Chatterbox Nursery

A Georgian house with twelve rooms gives Chatterbox Nursery space for shared play and smaller activities, with separate baby sleeping space and preschool access to a library, ICT room and garden. At 17 Melville Street, Ryde, PO33 2AF, it caters for children from three months to five years.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Chatterbox Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), were making good progress. That is a dated assessment. The practical appeal today lies in the separation of play, messy activities and sleep, together with daily preschool group work and an on-site cook.

Morning, afternoon, whole-day and school-day bookings offer different ways to attend. Funded childcare is stretched across the year, with a minimum attendance requirement of two days a week.

Rooms and Ages

Babies & Toddlers occupies the first floor, with separate playrooms for younger babies and toddlers, plus a wet room and Sleep Room. Floor play and equipment for pulling up support early movement in the younger babies’ space; the toddler playroom brings together construction toys, puzzles and pretend domestic play. The separation matters: crawling, beginning to stand and more elaborate role play need different resources.

Wet Room combines messy activities with dining, using highchairs and low furniture; Sleep Room contains cots and pods for parent-directed sleep schedules. Rest has its own space.

Preschool takes children from two to five years. Its rooms extend over two floors, with two wet rooms for creative and messy activities and continuous access to the garden, library and ICT room. Children therefore have places for books and technology as well as active outdoor play. The arrangement across floors matters for children’s movement between spaces.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework here: children develop knowledge and skills through exploration, active play and creative thinking, indoors and outside. It is the baseline for early education, rather than an extra programme. Chatterbox combines that play with adult-led activities across its areas of learning throughout the day.

Small Groups is daily structured learning time for early number work, phonics and speaking and listening through show and tell. It adds adult-guided participation to independent play.

In September 2023, a Little Red Riding Hood puppet performance, sound-based rhymes and favourite books supported early literacy. Listening through a rhyme before changing activities gave children practice in sustaining attention.

Outdoor and Community Life

All children can use the garden. Babies’ buggy outings include boats, the hovercraft, trains, ducks, the beach and park, giving them local sights to notice. Rain covers and sun canopies support these walks.

In September 2023, staff supported garden play on balancing beams, climbing equipment, bicycles and scooters. Balancing, climbing and steering exercised different movement skills.

Relationships and Communication

Home routines guide care in the baby department, including when children sleep and for how long. Staff use a listening monitor in Sleep Room and make timed checks on sleeping children. Daily take-home sheets record each child’s activities and food, giving parents practical information about how the day has gone.

Repeated preschool visits with a familiar baby-department practitioner make the move gradual, retaining an existing relationship while children get to know their next space.

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted identified two improvements: staff needed clearer understanding of the learning intended by activities, and parents needed more information about their children’s next learning steps and how to help at home. Both recommendations concern making activities purposeful for each child and understandable to parents.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The joining form asks about development, health, sleep and dietary needs, and children with SEND are assessed during initial stay-and-play sessions. Where the nursery cannot support a child without specialist equipment, medical training or specialist one-to-one support, it applies for relevant funding and training; attendance can begin once those arrangements are agreed. Families needing that support should treat the start arrangements as part of planning, rather than assume that every requirement can be met immediately.

Toilet training begins when the child is ready and parents have instructed staff to proceed. Preschool has facilities for nappy changing, potties and toilets, so the room can accommodate children at different stages. Preparation for primary school includes practising clothing and shoes, responding to a register and writing a name: practical independence sits alongside early learning.

An on-site cook prepares fresh food daily, with individual dietary requirements accommodated. Families provide written allergy details and updates, so that information forms part of the child’s care arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

The main options are AM, 8am to 1pm; PM, 1pm to 6pm; All Day, 8am to 6pm; and School Day, 9am to 3pm. Half Day bookings cover either the morning or afternoon window, and Early Start runs from 7.30am to 8am. School Day is a session name, not a statement that attendance is term-time only.

Attendance must cover at least two days each week. Chatterbox closes for bank holidays and a week at Christmas, with no fees payable for those closures. Booked sessions generally cannot be exchanged except in exceptional circumstances, and absence, illness and family holidays do not attract refunds. These terms make the regular weekly pattern important to the overall cost.

Enrolment starts by speaking to a staff member; contact is through info@chattytots.com or 01983 616779. Four weeks’ notice is required to reduce hours or leave, with written notice required when ending a place and fees remaining payable during that period.

Funding and Paid Extras

The funding information covers the working-parent entitlement of up to 30 hours for eligible children from nine months until school starts, and the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds. Chatterbox uses stretched funding only: across 51 weeks, the 15-hour entitlement becomes 11 hours weekly and the 30-hour entitlement becomes 22. The term in which a child joins can affect the hours available to stretch.

Additional private hours are charged separately, as are lunch and tea. A voluntary consumables contribution covers breakfast, snacks and drinks, non-food care supplies and associated activities and resources. Families who may struggle with the contribution can discuss their circumstances with the manager; it should not be read as an unavoidable charge attached to funded childcare.

The alternative standalone funded sessions run from 3pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with no charge. For these sessions parents supply food and personal-care items, including snacks, nappies, wipes and sun cream, together with spare and outdoor clothing. This is a different arrangement from a catered booking with the consumables package. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

When bookings reach operational capacity, first priority goes to year-round bookings of five full days a week including private wraparound hours, followed by year-round stretched funding combined with private hours, then standalone free sessions. Further standalone applicants join a waiting list once that allocation is filled. This is a durable allocation rule, not an indication of current vacancies.

• Learning information. September 2023 brought recommendations on precise learning intentions and sharing next steps with parents. During a visit, ask how staff explain your child’s current learning and offer useful ideas for home.
• Collection time and closures. The contact information gives a 6.30pm finish and 52 weeks, while the 2026 joining terms give a 6pm finish and a Christmas closure week. Confirm the agreed collection time and closure dates before committing to a booking.
• Standalone funded attendance. The 3pm to 6pm option requires supplies from home and comes after full-time and hybrid bookings in the allocation order. Consider whether that afternoon window and daily packing fit your routine.
• Support before starting. Specialist equipment, training or one-to-one support can require funding and arrangements before attendance begins. Discuss those requirements and dietary or allergy practice during the initial stay-and-play process.

Chatterbox suits families seeking either morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those needing whole-day or school-day attendance. Its strongest practical features are the separate baby sleep space, gradual move into preschool, and preschool access to a garden, library and ICT room.

The September 2023 Good judgement came with recommendations on learning intentions and parent communication. Funding also needs careful comparison: catered attendance with separately charged extras and parent-supplied standalone afternoons involve different routines. Choose the pattern on its full terms, including the two-day minimum, allocation priorities and notice period.