Buttercups Nursery School

Weekly woodland learning gives Buttercups Nursery School a clear identity beyond its home at Whiteley Community Centre. Forest School sessions take children into the grounds of Whiteley Primary School with Fresh Air Learning, using woodland exploration and child-led activities to extend the nursery's own outdoor play. Back at Buttercups, a Story Den, Dinosaur Land and a sensory quiet room give children different ways to play, imagine and take a pause.

At its August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Buttercups Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children were making good progress, while identifying a need for better support for less confident children. That last point matters. A child who enjoys watching before joining in needs purposeful encouragement as well as opportunities to participate.

Buttercups has capacity for 24 children aged two to five; its attendance offer starts at two years nine months and continues to school age. Full-day and two extended-day patterns give families a choice of finishing times. The strongest reasons to consider it are the weekly woodland sessions, a detailed daily routine and speech and language screening through WellComm.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play across seven areas of learning. Buttercups combines activities chosen by children with adult-led experiences connected to their interests and next steps, so the day includes both independent exploration and more deliberate practice. Its curriculum also incorporates the Characteristics of Effective Learning and British Values.

Morning key groups combine name recognition, counting, songs and discussion of feelings or news. Later, small-group activities develop letter and sound awareness, listening and turn-taking. Familiar and new songs, interactive stories, puzzles and construction offer different routes into learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds a weekly woodland experience led by Fresh Air Learning at Whiteley Primary School. Children follow their interests through activities such as looking for insects, building dens and woodland craft. The emphasis includes making decisions, considering risks and working with other children, giving the session a purpose beyond spending time outdoors.

Boundaries are made concrete. White markers identify exploration limits, red markers flag hazards and an owl sound calls children back together. These cues help explain how independent exploration is organised within the session. The nursery describes its link with Whiteley Primary School as the arrangement supporting this activity; attending Buttercups does not guarantee a place there, and families must still apply through the local authority admissions process.

The nursery's own outdoor environment includes a planting area and bike area, alongside Dinosaur Land and Fairy Land for imaginative play. The outdoor environment also includes a Story Den. Indoors, the sensory quiet room provides a different physical environment from the construction, imaginative play and making areas. Children can choose between active, creative and quieter experiences within the setting.

Relationships and Communication

Parents learn who their child's key person will be before starting. This practitioner supports settling, tailors care and learning, and provides a regular contact for discussing development.

Induction includes a home visit and one-hour and two-hour nursery visits, adapted to individual needs. A parent pack and information gathered about the child's interests and support needs help prepare for attendance.

In August 2024, children also had a secondary key person and achievable learning targets based on their starting points. Staff maintained communication with families and worked with local schools and professionals on transition.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

WellComm combines speech and language screening with targeted activities. Its traffic-light system identifies areas needing attention, giving staff a structured response to communication difficulties.

Additional support involves the SENCo, key person and other support roles. Observations can lead to referrals to outside agencies, while parents are involved in assessment, planning and review. Where needs have already been identified, staff work with families and other agencies around the individual child.

Small-group mindfulness uses breathing exercises, relaxation and yoga, complementing morning discussions of feelings with time to slow down.

Staff update safeguarding training annually, and designated safeguarding lead roles are identified within the team. In August 2024, managers had failed to notify Ofsted about a significant event; the omission was not considered to have a serious effect on care or learning, and managers acknowledged their future notification responsibilities. This is a dated management concern alongside the effective safeguarding judgement, rather than a reason to erase either finding.

Sessions and Attendance

Buttercups operates at Whiteley Community Centre, Gull Coppice, Whiteley, Fareham, PO15 7LA, opening weekdays from 8am to 6pm. Full days run from 8am to 6pm; extended days run from 8am to 4pm or 9am to 3:30pm, giving families different start and finish options.

Ad hoc hours can also be purchased, subject to terms; half-hourly rates are not offered. Booked sessions cannot be transferred, and missed attendance does not allow families to swap hours or days. Fees continue during sickness and holidays, while Bank Holidays are not charged. These conditions matter when comparing the timetable with an irregular working pattern.

The nursery operates across the year, with Christmas, Easter and public-holiday closures. Its reservation policy allows places to be reserved for children joining from two years nine months before their funding begins; funded places can be reserved only where the funding period starts in September. This is a reservation rule, not an indication of vacancies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Two-Year-Old Funding, Three and Four-Year-Old Universal Funding, Three and Four-Year-Old Extended Funding and Working Family Entitlement. Delivery is stretched across the year. Eligibility conditions apply to the two-year-old and extended offers, and families using extended funding must renew their eligibility confirmation every three months.

Extra private hours are charged separately. For funded attendance, a voluntary contribution covers afternoon snack, consumables, resources, software and activities including Forest School. These extras are supplied only when the contribution is paid.

Hot meals and cold tea supplied by Hungry Moose are purchased separately for children attending 8am to 6pm or 8am to 4pm, with the meal offer for the latter subject to availability. Afternoon snack and non-food consumables on funded attendance sit within the voluntary contribution, rather than being included automatically in funded hours.

A non-refundable registration charge is payable when forms are completed. A separate deposit is due 12 months before the start date and also applies when registration occurs within a year of starting; it is refundable when the child leaves to start school but is retained if the place is cancelled beforehand. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the sessions and fees page explains the charge structure.

• Support for quieter children. The August 2024 improvement point concerned children who needed more encouragement to participate. During a visit, ask how staff help a child move from observing an activity to contributing, and how this connects with their key-person support.
• Funding calendar and notice. Attendance and funding terms give both 49-week and 50-week arrangements, while funded-contract termination terms differ between six and 12 weeks. Have the agreed funding calendar and applicable notice period written into your contract before committing.
• Settling around your child. The induction includes a home visit and one-hour and two-hour nursery visits. Discuss how these will be adapted if your child needs more time to become comfortable with their key person and the daily routine.
• Food and dietary needs. The daily timetable includes a sweet biscuit as an afternoon snack, while early-years nutrition guidance advises avoiding biscuits and other foods high in sugar, salt or saturated fat. Discuss the current snack choices and, where relevant, how your child's allergy or dietary requirements will be managed with Hungry Moose meals.

Buttercups suits families choosing between an 8am-to-6pm full day and an extended day finishing at 4pm or 3:30pm, who value a predictable routine with room for children to choose their own play. Weekly Forest School and structured communication support through WellComm give that routine useful substance.

The August 2024 judgement supports a positive assessment, with a specific reservation about engaging less confident children and a dated notification failure that deserves attention. For a quieter child, the deciding detail is how the key-person relationship translates into participation. For a funded place, it is the agreed calendar, extras and contract terms.