Twin Gables Day Nursery

A detached Victorian house, five playrooms and a garden give Twin Gables Day Nursery a recognisable setting for early childhood. This Gloucester nursery cares for children from birth to five, with 63 places in total. Its age groups, Moonbeams, Rainbow and Sunshine, separate baby care from the growing independence of toddlers and preschool children.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that collaboration with families and professionals supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to make progress. The practical strengths are tangible: home routines guide baby care, visiting services bring the wider world into nursery, and parents have opportunities to discuss development with their child's key person.

Full days, half days and a three-quarter day give families several attendance patterns. The important qualification concerns communication: detailed learning updates and clearer explanations of policies were improvement priorities in April 2025.

Rooms and Ages

Moonbeams takes babies aged 0 to 2, following their home routines in a relaxed baby room; that continuity gives familiar habits a place in nursery care. Rainbow serves children aged 2 to 3 through practical activities for exploring hands. Sunshine, for ages 3 to 5, emphasises independence and preparation for school.

The house has three playrooms downstairs and two upstairs, alongside a garden and playground. These are physical play spaces, rather than a measure of the number of children sharing each age group. Book corners and arts and crafts add quieter and creative choices to the indoor offer. For families comparing environments, the combination matters: outdoor activity and indoor play both form part of the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes activities across language, physical development, relationships, literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. In parent terms, learning runs through play, conversation and practical exploration. Adult-guided activities sit alongside play that children choose themselves, giving them opportunities both to follow an idea and to develop their own.

In April 2025, babies explored coloured fabric and different textures, while adults supported their early walking. Younger children used textured stepping stones and pedal toys outdoors. Older children constructed ramps from guttering and linked tubes at a water wall. The materials gave them concrete problems to solve: how to join parts, move water and make a structure work.

Language threaded through these experiences. In April 2025, adults used clear speech and individual words with younger children, connecting vocabulary to pictures in books. Older children discussed animal habitats and compared physical features during stories. Those exchanges gave children reasons to explain an idea, listen to another child and add detail, rather than simply supply a short answer.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular visitors include the Library Service, Dental Practitioners, Police and Fire Service. Together with outings in the local community, these encounters extend learning beyond the playroom and introduce people children may meet outside nursery.

Parents can also participate in share a book sessions as part of the nursery's parent partnership. This gives families another way to take part in nursery life alongside discussions about development.

Relationships and Communication

Parent afternoons take place throughout the year, allowing families to talk about development and achievements with their child's key person. The emphasis is on understanding each child's needs, with parents also welcome to participate in activities. Moonbeams' use of home routines makes that exchange especially relevant for babies.

In April 2025, information gathered at enrolment informed activities built around children's interests. Younger children received advance prompts about changes in the day; older children helped arrange a visual timetable. These examples show how routines were made understandable at different developmental stages, rather than relying on spoken instructions alone.

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified two priorities: giving children clearer learning experiences about why healthy habits matter, and improving the detail of learning updates and communication about policies. That distinction matters for families: opportunities to speak with a key person are part of the offer, but the inspection still called for better information between nursery and home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In April 2025, staff worked with speech and language specialists and had undertaken local-authority communication training. Resources represented different families and languages, while discussions explored similarities and differences between children. These were practical mechanisms for inclusion, rather than a separate activity reserved for particular children.

School preparation also involved liaison: in April 2025, staff invited teachers to visit children at nursery and shared information to support school transitions. Sharing information helps receiving teachers learn about children before the change of setting. It carries no promise of a school place.

Meals are cooked on site from fresh ingredients, with menus following a four-week cycle. Special diets can be accommodated through discussion with parents, including food allergies, intolerances, vegetarian requirements and religious restrictions.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 102 Eastern Avenue, Barnwood, Gloucester, GL4 4LW. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; the nursery operates across the year and closes on bank holidays.

Day Care runs from 8am to 6pm, while Full Time uses the same hours for five days each week. Half Day bookings run either from 8am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6pm. Three Quarter Day runs from 8am to 3.30pm. Term-time options are also offered, allowing a different annual attendance pattern from year-round care.

The contact form accepts a child's age, requested session and required days. Families can also contact the nursery by telephone or email. Current private prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Twin Gables offers funded childcare, including up to 30 hours for eligible working families with children aged nine months to four, 15 hours for children aged three to four, and 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds receiving specified government support. The entitlements are described over 38 weeks; eligibility conditions apply to the working-family and supported two-year-old routes. Tax-Free Childcare is accepted too.

Private full-day bookings include lunch and tea; morning and three-quarter-day sessions include fruit and lunch, while afternoon sessions include fruit and tea. Funded or enhanced sessions have an agreed discretionary voluntary charge per session. The funding and session information sets out these separate arrangements.

• Learning updates. More detailed information about children's learning and clearer policy communication were April 2025 improvement priorities. At a visit, ask to see how a typical update now connects an activity with your child's development.
• Baby routines and the building. Moonbeams follows home routines, and the house has playrooms on two floors. Ask how your baby's sleep and feeding pattern would fit the room's daily organisation.
• Funded-session costs. A discretionary voluntary session charge accompanies funded or enhanced sessions. Request a written breakdown showing what that charge covers, including meals and consumables, alongside any privately paid hours.
• Dietary arrangements. Special diets are catered for through discussion with parents. Families managing allergies should confirm current preparation and serving arrangements before agreeing a place.

Twin Gables suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon bookings, with a three-quarter day and term-time options adding further choice. The Victorian house, separate age groups and regular service visitors give the offer substance beyond its opening hours.

The April 2025 Good judgement sits alongside concrete examples of language-rich play, practical exploration and support for transitions. Communication remains the clearest point to examine: a useful parent afternoon is valuable, but families also need detailed, dependable information about learning and policies throughout the year.