Footprints Montessori Day Nursery

Space for up to nine babies in Flopsy Bunnies, practical Montessori activities and woodland exploration in Ben’s Wood give Footprints Montessori Day Nursery a recognisable character. This West Horsley setting combines indoor choices with substantial outdoor provision: four garden areas, including a mud kitchen and space for growing fruit and vegetables. Independence runs through the day, from choosing an activity to learning to manage clothes and personal care.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Footprints Good, found safeguarding effective and praised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), alongside their speech and language progress. There was a clear qualification: group activities sometimes failed to extend individual children’s learning, and staff needed more help understanding and applying the curriculum.

Children can attend from three months to five years. Full days and part-day attendance for children over three require a minimum booking of two sessions.

Rooms and Ages

Flopsy Bunnies accommodates up to nine babies, with an upper age of 14 months, and combines baby signing with treasure baskets, mirrors and a baby gym for exploring movement.

Tiggywinkles and Timmy Tiptoes cover the 14-to-24-month stage, using open cups, dressing practice and messy play alongside secure outdoor areas. These are everyday opportunities to practise doing things independently, with stories and songs woven into the toddler experience.

Puddleducks, for children aged two to three, emphasises practical tasks such as pouring and threading, supported by a large outdoor area and walks to the pond or horses. Nutkins serves children aged three to four, combining sensory Montessori materials and early reading and mathematics through play with opportunities to move between garden and room.

Jeremy Fisher has space for ten children and balances jigsaws, construction and role play with Montessori activities, garden time and woodland exploration. Hunca Munca, for children aged four to five, brings art, movement and music into the day alongside learning to share and take turns. Across the rooms, the progression is towards greater independence, with different materials and routines as children grow.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for care and learning, encompassing communication, physical development and personal independence. Stories and songs, movement and self-care routines put these areas into practice; staff observe children’s play, plan activities and share progress with families. Montessori adds a practical approach in which children choose hands-on activities and work at their own pace. At Footprints, that means resources such as materials for matching textures and sounds, alongside real tasks including pouring drinks and tidying spills. The Montessori learning page explains how these approaches fit together.

Choice has a defined place in the timetable. Morning activities in the top three rooms form a work cycle, during which staff aim to minimise interruptions while introducing materials or extending activities. Role play, painting, books and water play sit alongside the Montessori resources. This gives parents a concrete picture of the day, rather than a curriculum name alone.

Outside activity leaders bring weekly Jo Jingles music and movement to babies and toddlers, and weekly Fit and Fun sports, including ball skills, to children over two. Yoganory combines stories with yoga movements. All are included in fees.

The July 2025 improvement priorities matter within this otherwise clear structure. Some children lost interest in group sessions because the teaching did not build sufficiently on their individual learning. Staff coaching and training also needed to address how the curriculum should shape each child’s next steps. A well-defined approach still depends on how consistently practitioners put it into practice.

Outdoor and Community Life

Four garden areas include balance beams, bicycles, scooters, a sand pit, mud kitchen and planting areas. Toddler rooms have direct garden access, and younger children also take outings in multi-seat buggies. Movement, imaginative play and growing plants give outdoor time several purposes.

Forest School woodland learning includes den building and wildlife exploration; in Ben’s Wood, children make nettle tea and natural paints. Older children watch chicks hatch around Easter, while all rooms observe caterpillars becoming butterflies. Living things provide concrete subjects for learning.

Footprints Fun Day brings families together each June for games, stalls and a barbecue. Footprints Easter Egg Hunt involves finding decorated paper eggs in the woods before Easter. School leavers perform a Nativity for parents each Christmas, giving them an audience for their songs and storytelling.

Relationships and Communication

Short settling visits introduce the key person responsible for development, welfare and family contact. Parents share preferences and requirements beforehand; extra sessions can be arranged. Flopsy Bunnies staff coordinate familiar baby routines with parents and provide daily feedback.

Eylog shares photographs, observations and weekly home-learning ideas through a digital journal. Parents can contribute their own records. Younger children’s daily diaries cover sleep, meals and nappy changes, connecting everyday care with communication about learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role provides a specific point of responsibility for additional needs. In July 2025, Ofsted found that staff worked with parents and other professionals on individual plans for children with SEND and medical needs, helping them make progress. That is more useful than a broad promise of inclusion: it identifies the planning and partnership behind the support.

Child-sized toilets support toilet training coordinated with parents. Puddleducks includes toothbrushing in its routine, while younger children sleep or rest after lunch. Everyday care provides practice in self-care.

The staff team includes a practitioner with a Montessori diploma and a chef, while safeguarding lead roles and paediatric first aid training form part of the arrangements. Secure entry systems, perimeter fencing and external CCTV are also in place. These practical measures sit alongside the dated safeguarding judgement; they do not replace it.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Long Reach, West Horsley, Surrey, KT24 6LZ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, over 51 weeks of the year, with closure between Christmas and New Year and on UK bank holidays. This is provision across the year, with a defined Christmas break.

Full days are offered, and part-day sessions are restricted to children over three. Families must book at least two sessions to support settling. Within the day, parents may collect or bring their child at different times, but staff ask to be told about a drop-off after 9am or collection before 5pm. That flexibility concerns daily handovers rather than a separate hourly booking product.

Telephone and email enquiries lead to registration, an administration charge and a deposit applied to the final invoice. Monthly advance payment is by standing order, with no sickness or holiday refunds. Reducing sessions requires two months’ notice; the deposit may cover missing notice and is non-returnable if the child does not start.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2025, the nursery provided government-funded early education for children from nine months to four years. Footprints also participates in Tax Free Childcare. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the fees and funding page provides the route for fee enquiries.

Meals and drinks are included, with food cooked in the on-site kitchen by the nursery’s chef and ten daily menus rotated, including daily vegetarian choices. The kitchen describes separate preparation areas and labelling arrangements for dietary needs and allergies.

Parents provide formula milk for babies and toddlers and sun cream for summer; the nursery supplies nappies and nappy cream. Families also bring spare clothes and suitable outdoor footwear, while waterproof rain suits are supplied. Jo Jingles, Fit and Fun and Yoganory carry no additional activity charge.

• Group teaching. The July 2025 priorities concerned individual learning during group activities and staff understanding of the curriculum. On a visit, ask how practitioners now plan these sessions and adapt them when children lose interest.
• Attendance by age. Part-day sessions are for children over three, with at least two sessions required. This matters for families planning shorter attendance for a younger child or a very small weekly commitment.
• Handover arrangements. Routine collection and drop-off take place at the door. Use the visit to discuss how daily conversations with the key person work alongside Eylog, especially during settling.
• Funding and dietary requirements. Funded education was provided in July 2025, and meals are included in the general offer. Ask how funded hours are delivered and charged, and, where allergies affect your child, confirm current kitchen practice before agreeing the arrangement.

Footprints suits families seeking full days or Part day sessions for children over three, with practical Montessori learning and frequent outdoor experiences. The baby-room cap, Ben’s Wood, digital care records and key-person settling give families concrete reasons to consider it.

The July 2025 Good judgement came with teaching priorities that deserve attention alongside the gardens and practical materials. The fit depends on valuing independence and outdoor exploration while accepting the session commitment and payment terms.