbers and technology.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the shared early-years framework: children develop language, movement and relationships through play, then build experience with books, numbers, the world around them and creative expression. Sapphires adds its Froebel approach through first-hand experiences, choices about play and guidance from adults. Community outings and visitors supply experiences children can explore further through their own ideas.

Freedom with Guidance is the name given to this balance between children directing their play and adults helping them extend it. It has a practical expression in resources that can be rearranged, explored and used imaginatively. The curriculum connects learning indoors and outside, with activities shaped around children’s interests and individual needs.

In October 2023, children built imagined objects with magnetic construction pieces and investigated sensory trays containing materials such as lentils and mud. Stories also connected learning with wider life: a book about a family with little money helped explain a collection for a local food bank. These examples show the breadth of experiences at that time, from experimenting with materials to thinking about other people.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Secret Garden has a canopy for outdoor play across the seasons, a miniature stream for water exploration, a bug hotel and space for growing vegetables. The wormery adds another way to observe living things. This is a garden with things to do and investigate, rather than simply space for running around.

A gardening club and sports skills sessions for older children extend the activity programme. Nature and Forest School adds outdoor, nature-based learning; younger children also attend soft play at St Marys Church across the road. A visiting musician and dance artist from a local church lead Christian songs with movement on a regular basis. The Christian foundation therefore has a practical presence in the day, while families of all faiths and none are welcomed.

In October 2023, community experiences included church visits and woodland activities, and children grew and harvested vegetables. Physical play included a climbing wall and balancing on logs. Those dated examples help explain how outdoor exploration and everyday challenges formed part of the nursery experience.

Relationships and Communication

For babies in Bluebells, a key person works with the family to follow the child’s daily routine, with verbal feedback and an electronic diary at the end of the day. Cots are provided for sleep. The emphasis is on carrying familiar routines between home and nursery, which matters when a baby’s eating and sleeping pattern is still individual.

Circle of Security informs the nursery’s approach to attachment and transitions. Before a child starts, families are taken through its Saying Goodbye practice so that adults can work together around separations and reunions. Staff receive attachment training, and Parent Information Evenings take place each term, covering subjects including this approach and preparation for school. These arrangements give parents a shared language for discussing settling, rather than leaving it entirely to informal conversations.

Famly provides a further connection with the nursery day: parents can comment on milestones and learning, alongside opportunities to speak with staff at the start and end of the day. In October 2023, settling was adapted to individual children, and parents were invited to sports day and the Christmas nativity. Those inspection-era examples complement the current communication arrangements, rather than establishing a present event calendar.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Individual planning continues in Dragonflies, where the key person combines adult-led activities with children’s own play. In Kingfishers, choosing activities sits alongside guided learning intended to build confidence for the move to school. This describes preparation for the next stage, with no implication of an admissions advantage.

The October 2023 inspection identified two areas requiring further work: reducing lengthy waits around meals and helping less experienced staff extend children’s speech and thinking more consistently. Both concern the ordinary texture of a nursery day. A child may have interesting resources available, but the organisation of routines and the quality of adult responses still matter.

Food is freshly prepared on site, with menus adjusted for seasonal ingredients. The dietary policy provides for discussion with parents about allergies and religious, cultural or vegetarian requirements, making individual food arrangements a practical part of joining.

Sessions and Attendance

The full-day session runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours included and a minimum attendance of three full days each week. Sapphires operates across 51 weeks of the year. Families therefore need to assess the whole booking commitment, including how it fits work patterns and their child’s time at home.

One daily rate applies across ages and attendance days, and fees are spread across the year for consistent monthly invoices. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Enquiries and visit arrangements can be made through the online enquiry form, by telephone or by email.

Getting There

The address is St Mary’s Church Hall, St Mary’s Road, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 0ST. Parking is free before 9am and after 6pm, with charges applying between those periods; the timing of a family’s collection and drop-off therefore affects this practical cost.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible working parents of children aged nine months to three years can access up to 30 funded hours, while three- and four-year-olds have 15 universal hours. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, rather than delivered only during term time. The fees page explains the attendance and funding structure.

Meals, snacks, nappies, wipes and creams are included in the private daily fee. For funded attendance, meals and consumables are charged through the Funding Supplement Package, which also covers enhanced activities and developmental feedback; families can opt out of the supplement and provide their own meals and consumables. Invoices through Famly itemise the funded hours and supplement, helping families distinguish the entitlement from the additional package.

• Three-day commitment. The minimum is three full days each week, from 7.30am to 6.30pm. Assess that pattern against your child’s routine and the attendance you actually need.
• Everyday interactions. October 2023 recommendations concerned waits at meals and staff responses that could extend language further. During a visit, ask how mealtimes are organised and how staff develop children’s conversations.
• Christian content. Regular visiting music and dance sessions include Christian songs, alongside a welcome for families of all faiths and none. Consider whether this element fits your family’s preferences.
• Funding and dietary choices. Funded attendance has a supplement covering food and consumables, with an opt-out route. Families managing allergies should confirm current food arrangements and how their requirements would work with either option.

Sapphires suits families seeking a regular full-day pattern across the year, with at least three days of attendance, and who value play, outdoor investigation and a structured approach to settling. Its stream, growing space and sensory resources give that offer substance; the attachment practices give parents something specific to understand before their child starts.

The October 2023 recommendations keep the judgement balanced. Interesting activities are part of the decision, but so are smooth routines and adults who respond thoughtfully to children. Families comfortable with the attendance commitment and Christian content have clear reasons to consider Sapphires.