Woodlands Early Learning

A converted bungalow for babies and a roof terrace with a boat sand pit give Woodlands Early Learning a character of its own. At Barnes Lane in Sarisbury Green, the emphasis is on children choosing activities, developing independence and exploring spaces with a familiar key person. The physical layout matters: babies have their own base, while the Busy Bees occupy the main building’s top floor.

Woodlands accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective, with good progress for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). That is a dated assessment. The improvement priorities concerned clearer intentions for activities and staff development better matched to individual children’s learning needs.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions give families different attendance options. Rising Fours, its School Readiness Programme, prepares the oldest children and their parents for school, addressing children’s emotional and educational readiness.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Bees has a converted bungalow as its base, with sensory play opportunities and routines that respond to individual babies; Busy Bees, for children around two to three years old, occupies the top floor and combines choosing activities with learning to manage coats and shoes; Worker Bees encourages children to explore and select activities with staff support; Rising Four’s has an area intended to prepare the oldest children emotionally and educationally for school.

For babies, movement between spaces is part of the arrangement. Their unit has four main areas, two outdoor areas of its own and access to the communal garden. Babies explore with their key person, and outdoor access is offered at least twice a day. This gives parents a concrete picture of how the baby day extends beyond one play space.

A large garden and a roof terrace give Busy Bees different outdoor options, with the boat sand pit adding a recognisable play feature. Morning activities take place in small groups alongside key people; in the afternoon, children can move between the unit’s rooms and choose what to do. Painting, puzzles, car washing and books are among the examples. Choice has a practical place in the routine.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provision applies to funded and privately paid attendance alike. Here, the nursery day includes choosing activities, preparing snacks, sharing books and practising everyday tasks such as putting on shoes. Those examples explain what learning means for a child at Woodlands: opportunities to try things, communicate and take increasing responsibility within familiar routines.

Rising Fours adds preparation for school for the oldest children and their parents. Its stated purpose includes emotional readiness as well as educational preparation. That is useful for families thinking about the change ahead, because the programme addresses how children feel about moving on as well as what they learn.

In August 2022, children explored letters and shapes by making marks in flour, while staff introduced vocabulary through books and conversations. Babies encountered the word reflection; older children used camouflage while discussing what could be hidden. These examples show how language and early writing were woven into activities at that time. The improvement priority was to make the intended next steps in learning more precise, so an engaging activity also had a clearer educational purpose.

Outdoor and Community Life

The communal garden brings different age groups together. Exploring nursery areas with a key person supports room transitions and contact with siblings attending Woodlands.

Indoor soft play includes a ball pit, slide and climbing apparatus, alongside tactile and sensory experiences, giving children space to move and investigate materials.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Person approach gives each child an adult who knows their preferences, comforting routines and daily habits and works with their parents. For babies, settling visits provide time to build that relationship and share care preferences before regular attendance. The baby unit also has a direct telephone line that parents can use during the day.

Busy Bees usually has a sleep period between noon and 2pm, with activities for children who remain awake. Children help prepare and serve snacks, and staff eat alongside them at meals. These routines put independence into ordinary parts of the day, while allowing sleep and wakefulness to sit within the same group’s timetable.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that communication between staff and parents supported a shared approach to care and learning, including for children with SEND, but asked for professional development to address individual learning needs more precisely. The distinction matters: positive relationships were established, while staff training still needed sharper attention to what particular children required.

In August 2022, babies practised reaching for toys, younger children worked spray-bottle triggers during painting, and toddlers climbed the steps to a slide. Staff also supported turn-taking when toddlers selected songs. These are useful examples of the care and learning observed then, spanning movement, persistence and getting along with other children.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 108 Barnes Lane, Sarisbury Green, Southampton, SO31 7BJ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Morning sessions run from 7.30am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, and full days from 7.30am to 6pm. Half-day sessions are also offered.

Woodlands opens for 51 weeks of the year, with closures on bank holidays and for five working days at Christmas. Those closures belong in a family’s childcare planning, especially where working days continue through the festive period. The admission enquiry form lets parents select Woodlands at Barnes Lane and give their intended start date and preferred sessions; the admin telephone number is 01489 605495.

Brainy Bees is the breakfast club, opening at 7.30am with breakfast and play before school. It can also accommodate the part-time hours when children begin at Sarisbury Infant School. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a place at Sarisbury Infant School.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded entitlement is offered from nine months, subject to conditions, alongside the government childcare entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, also subject to conditions. Private childcare and additional paid hours are offered. Attendance beyond funded hours is charged, including additional time within a full day or attendance across the year that exceeds the funded allocation.

On privately paid attendance, meals and snacks are included, as are formula, nappies, wipes, nappy creams and sunscreen. Funded hours include these items free of charge, with voluntary contributions accepted but never billed.

For non-funded childcare, securing a place requires a registration fee and deposit. Term-time-only sessions are allocated at the end of each term for the next one, subject to availability. This allocation rule matters for parents whose working pattern depends on particular sessions continuing between terms.

The fees page explains the distinction between funded attendance and additional paid hours. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• Learning intentions and individual support. The August 2022 improvement priorities concerned activity planning and more precisely targeted staff development. At a visit, ask how practitioners now identify a child’s next learning steps and adapt activities to them.
• Term-time continuity. Term-time-only sessions are allocated for the following term subject to availability. Discuss how that rule would work with the morning or afternoon pattern your family needs.
• Baby routines. Baby Bees offers flexible routines, settling visits and several spaces explored with a key person. Ask how your baby’s feeding and sleep preferences would fit into that arrangement.
• Uniform. Children must wear Woodlands uniform at nursery and on outings. Include that requirement in your joining plans; uniform can be purchased at the nursery.

Woodlands suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with a baby base that extends into several play spaces and a Busy Bees day built around choices and practical tasks. Rising Fours gives the oldest children and their parents a defined preparation-for-school programme.

The August 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality assessment, alongside specific priorities for curriculum planning and individual support. For parents, the decision turns on how well the room arrangements, daily routines and attendance terms fit their child and working week.