Bear's House Nursery, Hastings

A Beach Hut, a garden for nature exploration and a separate floor for each age group give Bear's House Nursery, Hastings a recognisable character. Outdoor play has several settings here, rather than one undifferentiated space. Inside, Honey Bears, Panda Bears and Polar Bears occupy different levels of the Holmesdale Gardens building, giving the age groups their own bases.

The nursery has capacity for 50 children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months. At its December 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged inclusion and behaviour, attitudes and routines to be Strong standard, with achievement, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance at Expected standard; safeguarding standards were met. Those judgements give families a more useful picture than a single headline grade: support and relationships were strengths, while everyday independence remained an area for attention.

Rooms and Ages

Honey Bears occupies the hall floor, Panda Bears the Garden floor and Polar Bears the first floor. The converted town house therefore separates the groups vertically, an arrangement worth considering alongside a child's stage of development and daily movement between indoor and outdoor spaces.

In December 2025, learning was planned to build across room changes. Older babies practised drinking from open cups before moving into the toddler room. That is a useful example of transition preparation through an ordinary daily skill, rather than treating a room move as simply a change of surroundings.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, it brings communication, physical skills, social development and other areas of learning into play and daily routines. In December 2025, staff assessed children's development regularly and used those assessments to decide what to teach next.

Activities gave children things to investigate and discuss. In December 2025, melting ice prompted exploration, while balancing baubles on hoops introduced questions of size and dimension. Older children used a tent for shared imaginative games, talking through characters and negotiating with one another. These examples connect learning to an immediate problem or conversation. Children have something concrete to work out.

Books also extend beyond story time. By March 2026, Hastings had joined the National Literacy Trust, gaining resources intended to encourage enjoyment of books and support language and literacy. During World Book Day that month, younger children explored sensory activities inspired by books, older children made bookmarks and children brought stories from home to share. The event linked family favourites with nursery activities, giving children a familiar starting point for conversation.

Outdoor and Community Life

Three gardens give outdoor play different settings. The beach themed garden contains a Beach Hut; Picnic and Play has artificial lawns for activities throughout the year; the wild garden provides space to investigate nature. These are concrete differences in the environment, with room for imaginative play as well as exploration.

In December 2025, garden time formed part of children's daily routines, and climbing equipment offered physical challenges. Children practised moving across it safely. The practical value is the combination of movement and judgement: learning how to attempt something, rather than simply being kept away from difficulty.

Hastings has achieved the Woodland Trust's Silver Green Tree Award, a scheme recognising environmental projects and outdoor learning. A community example came in October 2024, when preschool children took food donations to their local Tesco after learning about Harvest Festival. That made helping others a tangible activity through donating food.

Relationships and Communication

In December 2025, key-person relationships were settled, and staff discussed babies' changing weaning needs with parents. Families also contributed recordings of familiar songs in children's home languages. These exchanges connected care and play with children's lives beyond the nursery, rather than expecting every family to fit the same routine or language experience.

Story sharing was adapted to children's stage. In December 2025, younger children explored lift-the-flap books with staff, while older children supplied remembered words when adults paused during a story. The same activity could therefore invite different kinds of participation, from handling a book to recalling and joining in with language.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified developmental support needs, involved parents early, worked with external professionals and used additional funding effectively for children with SEND, helping gaps in learning to close. The important detail is the mechanism: discussion with families, professional guidance and resources chosen for individual children, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

Health has also been the subject of a named programme. By October 2023, Hastings had achieved the HALO Excellence Award through Healthy Active Little Ones (HALO), which helps settings review and develop health and wellbeing practice. Its scope includes eating, physical activity, oral health and independence in personal care. Training, practical resources and support from a coordinator formed part of Hastings' involvement.

The independence point deserves attention alongside that award. In December 2025, adults sometimes completed personal-care tasks that children could have attempted themselves. Staff teams and room-level curriculum consistency were also still being developed. For families, the useful question is how adults balance timely help with the patience children need to practise a skill.

The address is 11 Holmesdale Gardens, Hastings, TN34 1LY. The nursery occupies a converted town house, with its age groups based on separate floors and outdoor activities spread across three gardens.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year and closes on Bank Holidays. That opening window gives parents a clear boundary for planning work and collection arrangements.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01424 465856. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Independence in personal care. The December 2025 next step was to give children more opportunities to manage these tasks themselves. During a visit, ask for an example of how staff support a child to try before taking over.
• A building arranged across floors. Honey Bears, Panda Bears and Polar Bears have bases on different levels. A visit can help families understand how their child's group uses the building and gardens during the day.
• Your attendance and funding package. With opening hours of 7.30am to 6pm, ask which booking pattern fits your routine and request a written quotation separating funded hours, additional care, food and non-food consumables.

Bear's House suits families who value separate age-group bases, several outdoor environments and learning that connects books, practical exploration and home life. Its gardens and National Literacy Trust resources give that description substance. The December 2025 findings also provide concrete reasons to consider its support for children with additional needs.

The balance is clear: relationships and inclusion deserve attention, alongside the continuing work on independence and consistency between rooms. For parents whose routines fit the weekday opening window, the strongest reason to explore Hastings is the combination of outdoor space and individual support, with daily self-care a useful subject for a visit.