Come and Play Day Nursery

Outdoor learning gives Come and Play Day Nursery in Lydney its clearest character: community walks, visits to farms and libraries, and preschool activities that include swimming and Nature tots, an outdoor learning session with a qualified teacher. This is a nursery for families who value learning beyond the room as well as play within it.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 27 January 2023 inspection. The setting has 45 places in total, with a current age range of 12 to 60 months. Its play-based curriculum combines children's own interests with activities planned by adults, while key person relationships provide continuity in care.

The practical offer includes hourly childcare and a six-hour day, alongside 30-hour funding with term-time or stretched options and 15-hour funding with flexible options. The details matter here, especially the separate charges for snacks and activity materials.

Rooms and Ages

Brilliant Babies uses treasure baskets containing different textures and sounds to encourage sensory exploration, with key person relationships supporting babies as they become familiar with their surroundings. The emphasis is on discovering through touch, listening and looking. For a young child, these are concrete ways to investigate the world.

Toddlers combines sensory and creative activities with a role play area, resources that children can use in different ways, and a cosy room for rest. This balances the urge to investigate with somewhere to pause. Friendships and communication feature in this stage's day, alongside growing independence.

Pre-School gives attention to personal and social skills and independence, with daily practice involving numbers, writing and forming letters. Stories, rhymes and songs support reading interests. These are practical preparations for the next stage of education, rather than a claim to any particular school place.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play and experiences across its areas of learning. Come and Play combines this with Development Matters guidance, using children's interests to shape activities and mixing adult-led experiences with play that children initiate themselves.

Loose parts and resources with several possible uses give children scope to choose, experiment and change an idea. Yoga, music and movement, and PE add further opportunities for physical activity. The curriculum page sets out this mix of play, planned activities and outdoor learning.

Preschool enrichment has specific substance. The weekly swimming programme adds swimming to the routine; the reading programme sends a book home each week for families to explore together; and Nature tots involves learning outdoors with a qualified teacher. The book-sharing arrangement is especially useful for parents who want a direct connection between nursery learning and time at home.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children spend most of their day outdoors. Community walks and visits to libraries, shops and farms extend the learning environment beyond the nursery, giving familiar local places a role in children's experiences. Community events also form part of the offer.

In January 2023, garden play included making and discussing sand patterns and counting alongside staff. Children also used a whiteboard to explore the names of superheroes, connecting an existing interest with letters and words. These examples show how everyday play became an opportunity for conversation and early mathematical or literacy experiences at that time.

Key person relationships are central to the nursery's approach to emotional wellbeing. For babies, that relationship provides a familiar adult while they explore and develop. The toddler provision also makes room for sleep and rest, an important counterweight to its sensory and creative activities.

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including signing, visual prompts and strategies to help children settle emotionally. These are dated judgements, with concrete mechanisms behind them rather than a general promise of support.

In January 2023, parents received updates through an online platform and a private social media group, and could discuss concerns with staff and managers. Staff also helped children who were upset at separating from parents to become involved in play. The practical value was communication in both directions: updates about nursery life and opportunities to raise a concern.

School preparation includes preschool independence, social development and early reading and writing experiences. Oral health is another topic children explore. Together, these connect care with everyday habits and the skills children will use when moving on.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Come & Play, Rushyleaze, Lydney, GL15 5QW. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Private childcare can be booked by the hour, and Child Care is offered as a six-hour day; separately priced sessions run from 7am to 8am and from 5pm to 6pm.

Enquiries can be made using the contact form or by telephone on 01594746060. A Daycare Tour can be requested online and lasts 45 minutes. This gives families a defined visit format alongside the nursery's childcare booking routes.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 30 hours of funded childcare with term-time and stretched options, and 15 hours with flexible funding options. Eligibility applies, so the funding offer is not a guarantee that every family qualifies. Private childcare is charged separately by hourly and sessional rates; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Snacks and materials used for activities attract separate charges. These need to be distinguished from the childcare hours themselves when comparing the overall cost of attendance. The fees and funding page outlines that charge structure.

Lunch is served at noon: families can buy a hot lunch sourced locally or send a cold packed lunch. Hot lunch therefore carries a separate charge, while the packed-lunch option requires parents to provide the food.

• Mealtime practice. In January 2023, the organisation of meals reduced opportunities for conversation, and guidance needed to do more to explain balanced food choices. During the Daycare Tour, ask how meals now support social interaction and how healthy eating is discussed with families.
• Annual calendar. The annual opening information gives both 49 and 50 weeks. Agree the closure calendar before choosing between term-time and stretched attendance, since that affects how childcare fits the family year.
• Youngest children's day. Brilliant Babies centres on sensory exploration and a key person relationship. Use the visit to ask how rest and settling are arranged for your child's routine.

Come and Play suits families seeking hourly childcare or a six-hour day, as well as those considering term-time or stretched 30-hour funding or flexible 15-hour funding. Its strongest draw is the combination of outdoor experiences and concrete preschool additions: swimming, books shared with home and Nature tots.

The January 2023 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, but mealtime conversation and healthy-food guidance were clear improvement priorities. Families who value community experiences and learning through play have good reasons to consider it, with the annual calendar and current meal routines deserving attention before joining.