Woodberry Day Nursery, Waterlooville

A troll bridge, an ice cream stall beneath a ship and direct garden access give Woodberry Day Nursery, Waterlooville a recognisable character. This purpose-built setting on London Road makes outdoor play part of the room layout, rather than a separate destination. It accepts children from 3 months to 5 years and has 78 places in total.

At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found that staff recognised developmental concerns and worked with parents to obtain additional support, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). That judgement needs to be read alongside subsequent regulatory action. Following a visit on 13 July 2026, Ofsted issued a welfare requirements notice covering safeguarding leadership, dietary checks, staff induction and management oversight, with actions due by 24 July 2026.

The practical offer includes morning, afternoon and full-day sessions, alongside a shorter School Day pattern. Families can choose attendance across the year or during term time, with a separate funded-only schedule.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play supports communication, movement, relationships and growing independence. Alongside that shared foundation, the nursery uses conversation, stories and songs to encourage children to express their ideas and feelings. Children's interests help shape their play experiences, giving learning a connection to what already engages them.

The group-wide curriculum commitments include Confident Communicators, which emphasises children's ability to express themselves, and Critical And Creative Thinkers, which centres on exploration, testing ideas and solving problems. These are useful descriptions of the approach; the concrete branch detail comes from the language activities and child-led play that accompany them.

In June 2023, children used hammers and screwdrivers with staff supervision, working with nails, screws and wood. One example involved working out how a screwdriver could help straighten nails. This was practical problem-solving with real materials, with adults helping children understand how to handle tools safely.

Threading activities in June 2023 gave children a different challenge: concentrating on passing string through holes. Toddlers also practised pouring drinks and using cutlery, while older children managed tasks such as disposing of used tissues. These examples show how small movements, sustained attention and personal independence were built into ordinary activities at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Each room connects to the garden, allowing children to move between indoor and outdoor play. Climbing equipment adds a physical challenge; bike and trike tracks, complete with a petrol pump, give wheeled play an imaginative purpose. A barn provides a sheltered place for outdoor activities in changeable weather.

The troll bridge and the ice cream stall beneath the ship add further starting points for pretend play. These features support different kinds of activity within the garden: climbing, riding and inventing stories. The nearby self-care toilets also connect the outdoor space with children's everyday routines.

In June 2023, parents visited to explain their jobs, and music events introduced children to different cultures. Those experiences extended learning beyond the immediate nursery routine, using familiar adults and unfamiliar sounds to explore the wider world.

Relationships and communication deserve attention alongside the equipment. In June 2023, staff talked with babies during nappy changes, turning a care routine into an opportunity to hear language. Older children were encouraged to name feelings and associate them with colours, giving them a way to talk about emotions.

Key-person observations informed activity planning in June 2023, and staff discussed developmental concerns with parents. Communication about development was a strength of that period, but practical ideas for continuing learning at home were less consistent. The improvement action was specific: share more suggestions that parents could use beyond nursery. For families, the useful distinction is between receiving an update and knowing what to do with it.

Dietary management has been a recurring regulatory concern. The complaint outcome dated 28 November 2023 described staff meetings on dietary procedures and cross-contamination, while the compliance document dated 19 December 2024 recorded revised dietary procedures and management monitoring. In January 2025, staff support, coaching and training addressed mealtime responsibilities and individual dietary requirements; the safeguarding and welfare actions were officially met. Dietary-check responsibilities arose again in July 2026.

The latest regulatory position is more consequential. The notice dated 21 July 2026 required safeguarding leads to understand the response to allegations against staff, clearer responsibility for checking children's dietary requirements, effective induction and continuing training, and stronger oversight through coaching and mentoring. Its stated next step was monitoring the provider's response. These are requirements about how care is organised and supervised, rather than changes to the garden or curriculum.

Meals are prepared on site each day using seasonal ingredients. That makes food preparation part of the setting's daily operation, while the dietary-check requirements make the responsibility for each child's meal an essential consideration for families.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 208a London Road, Waterlooville, PO7 7AN. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year; closures include bank holidays and a week at Christmas. The opening window is longer than the standard full-day booking, so families should distinguish opening hours from their contracted attendance.

For children aged 3 months to 3 years outside Nursery Education Funding, AM sessions run from 8am to 12.45pm, PM sessions from 1pm to 5.45pm, and Full Day attendance from 8am to 5.45pm. The School Day option runs from 8.30am to 2.30pm. These patterns sit within both the All Year Schedule, covering 51 weeks, and the Term Time Only Schedule, covering 38 weeks.

For children aged 2 to 5 receiving Nursery Education Funding, the AM session under those two schedules finishes at 1pm rather than 12.45pm. The PM, Full Day and School Day times remain the same. The Funded Only Schedule covers 38 weeks and uses the 8am to 12.45pm AM session, alongside PM and Full Day patterns.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and private hours are both offered. Under funded schedules, lunch, tea and daily consumables attract separate charges, and hours beyond the funded allocation are charged as unfunded hours. The consumables category includes nappies, wipes, sun cream, toiletries and replenishable resources, so it extends beyond personal-care items.

The funded Term Time Only Schedule also includes a retainer. This holds the chosen attendance days during holidays for the duration of the child's time at the nursery and allows additional holiday sessions to be booked. Families can use the Waterlooville fees and forms page to understand the schedules; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Onsite parking and a buggy store help families travelling with young children. The buggy store provides somewhere to leave a pushchair during the day.

• July 2026 welfare notice. The 21 July 2026 notice required action on safeguarding leadership, dietary checks, induction and oversight. Before choosing the nursery, ask for the subsequent official outcome and how these responsibilities now work in daily practice.
• Morning-session differences. Funded AM attendance under the All Year and Term Time Only schedules ends at 1pm, while the private and funded-only AM patterns end at 12.45pm. Match the exact schedule to your collection arrangements.
• Funded attendance costs. Meals and daily consumables are charged separately under funded schedules, with a retainer for funded Term Time Only attendance. Request an itemised quotation for your chosen pattern so the full commitment is clear.
• Learning beyond nursery. Sharing home-learning ideas was the June 2023 improvement priority. During a visit, ask for an example of how a child's next steps become a practical activity for parents.

Woodberry suits families considering morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with both term-time and year-round schedules to compare. Direct garden access, sheltered outdoor space and imaginative play equipment give the setting a clear physical identity.

The July 2026 welfare notice is central to a current decision, alongside the findings from June 2023. The attendance choices and outdoor design are appealing; understanding the subsequent official position on the required care and management changes is essential before committing.