The Wendy House Day Nursery

Growing a flower, dressing independently and inventing stories give The Wendy House a clear picture of what childhood learning should achieve. These are practical ambitions, adapted to each child's development, rather than a list of activities to complete. A planting garden and spaces for messy play give those ambitions somewhere to take shape.

The Havant nursery cares for children from 3 months to 5 years and has 34 places in total. Babies, toddlers and preschool children have age-specific rooms, alongside a separate space for sleep. That arrangement gives families concrete differences to weigh as their child moves through the nursery, rather than treating the whole age range as one group.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 2 August 2022 inspection. That judgement is dated: the detail beneath it includes warm relationships, exploratory play and areas requiring more consistent staff practice. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings are offered across a nursery year of 50 weeks.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room takes children aged 3 to 20 months, with comfort and early development guiding its design. The youngest children have space for reassurance and exploration.

From 20 to 36 months, the Toddler Room emphasises communication, curiosity and growing independence through play. Children practise expressing choices and investigating for themselves.

The Preschool Play Room serves children aged 3 to 5 years, combining creative activity with early learning and confidence building. Its companion, the Preschool Messy Room, is devoted to craft, art and sensory exploration. Preschool children can move between their indoor spaces and the garden through a free-flow arrangement, giving them choices about where to play.

The Cosy Sleep Room contains cots in a quiet setting. Sleep therefore has a space of its own, while nappy-changing facilities are distributed across the rooms and children's toilets are in preschool. These are useful physical details for families considering both rest and the move towards managing personal care independently.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care. Children develop early communication through play and exploration, and practise creativity by working with textures and materials. The nursery's own curriculum, The Child, adds an emphasis on first-hand exploration, children's interests and decisions made during play. Termly topics and open-ended resources give staff a structure while leaving children room to investigate.

Three aspirations make that approach tangible: children learn to tend a flower, manage dressing and undressing, and create stories of their own. Each is adjusted to the child's stage of development. They connect learning to things a child can actually do: care for something living, take responsibility for a daily task and communicate an imagined idea.

In August 2022, children experimented with cars travelling along ramps into water, explored cornflour mixtures and made sunflower artwork. Books could be enjoyed independently or shared with an adult, while an imaginary boat journey gave children different roles in a common game. These examples show the breadth of the nursery day at that time, from investigating materials to cooperating in pretend play.

Language teaching had a specific weakness in August 2022: songs and rhymes were part of the planned curriculum, but children did not encounter them consistently enough. The issue was the regular delivery of those opportunities, rather than whether language development featured in the plans.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor space is divided between babies and toddlers, preschool children, and a garden for planting. The Planting and Growing Garden gives the flower-growing aspiration a practical home: children can care for plants and follow their development. The nursery aims to use the outdoors in different weather conditions and provides Wendy House coats, all-in-ones and seasonal hats.

In August 2022, younger children had resources for pulling up and moving along with support, while older children climbed and assembled balancing courses in the garden. The physical challenges matched different stages of development.

A manager holds the SEN Co-ordinator role, providing a specific point of responsibility for special educational needs. The team also includes practitioners trained in paediatric first aid and safeguarding, with lead safeguarding training among the management roles. The SEN role gives families a point of contact for discussing support.

At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding, including suitable sleeping arrangements, and good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, although agreed resources and interactions funded to support children were not used consistently. This distinction matters: additional support needs both planning and reliable delivery during the child's day.

In August 2022, children sought comfort from familiar staff, who knew them individually. Adults helped children understand routines and the effects of their actions on others through gentle reminders. Parents received ideas for activities at home and had access to a lending library, linking nursery experiences with time spent together beyond the setting.

Staff practice around food also needed attention in August 2022. Children were not consistently encouraged to choose independently at mealtimes, and snack seating and lunch-box storage required better consideration of hygiene. These were practical weaknesses in everyday care, so a discussion about present mealtime routines would be more useful than a general question about healthy eating.

Preparing for school includes contact with local teachers, who are regularly invited to visit or speak with children. That can make the next stage more familiar before the move. The nursery's preschool emphasis on confidence and independence also connects with its dressing aspiration, giving school preparation a practical dimension beyond early learning activities.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 5 Brockhampton Road, Havant, PO9 1NU. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Telephone enquiries and an online enquiry form provide the contact routes.

Full Day bookings have two options: 7.30am to 5.30pm, or 8am to 6pm. The Morning Session runs from 8am to 1pm; the Afternoon Session runs from 1pm to 6pm. The distinction between opening hours and the booked day matters here, because the earliest-start full day finishes before closing time.

The nursery operates for 50 weeks each year, with a two-week Christmas closure and closure on bank holidays. Bank holidays are not charged. Families arranging year-round care should plan around those closures as well as the session they choose.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 Hours Childcare for eligible children aged 3 to 4, 30 hours childcare for working families with eligible children aged 9 months to 4 years, and 15 Hours for 2-Year-Olds for families receiving support. Funding is delivered during term time over 38 weeks. Tax-Free Childcare is also accepted.

Hours bought beyond the funded entitlement are contracted and billed weekly, including during half terms and school holidays. This makes the holiday arrangement a material part of the booking decision: term-time funding and a continuing paid-hours contract operate on different calendars. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the pricing and funding page sets out the charge structure.

Breakfast and snacks are included, including for funded hours, while families supply lunch and tea. Non-food consumables carry no additional charge for either paid or funded hours.

• Language and additional support. August 2022 improvement points concerned consistent songs and rhymes and the use of agreed support resources. On a visit, ask how these now fit into daily routines and how individual support is followed through.
• Mealtime practice. August 2022 concerns covered children's choices and hygiene around snacks and lunch boxes. Discuss current food storage, seating and opportunities for children to manage mealtimes independently.
• Funding and holiday commitments. Funding covers 38 term-time weeks, while contracted additional hours are charged through school holidays. Review the written quotation against the attendance you intend to maintain across the year.

The Wendy House suits families wanting either morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full-day option, with age-specific spaces and practical ambitions for independence. The Child curriculum gains substance from its flower-growing, dressing and storytelling goals, while the planting garden, messy-play space and quiet sleep room give families more than a broad promise of play-based care.

The Good judgement dates to August 2022, and its improvement points deserve a direct conversation about present practice. The clearest decision is whether the room arrangements, session windows and term-time funding model fit the child's needs and the family's week.