Nestots Day Nursery

A college farm, music sessions in a performing arts building and regular outings to Bourne Hall give Nestots Day Nursery a childhood shaped by more than its playrooms. Its home within Nescot College in Ewell gives children access to animals and activities across the campus, while village outings bring the wider community into their week. That setting is its strongest practical attraction.

Nestots accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. At its 9 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall, with improvements required in communication with parents and the organisation of mealtimes. Those findings matter alongside the appealing activities: families need useful updates about development and routines that work for the youngest children.

Attendance can be booked by individual day or across the working week, with an earlier start offered for an extra charge.

Rooms and Ages

Yellow Room introduces nursery life through sensory exploration, textures and messy activities, with a baby garden and buggy outings providing outdoor experiences before children are confidently walking.

Purple Room combines experiments with paint, cornflour and porridge with growing independence at meals and when removing shoes, while building towers, exploring tunnels and singing with actions give active children several ways to play together.

Blue Room emphasises managing coats, shoes and washing, with construction and creative areas, a changing home corner and circle time giving children opportunities to choose activities and practise everyday skills.

Green Room serves children aged 2 to 3, combining adult-planned activities with children's choices, weekly cooking and mark making, a vegetable patch and daily outdoor access, while staff work with parents on potty training.

Red Room takes children from age 3 until school, with early maths and writing activities, books and music indoors, a mud kitchen and builder’s yard outside, and small responsibilities such as washing up and carrying messages to develop independence.

These rooms give progression a concrete shape. The move towards school is expressed through practical tasks, friendships and taking turns as well as letters and numbers. In Red Room, adult-led projects extend across a week, allowing children to revisit work and alter their ideas rather than finish everything in a single sitting.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the foundation: children learn through play and planned experiences that develop language, physical skills, relationships and early understanding of numbers and writing. Green Room combines activities led by adults with those children start themselves, while observation of individual interests helps shape Red Room's plans. The useful distinction is how those everyday learning experiences are organised.

Cooking has a tangible connection to the world outside. Green Room children visit the supermarket to purchase ingredients, then use them in cooking activities; growing plants in their vegetable patch offers another link between food and practical discovery. Children can connect something they buy or grow with something they make.

In May 2023, conversations about seashells introduced children to additional sea-animal vocabulary. Medical role play also involved staff naming equipment and modelling pronunciation. These examples show how an ordinary play activity could become a language opportunity, rather than relying solely on a separate lesson.

Music reaches beyond the nursery rooms. Children use Nescot’s Performing Arts building for movement and music activities, giving them another setting in which to participate. Parents, carers and grandparents are also invited to share stories, cook and plant in the allotment with children. Family involvement takes the form of doing something together.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular farm visits bring children close to animals on the Nescot campus, including rabbits, horses, sheep and tortoises. The value is direct experience: animals encountered in stories can also be seen during an outing. Yellow Room has its own baby garden, while older children's outdoor provision includes planting, water painting and large wooden bricks.

Bourne Hall is another recurring destination, with walks to see the ducks and use the Library. These outings give children opportunities to experience familiar places beyond the campus. Red Room also takes nature walks around the college, connecting outdoor exploration with the nursery's immediate surroundings.

Celebrations have clear family connections. The Carol Service takes place in December for children aged 2 to 5, while Graduation Day is held annually for children leaving for school. Parents attend the latter, where children receive a certificate and may wear a cap and gown for a photograph. These are shared milestones rather than a claim about school admission.

Relationships and Communication

Comfort and independence both have practical expression here. Families bring a familiar comforter if their child needs one, and spare clothing supports messy play and toilet training. Green Room's potty-training arrangements involve working with parents, helping nursery and home address the same transition together.

In May 2023, communication was inconsistent: parents did not always receive sufficient detail about progress or ways to continue learning at home, and changes to communication systems were not always explained. This was a specific weakness, not simply a request for more messages. The important issue for families is whether an update helps them understand what their child is learning and what they can do next.

Parents and grandparents can contribute through cooking, storytelling and allotment activities. Participation offers a different connection from routine updates, although it does not replace clear information about an individual child's development.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found that turn-taking activities helped children with SEND form relationships, with collaboration between the manager and other agencies supporting children's needs. The nursery also directs families towards Surrey’s Local offer for SEND.

Recruitment arrangements include police checks and references before staff join. These are practical checks, rather than a reason to infer the effectiveness of today's safeguarding from recruitment procedures alone.

Menus change with the seasons, and the nursery's dietary policy is to account for allergies and intolerances. In May 2023, delays before food reached children caused some babies distress, making the organisation of meals an important follow-up topic alongside the menu itself.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Nestots Day Nursery, Nescot College, Reigate Road, Ewell, Epsom, KT17 3DS. Standard opening hours run from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full-day bookings use that same window, and families can choose individual days or a full working week.

An early start at 7.30am carries a separate charge and needs advance booking. It can be arranged regularly or on an ad hoc basis subject to space, so it is a conditional extension to the ordinary day. Collection remains at 6pm; collecting later attracts a late charge.

Nestots opens for 50 weeks, closing for bank holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year. Its attendance arrangements include annual bookings covering either 49 or 50 weeks. The distinction matters when comparing a contract with a family's own working calendar.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. A mailing list also sends news and notifications about places, providing an ongoing contact route rather than a promise of a place.

Getting There

Free on-site parking is provided for collection and drop-off. Ewell East station has direct services to London Victoria and London Bridge, and the nursery is a five minute walk from Ewell East station; the shorter walking route includes steps, while a longer route accommodates buggies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded Early Years places and privately paid care are both offered, with charging arrangements distinguishing up to 15 Hours Free Entitlement from 15+ Hours Free Entitlement. Funded entitlement and the cost of additional attendance should be considered separately; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Parents supply nappies, creams and wipes, as well as summer sun cream. Formula must also come from home when a child attends fewer than 3 days each week. These items belong in the family's preparation for nursery, alongside spare clothing and weather-appropriate outdoor clothes.

Invoices are issued monthly in advance. A non-refundable registration charge applies, and the deposit is returned after the final month's invoice has been paid, but retained if a family withdraws before attendance begins. Concessions for Nescot staff and students depend on availability and booking patterns. The fees and attendance information sets out these arrangements.

• Development updates. Communication needed improvement in May 2023. During a show-around, ask to see how an individual child's progress and ideas for learning at home are now shared.
• Babies at mealtimes. Waiting for food upset some babies in May 2023. Ask how serving routines now accommodate younger children, and how dietary needs are handled in practice if allergies affect your family.
• The full attendance cost. Early starts are charged separately, and parents supply several care items. Request one written quotation that separates funded hours, additional care, food and consumables for your intended booking.
• The station route. The shorter route from Ewell East includes steps. Families using a buggy should assess the longer route when planning their journey.

Nestots suits families who value regular animal encounters, village outings and practical independence, with a choice between individual full-day bookings, a full working week and a charged early-start arrangement. Its college setting adds substance to the day: farm visits and music in a performing arts building are concrete experiences, not simply an attractive address.

The balance is straightforward. There is plenty for children to explore, while the May 2023 weaknesses in development updates and mealtime organisation remain relevant questions for a visit. Families drawn to the activities should give those everyday care routines equal weight in their decision.