Kiddi Caru Day Nursery Fareham

A growing garden, ground-floor playrooms and weekly preschool sport give Kiddi Caru Day Nursery Fareham a practical, hands-on character. Children can move outside from their playrooms, tend plants and use a terrace for sand and water activities. The appeal is concrete: space to explore, things to make and opportunities to become more independent.

At its 9 December 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The nursery has capacity for 67 children, with an age range of 0 to 59 months. Its address is Hoeford Inn, 250 Gosport Road, Fareham, PO16 0SX.

Caterpillars accommodates babies, while Butterflies serves older children. A key person connects each child's care with their family, and an app carries daily information home. These are useful arrangements for parents who want both continuity of relationships and a clear picture of their child's day.

Rooms and Ages

Two open-plan playrooms occupy the ground floor. Caterpillars gives babies a calm space for early routines and development; Butterflies places greater emphasis on independence and preparation for school. Moves between rooms follow children's individual readiness, making developmental progress part of the transition decision.

Both playrooms have free-flow garden access. Outside, grass provides room for exploring nature, while the terrace accommodates water and sand activities. The growing garden adds something children can care for over time: tending plants gives them direct experience of the natural world alongside outdoor play.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that brings learning and everyday care together: conversation, exploration and play sit alongside developing practical skills. Fareham also uses a child-led approach inspired by the Curiosity Approach, with children's ideas and interests shaping how activities develop.

Boogie Mites and Sing and Sign sit alongside creative activities, supporting children's physical, social and emotional development. Preschool children also have weekly sports sessions, with tennis among the activities. The weekly rhythm gives older children a recurring opportunity for physical activity alongside the experiences available in their playrooms and garden.

In December 2024, babies explored changes in speed through songs, while older children used dough-making to explore amounts and measurement. Painting involved experimenting with colour combinations and observing the results. These examples show how ordinary materials can introduce mathematical and investigative ideas through something children are already doing.

At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted identified two improvements: staff needed to explain unfamiliar information more consistently and help children understand the reasons behind rules. Interactive stories held children's attention, but unfamiliar concepts were sometimes left unexplained. The distinction matters: joining in with an activity and understanding its new ideas are different achievements.

A key person builds a relationship with each child and their family. This gives parents a consistent connection through the nursery journey, including changes between rooms. Families can share in nursery life through stay-and-play sessions and seasonal events, while learning bags provide activities to continue together at home.

Daily app updates include photographs, food information and learning moments. That makes communication about more than the day's practical routines: parents have examples they can talk about with their child and connect with activities at home.

In December 2024, staff responded to babies' signals and offered comfort as they explored. Language support included short sentences, clear pronunciation and pauses that allowed babies to process what they heard. Older children encountered descriptive vocabulary in conversations about food and the garden. These were everyday exchanges, rather than language confined to a single planned activity.

A SENCo role supports children with additional needs. In December 2024, staff also exchanged information with professionals involved in children's care and learning, using shared targets and monitoring tools. For a family working with outside professionals, those mechanisms matter because they connect what happens in nursery with support elsewhere.

The chef cooks meals on the premises each day, with menus adapted for individual dietary requirements. In December 2024, children practised independence at mealtimes by serving food and pouring drinks, and older children helped younger ones use cutlery. Everyday care therefore also provided opportunities to practise skills needed beyond nursery.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Those closures are worth building into a family's childcare calendar, especially where working arrangements continue through the festive period.

An online calendar supports visit bookings, and an enquiry form connects families with the Parent Engagement team. Both routes are available through the nursery's contact options.

Getting There

The Gosport Road setting is close to Hoeford Lake and served by nearby bus routes. Fareham town centre is also within easy reach, giving the location practical relevance for families whose daily journeys run through the town.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is part of the offer. For families comparing attendance options, the useful starting point is a written quotation showing how funding applies to their chosen arrangement and separating childcare from any additional charges. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Explanations during play. The December 2024 findings called for clearer explanations of new information and the reasons for rules. On a visit, ask for examples of how staff now develop story discussions and explain expectations to children.
• Moving from Caterpillars to Butterflies. Room changes follow each child's readiness. Discuss how your child's routines and key-person relationship will be supported during that move, especially if continuity is central to their settling.
• The funded quotation. Before agreeing an attendance arrangement, ask for a written breakdown of funded and private hours, the position on meals and consumables, and the booking pattern being offered. This makes the financial commitment clear alongside the childcare arrangement.

Fareham suits families who value outdoor access, learning through practical activities and a personal connection between nursery and home. The growing garden, weekly preschool sport and learning bags give that proposition substance. Ground-floor rooms and readiness-led transitions also make the nursery journey easy to understand.

The December 2024 judgement provides a positive foundation, with specific improvements around explanations and staff interaction to weigh alongside it. For parents, the strongest fit is a setting where making, talking and practising independence are central to the day, supported by regular communication with home.