Big Discoveries Nursery

Independent play has a practical shape at Big Discoveries Nursery: resources children can reach for themselves, access to the garden and a routine that bends around their interests. Based at Portchester Community Centre in Fareham, it accepts children from birth to five. The emphasis is on children making choices and learning to do things for themselves.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, finding highly individualised SEND support, excellent progress and effective safeguarding arrangements. That judgement gives families a strong starting point, while the detail beneath it is more useful than the grade alone: teaching adapted to children's needs, opportunities to practise independence and outdoor exploration.

Attendance can combine morning, afternoon or day sessions, with both term-time and stretched funding arrangements.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides planning: children learn through play, with experiences supporting their communication, physical development and understanding of the world. Activities are planned around children's interests. This gives the day direction while leaving room for an absorbing game or investigation to continue.

Big Discoveries draws selected elements from the Montessori ethos and Hygge approach alongside that framework. These selected influences complement the Early Years Foundation Stage. Activities include experiments, cooking, painting, imaginative play, gardening, bug hunts, sand and water play, and bikes and trikes. Children have several ways to explore an interest: making something, testing an idea or acting it out.

In October 2024, staff adjusted activities when children needed more opportunities to develop physical skills. Language work included playful songs and games involving the sounds at the beginning of words. These examples show how an activity could serve a particular learning need rather than simply fill a slot in the timetable.

The daily structure includes stories, songs, group time and periods of play, but meals and snacks can move with children's engagement. Children also contribute to decisions about the routine. For a child deeply involved in an activity, that flexibility gives their interest some influence over what happens next.

Outdoor and Community Life

A large outdoor area supports movement between indoor play and the garden as much as possible.

In October 2024, children had opportunities to grow trees and explore the natural world. Staff connected songs and conversation to what interested them outdoors. Independence also extended to ordinary jobs: babies could get to their bags and coats, while older children helped younger ones find outdoor footwear and dealt with spilled sand. These were useful opportunities to take responsibility within the shared day.

Relationships support learning as well as comfort. At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found exceptionally strong partnerships with parents and emotional support, alongside staff who understood how to support children with SEND. Parents were helped to understand the learning taking place through play, making communication about the day more meaningful than an account of activities alone.

In October 2024, staff helped a child who became frightened on a swing understand the feeling and its physical effects before trying again. That example makes emotional regulation concrete: an adult supplied words and reassurance around a difficult moment, rather than simply moving the child on to something else.

Support also involved changing the environment. In October 2024, additional funding helped provide dens with wider entrances so children could access the play. For families considering support needs, this is a useful example of adapting an experience itself, alongside individual help from staff.

The current routine makes provision for children who need sleep, alongside play for others. Meals, nappies and wipes come from home; breakfast, milk and healthy snacks are supplied by the nursery, with separate food charges applying to funded attendance under its charging terms.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, operating for 49 weeks each year. Easter, Christmas and bank holidays bring closures, so families using care across the year need to account for these breaks.

Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 5pm. The Full Day runs from 8am to 5pm; a Shorter Full day begins at 9am and finishes at 5pm. Two further choices are School Day, 9am to 3pm, and Longer School Day, 8am to 3pm. These different finishing times matter as much as the opening window when matching childcare to work or other commitments.

The address is Portchester Community Centre, Westlands Grove, Portchester, Fareham, PO16 9AD. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with terms covering 30 hours term time only and 23 hours stretched funding. Extra attendance beyond government-funded hours is charged privately. Families should obtain a current written quotation that separates the attendance pattern from additional charges; the fees and opening hours page sets out the structure.

Funded attendance carries separate charges for food and non-food consumables. Parents provide meals, nappies and wipes as well, so supplying these items does not by itself describe the whole charging arrangement. Families claiming government funding are exempt from the additional charge where their child has an Education, Health and Care Plan or receives Disability Living Allowance; other qualifying circumstances also apply.

An alternative for families opting out of additional charges is the early-years-entitlement session from 1pm to 3pm across 49 weeks. This is a different attendance pattern from the standard afternoon session, which finishes later.

• Funded attendance and extras. The standard funded arrangement includes separate food and non-food charges, alongside items brought from home. Compare its written quotation with the 1pm to 3pm opt-out pattern before choosing the arrangement that fits your family.
• Care across the year. The nursery operates for 49 weeks and closes at Easter, Christmas and on bank holidays. Match those breaks and the 5pm finish to your working arrangements.
• Support in practice. Wider den entrances and help with emotions were concrete examples from October 2024. On a visit, ask how staff would adapt play and communication for your child's particular needs.

Big Discoveries suits families seeking child-led play with accessible resources, substantial outdoor space and a choice between morning, afternoon and differently timed day sessions. The October 2024 judgement adds considerable weight to that practical offer. Its clearest strengths are the attention paid to individual learning and the everyday opportunities for independence; the decision requires equal attention to closure periods and the funded-hours charging structure.