Blackberry House Day Nursery, March

Books, conversation and outdoor discovery give Blackberry House Day Nursery, March its clearest character. At its 17 February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, highlighting teaching adapted to individual children and a strong emphasis on communication. Those are useful priorities for parents who want learning to grow from a child's interests.

The nursery serves children aged 3 to 60 months at 12 The Causeway, March, PE15 9NT. Its opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with care across the year apart from bank holidays and a week at Christmas.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and practical experiences help children develop skills and understanding. In February 2023, books were woven through the nursery day. Staff followed children's interest in transport with related stories, and children built pretend trains for imagined journeys to shops or the beach. Reading became a starting point for play.

Younger children also used pictures and retelling to explore stories in February 2023. One example involved recognising that an apparently frightening creature was actually a frog's shadow. This gives parents a concrete picture of the learning: children were encouraged to explain what they understood, rather than simply listen to an adult read.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2023, children favoured outdoor play and had room to move freely. Their explorations included insects and the ways different creatures travel, comparing insect movement with walking and penguins' waddling. Physical exploration and conversation worked together, giving children something real to describe.

A slightly raised plank provided another practical experience that February. Younger children held one another's hands while balancing, copying the help adults had modelled. The example connects movement with cooperation: learning to manage a physical challenge also involved recognising when a friend needed support.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2023, staff took account of children's experiences at home and what they could already do when planning their approach. Children freely shared thoughts with adults, joined conversations and helped tidy their surroundings. For families, these examples make relationships more tangible than a general promise of attentive care.

Communication received specific attention that February. Staff used brief, targeted sessions for children experiencing delays in speech, drawing on training and work with other professionals. Books were also encouraged at home, connecting nursery experiences with time spent reading alongside parents and carers.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements and successful support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with precise learning targets developed alongside parents and professionals and strategies shared across staff. The practical value of that shared planning is consistency between the adults supporting a child.

In February 2023, safeguarding training was refreshed regularly, staff understood how to raise concerns about children or colleagues, and recruitment checks addressed adults' suitability. Families also received information about children's online safety at home. These are dated examples of how the safeguarding arrangements operated.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 12 The Causeway, March, PE15 9NT. Opening hours run from 7.30am until 6pm on weekdays. The year-round calendar has bank holiday closures and a week closed over Christmas, so those breaks need to fit the family's childcare arrangements.

In February 2023, the nursery's session window was 7.30am to 6pm. That dated session window describes the operation at that point; the current opening hours provide the practical starting point for planning a working day.

Funding and Paid Extras

In February 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Families considering funded attendance should treat the attendance pattern and the total bill as separate decisions: how hours fit the week matters alongside the services they cover. Current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Language support in daily practice. Brief sessions targeting speech were part of the February 2023 nursery day. On a visit, ask how that approach works for a child with your child's communication needs and how progress is shared at home.
• The funded attendance agreement. Funded education for two-, three- and four-year-olds was part of the February 2023 offer. Before agreeing a booking, ask for one written explanation of today's entitlements and attendance patterns.
• Christmas and bank holidays. Year-round care includes these closures. Families whose work continues through those periods will need a plan for the breaks.

Blackberry House Day Nursery, March suits families seeking year-round weekday care and a nursery experience centred on conversation, books and practical outdoor exploration. Its strongest examples come from February 2023: stories extended into imaginative play, movement encouraged cooperation, and support planning involved parents and professionals. The opening window offers useful scope around a working day; the attendance agreement is the next decision that matters.