Rosie's Little Blessings

Caterpillars becoming butterflies and children harvesting fruit and vegetables give Rosie's Little Blessings a clear thread of learning through living things. In July 2024, these hands-on experiences sat alongside counting, number recognition and conversations about other people's feelings.

At its 30 July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. Based at St Vincent College in Gosport, the setting accepts children aged 0 to 60 months and has 46 places in total.

In July 2024, children cared for caterpillars and discussed the butterflies' eventual release. They also planted, tended and harvested produce. These experiences gave children something concrete to observe and talk about, connecting changes in the natural world with their own actions. Caring for caterpillars involved considering what they needed as they developed; growing produce brought planting, looking after plants and harvesting into the same learning sequence. For a parent, the useful detail is children's involvement in the process. They were doing things and discussing what happened. Counting and estimating added another strand: children could practise recognising numbers while considering quantity and size. Together, these July 2024 examples describe practical experiences with opportunities for both conversation and early mathematics.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care; here, the July 2024 examples included learning through play and practical exploration. Mathematics involved counting, recognising numbers and estimating quantities and sizes. These examples show children practising early mathematical skills through practical experiences.

Social learning had equally practical examples. During a painting activity in July 2024, children responded when friends declined to have paint put on their noses. Learning to respect another child's choice was part of the play itself. The activity involved painting red dots on friends' noses, so respecting a refusal had an immediate meaning children could understand. Staff also brought other people's feelings into conversations during activities. For families, this makes the social learning tangible: children were practising how to respond to a friend, rather than simply hearing a rule about being kind. These are examples from July 2024.

In July 2024, staff recognised when younger children were tiring and responded with comfort and reassurance. Babies had affectionate exchanges with the staff caring for them, while children's individual care needs helped shape their daily routines. Attention to tiredness mattered alongside the activities. The July 2024 account also described staff taking time to learn each child's care needs as children became familiar with the day's routines. For babies, the exchanges with their usual caring staff gave relationships a place in the daily account, alongside practical care. For parents weighing the experience of a younger child, the concrete example is the response to tiredness: staff noticed the cue and offered reassurance.

Communication with families also reached beyond the nursery day in July 2024. Staff discussed weaning and ways to encourage children's speech, giving parents practical ideas to use at home. Conversations about kindness and feelings helped children consider how their actions affected their friends.

The address is St Vincent College, Mill Lane, Gosport, PO12 4QA. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, with year-round opening. That opening window is useful for assessing whether the location and hours fit a working week.

In July 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds.

• Learning tailored to each child. In July 2024, some activities needed a clearer connection to what individual children should learn next. This matters when assessing how a child's interests translate into purposeful learning. Some newer staff had not yet fully established their understanding of the intended learning. During a visit, ask how practitioners choose an activity for a particular child and decide what to help that child practise next.
• Support for newer staff. In July 2024, targeted development plans for newer staff had yet to be implemented. Staff supervision also needed improvement so practitioners continued developing their practice and subject knowledge. Senior staff already received supervision, and observations informed coaching, but newer practitioners needed more clearly planned support. For families, the question is how that support helps staff turn their understanding of children's needs into consistent daily practice.
• Planning attendance. For a child joining this year-round setting, what booking arrangement and written quotation would cover the family's intended hours, funded entitlement, meals and consumables?

Rosie's Little Blessings suits families seeking a Gosport setting with year-round opening and a practical, play-based account of early learning. Its July 2024 character was clearest in caring for living things, everyday mathematics and responsive care. The priorities around individual learning and newer staff's development deserve weight alongside those strengths.