Hopscotch Day Nursery Lee-on-Solent

Beach exploration and gifts delivered to local shops give this High Street nursery a recognisable community character. In April 2025, preschool children used sticks to investigate the tide and collected shells and stones to explore colour and pattern. These were practical encounters with the coast, giving children things to investigate and discuss beyond their nursery rooms.

At its 15 April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Hopscotch Day Nursery Lee-on-Solent Good and found safeguarding effective, while identifying mathematics as the area needing further development. That qualification matters alongside the positive overall judgement.

The nursery has capacity for 83 children aged 3 to 60 months. Full Day, Morning, Afternoon and School Day sessions offer different attendance patterns, with a separate Breakfast Club extending the start of the day for bookings that qualify.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences help children develop communication, movement, relationships and early thinking skills. The April 2025 nursery day provides concrete examples of how those areas came together.

Babies joined a small singing group for Five little monkeys, with a bag containing puppets or other props to draw them into the song. This gave them something to look at and respond to while hearing familiar words and rhythms. In the toddler room, children handled safety knives to cut fruit, combining practice with hand movements, conversation about food and exploration of their preferences.

Mathematics also appeared in ordinary play. In April 2025, dough and a water tray provided opportunities to explore measurement, size and volume, alongside counting and sorting indoors and outside. The limitation was consistency: staff did not always take the next opportunity to develop children's mathematical thinking. For parents, the useful distinction is between having mathematical resources and making the most of them.

Outdoor and Community Life

In April 2025, preschool beach walks connected environmental care with direct exploration. Measuring the tide with sticks brought an abstract idea into something children could handle, while shells and stones became material for conversations about patterns and colours. The beach supplied both the setting and the resources.

In April 2025, children took kindness walks, bringing their handmade gifts to neighbourhood shops, including Christmas baubles they had decorated. These outings gave children a purpose for visiting their neighbourhood: they were contributing something, rather than simply passing through it. Staff training at that time included baby yoga and beach school for toddlers and preschool children, with learning from training being used in practice.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2025, staff spent time learning children's preferences and favourite activities. Familiarity with those details shaped their interactions and helped them prepare children for their next learning steps. Behaviour guidance was concrete, too: staff recognised considerate behaviour and listening with praise and high fives, making expectations understandable to young children.

Family feedback influenced nursery decisions in April 2025. Parents were invited to identify skills they wanted children to develop before school, while children helped choose favourite dishes and staff contributed to reviews of routines and learning. This made consultation part of how the setting organised its day.

Communication about progress and next learning steps was also part of the April 2025 experience. A free coat and shoe swap occupied the reception area, providing a practical form of family support alongside those conversations. It is a small physical detail with a clear purpose: families could reuse children's clothing as needs changed.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In April 2025, adults ate with children, the menu supported healthy eating, and procedures addressed allergies and other dietary needs. Staff had also undertaken allergy-management training. Families managing an allergy should discuss current arrangements as part of their visit.

Digital communication now depends partly on the funding package chosen. Under the Basic Funded Offer, the standard digital provision covers invoicing, attendance times and basic assessment; the enhanced option adds fuller access to Famly, children's learning journals, photographs, videos and observations. Famly is the digital system used for these family updates, so the package affects how much of the nursery day parents can follow remotely.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 13 High Street, Lee-on-the-Solent, PO13 9BS. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

Families can book Full Day sessions from 8am to 6pm, Morning sessions from 8am to 1pm and Afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. Premium Flex includes School Day options from 8am to 3pm, 8.30am to 3.30pm and 9am to 4pm. Breakfast Club runs from 7.30am to 8am and cannot be used with the Basic Funded Offer.

Funded attendance has two charging models. The Basic Funded Offer applies funded hours to one morning or afternoon block per day, and at least one booked session must fall on a Monday or Friday. It excludes additional ad hoc hours during a funded term, and session-pattern changes require two months' notice and take effect at the next funded term.

The Premium Flex Offer allows funding to be applied across session types, up to 10 hours per day. It permits changes within a funded term with one month's notice, subject to space, and gives access to Breakfast Club and additional sessions subject to charges and space. This is a meaningful choice between a more restricted funded pattern and greater control over attendance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and paid sessions are offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the choice of funding model affects both attendance and extras.

For the Basic Funded Offer, fully catered meals and snacks attract an optional voluntary contribution, with a standard cold lunch and snacks supplied when families opt out; Premium Flex adds a charge covering meals, snacks and non-food consumables, while children receiving disadvantaged funding under Basic receive those items free of charge. Packed lunches and snacks from home are not permitted.

Basic families can also opt into a voluntary contribution for non-food consumables. Those opting out supply items such as nappies, wipes, creams and sunscreen daily because storage is unavailable. The enhanced package also covers digital tools and activities applicable to this setting; its general examples should not be read as a promise of a particular club or outing at Lee-on-Solent.

• Mathematics in practice. The April 2025 improvement point concerned extending mathematical learning consistently. On a visit, ask how staff now build counting, comparison and measurement into children's play.
• Basic booking minimums. The Basic Funded Offer's detailed terms and comparison table give different minimum attendance patterns. Obtain the agreed minimum in writing for your chosen sessions, including the Monday or Friday requirement.
• Funding package and family updates. Basic digital access is narrower unless families opt into the enhanced contribution. Compare the attendance rules, consumables arrangements and Famly access together before choosing a package.
• Allergy arrangements. Allergy procedures and staff training formed part of the April 2025 nursery day. Families affected by allergies should confirm current meal planning and handling arrangements during their visit.

Hopscotch Lee-on-Solent suits families considering morning or afternoon attendance as well as full-day or school-day bookings. Its April 2025 activities made purposeful use of the coast and neighbourhood, with babies' songs and toddlers' food preparation giving younger children their own practical experiences.

The central decision is the funding package. Basic carries attendance restrictions and choices about extras; Premium Flex buys greater flexibility through its additional charge. Alongside that practical comparison, the mathematics improvement point deserves a specific conversation. The strongest case here rests on concrete nursery experiences and a Good inspection judgement, with clear questions for families to pursue.