Good Manors Day Nursery Miller Drive

In June 2026, staff at Good Manors Day Nursery Miller Drive were recalling stories with children as they chatted about the beans planted in their allotment area. That small scene shows how this Fareham nursery ties language, food and the outdoors together. Part of The Old Station Nursery group, it sits at 118 Miller Drive (PO16 7LN) and has capacity for 63 children aged 3 to 60 months.

At its June 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged inclusion to be at a strong standard, placed achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, and leadership at the expected standard, and found the safeguarding standards met. Day to day, that showed in individual learning plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and in handovers handled with care when children change rooms or leave for school. Two areas to sharpen, lunchtime waiting and hygiene habits, are covered below.

The nursery opens all year on weekdays, closing for bank holidays and Christmas.

Learning and Activities

The nursery must follow the early years foundation stage (EYFS), the statutory framework covering children's learning, development and care. Here, in June 2026, that meant a curriculum sequenced around assessment and tracking, with communication, language and early maths threaded through activities across the nursery.

Babies explored different-sized blocks while hearing words such as big and small, and painted with their hands as staff showed them that larger movements leave bigger marks. Staff modelled correct pronunciation as the youngest children began to talk. Older children met new words such as tender and extended their maths through size, weight, matching and counting.

Books and music carry real weight too. Babies and children loved stories, joined in with familiar nursery rhymes and played musical instruments, while older ones used positional words such as front and behind as they played. For a parent of a late talker, that steady flow of words and number language is the practical payoff: talk is built into play, mealtimes and stories alike.

Outdoor and Community Life

Physical play gets proper room. In June 2026, older children climbed steps up to a den area, with staff supervising and encouraging them to judge what they could manage and handle risk safely. Children were also helping to grow fruit and vegetables, with beans planted in the allotment area, and mealtime conversations about healthy food were part of the day. Active children get a chance to test themselves and to take part in growing food.

The garden became a lesson of its own in November 2024, when snow arrived and children carried it indoors to build mini snowmen trimmed with twigs and leaves. For some, it was their first sight of snow.

Charity days bring families in. For Children in Need in November 2024, children decorated biscuits, crafted Pudsey eye patches, explored a yellow water tray and made Pudsey sandwiches for tea. In 2025, a Rainbow Week of a bake sale, dressing up, rainbow crafts and sensory play with a theme raised funds for Rainbow Trust, which supports families caring for a seriously ill child. Its centrepiece was the Big Bike Challenge, with staff cycling 276 virtual miles over five days. For families, days like these are an easy way into nursery life.

Relationships and Communication

Settling in starts with information. In June 2026, each child had a personalised induction, staff learned about home life, interests, routines and starting points from parents, and weaning was talked through at settling-in visits so nursery feeding could match home. Staff followed safer sleep guidance. For parents handing over a baby, that early detail is what makes the first weeks smoother.

Key persons matter at each move. When children moved between rooms, their interests and next steps went with them and the key person stayed on hand to reassure. Social stories helped children make sense of changes at home, such as a new baby arriving or a parent going away. Leaders kept close contact with parents, shared information continually and tracked attendance, working with families so children came regularly.

Leaving is planned too. When children move on to school or another setting, staff pass information to the next setting so learning carries on without disruption.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

For a child who needs extra help, the mechanisms are concrete. In June 2026 the team included a special educational needs coordinator, and staff set small, achievable targets in individual learning plans and reviewed them often. Emerging concerns were dealt with promptly, and leaders worked with parents and outside professionals so that support, and any additional funding a child was entitled to, stayed coordinated. That means help for a suspected delay can begin early.

Healthy habits run through daily care. Children drank water, ate healthy meals and were praised for small steps such as pouring their own drinks. Leaders had recently strengthened how children's dietary requirements are managed, and a chef was among the staff in June 2026. Behaviour expectations were clear, staff explained why being kind matters, and babies' gentle pats towards each other were put into words by staff so they begin to grasp friendship.

Staff development is steady. Practitioners received supervision, mentoring and coaching, and new starters completed a structured induction with shadowing sessions. For parents, that points to a team whose practice is checked and refreshed.

The address is 118 Miller Drive, Fareham, PO16 7LN. The nursery takes children aged 3 to 60 months and has capacity for 63 children. Opening hours are 07:30 to 18:00, Monday to Friday, and the nursery is open all year apart from bank holidays and Christmas.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding runs on terms set across The Old Station Nursery group. The group offers 15 and 30 hours of funded childcare. All 3 and 4 year olds can receive 15 funded hours from the term after they turn 3, whatever their family's income or work status, and some 2 year olds may qualify for 15 hours from the term after they turn 2, depending on family circumstances. The 30 hours is for eligible working families with children aged 9 months up to school age, with eligibility based on working status and income, and the funding code must be reconfirmed every three months to stay active. Group-wide, funded hours are usually spread across 51 weeks of the year, and funding pays for care alone: the group charges separately for hot meals, lunch and tea, and for any enhancements, during funded sessions. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation. The group's fees and funded childcare page explains how its fee schedules and local funding guides work.

• Lunchtime waits and baby routines. Ofsted asked leaders in June 2026 to rethink routines and transition times, because older children sometimes waited a long while at lunch and changes to the baby room routine did not always allow for babies' sleep. Parents of babies with settled nap patterns should ask how the day is organised now.
• Hygiene habits. In June 2026, older children were not consistently encouraged to wipe their noses or to bin tissues hygienically. If your child catches colds easily, ask how hygiene routines are taught today.
• Pick-up time. Weekday opening hours run from 07:30 to 18:00, while in June 2026 the operating hours ran until 18:30. Families who depend on a later collection should confirm the current closing time before booking.
• Extras on a funded place. Group terms charge separately for meals during funded sessions. Ask the nursery which items, such as nappies and wipes, sit inside or outside a funded place at Miller Drive.

Good Manors Day Nursery Miller Drive brings real substance to the things young families worry about most: settling in, room moves, early talk and help for children who need more. Inclusion, at a strong standard in June 2026, is the clearest draw, backed by individual learning plans and joint working with parents and outside professionals. The allotment, the den area and charity days such as Rainbow Week give the year texture. Against that, lunchtime waiting, changes to baby routines and older children's hygiene habits still had room to improve in June 2026. It suits working families who need weekday care across the whole year from 07:30, and especially families of a child with SEND who want support planned early and shared with home.