Dinky Ducks Nursery and Preschool

Support for armed forces families gives Dinky Ducks a clear identity within Gosport's Alver Valley Family Centre. The nursery works with parents around their children's individual interests and family circumstances, rather than treating home life as separate from the nursery day. That matters when a parent's deployment or training changes a child's familiar routines.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and identified good progress for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Children can start from 3 months, with Ducklings Room followed by Puddleducks Room 1 and Puddleducks Room 2. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm on weekdays, and attendance choices include morning, afternoon and full-day sessions.

Rooms and Ages

Ducklings Room is the under-two room; Puddleducks Room 1 and Puddleducks Room 2 each cover ages two to four. This gives parents a clear outline of the age stages, with babies' provision separated from the rooms for older children.

Learning is organised around the individual child, with activities intended to extend existing interests and introduce new experiences. Parents contribute to planning their child's learning and support. The practical value is continuity: what matters to a child at home can help shape what practitioners build on at nursery.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, this brings learning and everyday care together: communicating, playing, becoming more independent and developing physical skills all belong within the nursery day. Dinky Ducks places its child-centred approach alongside that framework.

In May 2023, physical challenges included a climbing frame for younger children and obstacle courses devised by older children. A cable reel also became a jumping challenge with staff support. These examples show children having opportunities to test movement and judgement, with different challenges for different stages of development.

Independence had a practical shape in May 2023. Younger children received hands-on help with handwashing before taking over the task themselves as their confidence grew. Children also practised dealing with a runny nose and cleaning their hands afterwards. Small routines were treated as things children could learn to manage, rather than jobs adults simply completed for them.

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted asked for clearer staff understanding of the curriculum's learning intentions and more consistent language-building interactions with the youngest children. The distinction matters: older children had regular listening and attention work, but babies did not consistently hear enough language to extend their development. For a family choosing the baby room, the quality of ordinary conversation deserves as much attention as the activities themselves.

Relationships and Communication

Partnership with armed forces families is part of the current nursery approach. In May 2023, staff had undertaken military matters training, which informed practical support including a map showing where parents were and accessible photographs of parents in uniform. These were recognisable links with family life for children whose parents were away.

Communication also had a regular structure in May 2023: key persons met parents, shared updates and ideas through online learning journals, and directed families towards relevant support groups. This gave parents both information about their child's day and a way to discuss what was happening beyond nursery.

The same visit recorded adults helping children handle small disagreements and recognise one another's feelings. Children were encouraged to work towards resolving conflicts themselves. That connects emotional support with daily behaviour, rather than confining it to a separate activity.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Dinky Ducks has a special educational needs and disability coordinator role, and its management includes an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA). These are identifiable roles for families discussing additional needs or emotional support.

In May 2023, bucket time used sensory toys to draw children's attention within SEND intervention work. Children learning English as an additional language were encouraged to use their home languages; staff also learnt familiar words. Families contributed everyday packaging from home for the home corner, making children's own experiences visible in play.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Alver Valley Family Centre, 19 Falcon Meadows Way, Gosport, PO13 8AA. Dinky Ducks opens Monday to Friday between 7am and 6pm and operates for 51 weeks of the year. Nursery enquiries go directly to dinkyducks@oaktreefamilygroup.org or 02392 512967.

Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, while afternoons run from 1pm to 6pm. Both can be used by funded and non-funded children. A School day runs from 9am to 3pm, also for funded and non-funded attendance.

Full-day attendance has two alternatives: 7am to 5pm or 8am to 6pm. The Full Day Rate is for non-funded children; the Full Week Rate uses those same alternatives, Monday to Friday, and includes terms for children using funded hours. Flexible Hours is another attendance description attached to Dinky Ducks.

For funded children, EYE/2YR three-hour sessions run from 9am to noon, noon to 3pm, or 3pm to 6pm. School-day additions run from 8.30am to 9am and 3pm to 3.30pm. Breakfast Club Hour has 7am to 8am and 8am to 9am options; Lunch Club Hour runs from noon to 1pm. Funding cannot be used for these wraparound, breakfast or lunch additions.

Closures include bank holidays, a Christmas week and up to five staff training days annually. Families receive at least six weeks' notice of training closures. A month's notice is required for changing sessions or withdrawing a child, and absence does not bring a refund or a replacement session.

Funding and Paid Extras

Dinky Ducks offers the stated 15-hour funding for eligible children from the term after they turn nine months, and disadvantaged or working-family two-year-old funding from the term after their second birthday. Universal 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds starts the term after their third birthday, as does the stated 30-hour entitlement for eligible children; parents must keep the latter claim updated. Funded attendance can be term-time only or stretched across 45 or 51 weeks; eligibility conditions still apply.

Food inclusion depends on attendance: morning and afternoon sessions include snacks but exclude meals, while non-funded full days include breakfast, lunch and snacks; under the Full Week Rate, meals are excluded on any day using funded hours, including mixed funded and private attendance. For funded-only attendance, families can purchase nursery meals or provide a packed lunch or tea from home. Lunches are supplied by Apetito, and the meal arrangements provide for weaning, vegetarian diets, allergies and other dietary requirements.

A separate consumables charge applies to booked funded hours for three- and four-year-olds. A registration charge applies at Dinky Ducks except for children using two-, three- or four-year-old funding. A retainer is built through billing during the first 12 months for non-funded attendance, meals and consumables, towards the notice period. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and attendance terms explain the charge structure.

• Baby-room conversation. The May 2023 findings identified inconsistent language support for the youngest children. On a visit, ask how Ducklings practitioners now extend babbling and early words during play and care routines.
• Learning intentions. Curriculum understanding was another May 2023 improvement point. Ask practitioners to explain what a current activity is intended to help children learn and how it connects with the child's next steps.
• Meals and dietary needs. Food inclusion changes with the session and use of funding. Families managing an allergy should confirm current meal practice and agree the arrangements for nursery food or packed meals before starting.
• Settling into Ducklings. Babies join from 3 months and have their own age-stage room. Ask how settling visits and the key-person relationship would be organised around your baby's routines.

Dinky Ducks suits families comparing morning or afternoon sessions with full-day attendance, as well as those considering shorter funded sessions or term-time funding. Its armed-forces family work gives it a clear relevance for parents managing deployment and separation, while named support roles provide practical starting points for conversations about additional needs.

The May 2023 position was positive overall, but the curriculum and baby-language improvement points deserve attention. The strongest decision will connect those questions with the particular room, attendance pattern and food arrangements a child will actually use.