The Athelstan Nursery

Two large indoor rooms, movement between them and a natural outdoor play space give The Athelstan Nursery a clear character: children have choices about where to play, alongside organised activities and group time. Based at Parish Rooms in Hastings, it takes children aged 2 to 5 and has 36 places in total. This is term-time care, with the nursery day organised around play, relationships and growing independence.

At its 18 January 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That dated judgement sits alongside useful detail about the children's day: exploring water, talking about stories, practising early writing and learning to take turns. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions provide different attendance patterns rather than a single booking option.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and care, covering communication, physical development, relationships and learning through play. At Athelstan, movement between the indoor rooms sits alongside adult-led activities and group time. Children can choose an activity, while staff also bring them together for planned learning.

The January 2022 examples show how ordinary play became an opportunity to explore ideas. Children watched water pass through a colander, while a ruler helped one child compare the height of a toy spaceman. Shapes and their sides supplied another starting point for mathematical language. These are concrete ways of introducing comparison and counting through objects children can handle.

Stories also had a physical dimension in January 2022. Space boots and helmets accompanied children's interest in characters, and staff introduced the word astronaut to extend their vocabulary. Writing activities involved different tools and practising a suitable grip; older children worked on writing their names. The emphasis was on building the component skills that children would later use at school.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor space is at the front of the building, and the enclosed garden includes low decking at different levels. Indoors, the nursery is on one level and has low toilets that support children doing more for themselves. These practical details matter alongside the learning activities: the environment gives children opportunities to practise movement and everyday independence.

In January 2022, an adult drew children's attention to a spider's web, prompting them to fetch toy spiders and other minibeasts. Balance bars provided a setting for taking turns, and children used rollers to paint an outside wall with water. Outdoor play therefore supplied opportunities for conversation and cooperation as well as physical activity. Those examples belong to the inspection period; the current offer retains indoor choice and outdoor play.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who develops a relationship with the family and helps the child become familiar with nursery life. A shared key-person arrangement provides another contact when the usual practitioner is absent. After a place is secured, the allocated key person contacts the family to organise settling sessions. Settling includes an all about me section, giving parents a chance to explain interests and discuss developmental concerns before routines take shape.

Learning Journals are electronic records of achievements, progress and next steps, shared between parents and the key person. Parents can add information from home through a password-protected account on a phone or tablet. This gives home experiences a route into planning: a new interest or achievement can become part of the conversation about what the child needs next. Parent consultations also take place during the year.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support, with the coordinator drawing on advice from external professionals. Current arrangements include a SENCO role, individual support plans and parental involvement in decisions. The Graduated response approach uses assessment, planning, action and review to organise support, rather than treating a plan as a one-off document.

The key person and SENCO agree intended outcomes and support with parents; the key person then works with the child and helps review the effect. Outside advice may include early-years advisers or speech and language therapists, with family consent for additional involvement. Families using another language at home are asked to share useful words during settling, and documents can be translated to assist communication.

All staff have paediatric first-aid and child-protection training. For food and personal-care supplies, families provide snacks, lunch, nappies, wipes and sun protection. That makes preparing the child's bag a practical part of the nursery routine.

Sessions and Attendance

Attendance follows a 38-week term-time year. The morning session runs from 9am to 12pm, the afternoon from 1pm to 3pm, and the all-day session from 9am to 3pm. The lunch period, 12pm to 1pm, can also use funded hours. These options let families distinguish a shorter nursery session from a day that includes lunch.

An early start from 8.30am to 9am and late collection from 3pm to 3.15pm require separate booking and fall outside funded hours. Sessions must be booked ahead. The waiting list follows the order requests are submitted, with priority for existing children increasing their sessions and for siblings. A place is offered only after the signed registration form has been returned.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes up to 15 hours a week from the term after a child's third birthday, places for eligible two-year-olds and up to 30 hours for eligible families. Funding is delivered during term time, with funded hours between 9am and 3pm. Additional hours and the early-start or late-collection periods are charged; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Parents supply both food and non-food consumables, including on funded attendance. The charge structure adds no other costs beyond hours outside the funded offer and the early or late extensions. Families comparing arrangements should therefore consider their chosen session pattern and the supplies they will bring, as well as any paid time.

Getting There

The address is Parish Rooms, Athelstan Road, Hastings, TN35 5JE, in a residential area with street parking. The single-level building is accessible from the pavement, and an adult toilet accommodates people with limited mobility.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01424 446105 or through the contact form. For moving on to school, teachers are encouraged to meet children at nursery, and assessments and supporting information are shared with their next setting; additional discussions address individual support needs.

• Term-time planning. Attendance covers 38 weeks, with morning, afternoon and all-day options. Families needing childcare during school holidays will need a separate arrangement for those periods.
• Thinking time. In January 2022, staff sometimes supplied an answer before a child had time to respond. During a visit, ask how practitioners now give children space to think through questions themselves.
• Home contributions. The January 2022 improvement priorities included getting more regular parental input into assessments. Learning Journals now give families a direct way to contribute, so this model suits parents willing to share learning from home.
• Settling and individual support. A key person arranges settling sessions, while additional support uses plans developed with parents. Ask how the settling timetable and any support reviews would work for your child.

Athelstan suits families seeking either shorter morning or afternoon sessions or an all-day term-time pattern. Its strongest practical combination is shared indoor space, outdoor play and a key-person relationship supported by electronic journals. The Good judgement from January 2022 provides a dated quality reference, with two useful questions about thinking time and parental contributions still worth exploring. Parents who want an active part in settling and sharing their child's learning have clear ways to participate here.