The Island Day Nursery, Sandown

A purpose-built nursery on Fort Street, three named age groups and a serious recent welfare notice define the choice here. The Island Day Nursery, Sandown has capacity for 60 children aged three months to five years. Its practical offer is straightforward; its latest regulatory position needs close attention.

Ofsted's latest graded inspection, on 1 February 2022, judged overall effectiveness Good. Later regulatory action materially affects that assessment: February 2026 actions concerning outdoor hazards, staff reporting and leaders' oversight were officially recorded as met, but July again required stronger oversight and staff identification of hazards. Following a visit on 15 July 2026, a welfare requirements notice served on 24 July required action on safeguarding leadership, staff oversight, eating supervision, safe sleep, baby-care training, key-person arrangements and support for children facing barriers to learning, with a deadline of 31 July 2026. The latest published position is that notice and the planned monitoring of the nursery's response. The nursery remains open; families need to weigh the later requirements alongside the dated inspection outcome.

Rooms and Ages

Little Stars covers the published birth-to-two band, Rising Stars the two-to-three band and Shooting Stars the three-to-five band. These give families a recognisable age progression, while the nursery's accepted age range begins at three months. The purpose-built premises provide the physical setting for that progression.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage is the framework for children's education and care: in everyday terms, learning develops through play, conversation and activities that build language, movement and understanding. The nursery day documented in February 2022 made those ideas concrete. Water play involved pouring between containers, while toy dinosaur feet became tools for making marks in damp sand. These were opportunities to practise hand control through play rather than formal writing tasks.

In February 2022, a reading of The Tiger Who Came to Tea prompted children to prepare pretend food outside for the story's tiger. Short bucket activities involved watching and copying demonstrations, including rainbow painting. Together, these examples show how stories and practical tasks shaped the day at that time; they are useful reference points for discussing the nursery's present activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2022, children grew flowers and herbs in the garden, gathered shells on beach outings and used substantial climbing equipment at a nearby playground. Beach outings and playground climbing combined exploration with physical activity. Tablet maps also helped children connect their homes with landmarks, including the local zoo.

A Chinese New Year activity in February 2022 combined watching a dragon dance online with making a tissue-paper dragon and trying Chinese food. This was a specific example of cultural learning, rather than a recurring event timetable.

Individual settling mattered in February 2022: staff worked with parents and allowed children the time they needed to become comfortable. Conversations continued through activities, with vocabulary work also involving children learning English alongside another language. Songs provided a connection between nursery activities and home.

Those earlier practices must be read alongside the July 2026 requirements. Leaders were required to take staff concerns seriously, establish a culture in which staff could raise concerns confidently and improve their oversight of everyday practice. The notice also required stronger key-person arrangements so that individual care and learning were properly tailored, alongside better support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and others encountering learning barriers. These are central care arrangements, rather than peripheral administrative matters.

Eating and sleeping were specifically addressed in July 2026. Children eating needed supervision that kept them both visible and audible to staff, and safe-sleep procedures needed consistent understanding and application. The notice additionally required baby-care training for at least half the staff. Families considering Little Stars should give those requirements substantial weight.

Existing families can communicate through Famly, the parent messaging platform. That provides a practical contact channel, but the July requirements make the substance of communication about each child's care especially important.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Fort Street, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 8BA. Opening hours are 7.45am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday; the nursery operates across the year, closing for Bank Holidays and Christmas. Breakfast Club runs from 7.45am to 8.45am, and private attendance is priced by the hour.

General enquiries go to ask4more@islanddaynursery.co.uk or 01983 408392, with a contact form also available. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded attendance is offered, with the charge arrangements addressing 15-hour and 30-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds. Term-time-only attendance is also accommodated within those arrangements. The distinction between funded and private hours matters: the privately paid hourly rate is all-inclusive, whereas funded attendance carries a separate essentials contribution covering snacks, drinks, non-food consumables and activities.

For three- and four-year-old funded attendance, that contribution is calculated termly and billed monthly, with a proportionate charge when fewer funded hours are used. Term-time-only families can spread it over nine or 12 months. The contribution is waived for children receiving Early Years Pupil Premium and/or where additional private hours are paid in full, for example by social services; families struggling with it receive an individual review reflecting the voluntary nature of consumables contributions.

For meals and consumables, the practical distinction is therefore between inclusion within privately paid hours and separate charges during funded hours for snacks, drinks and items such as wipes and sun cream. The contribution also covers celebration materials, learning-journey access and other resources described on the session hours and fees page. Comparing attendance options means comparing the whole charge structure, rather than funded hours alone.

• July welfare notice. The 24 July 2026 notice required action by 31 July across several essential care arrangements. Before joining, request the subsequent official outcome and discuss how safeguarding leadership, eating supervision, safe sleep and individual support now work in practice.
• Baby space and independence. In February 2022, the younger children's environment restricted exploration, while older children needed more encouragement with dressing and serving food. A visit should examine the space Little Stars uses and the opportunities Shooting Stars children have to manage everyday tasks themselves.
• Funded attendance costs. Funded hours and privately paid hours have different arrangements for extras. Request a written quotation showing how the essentials contribution applies to your child's age, entitlement and attendance pattern, including any exemption or individual review.

Sandown suits families considering Breakfast Club or hourly paid attendance within the weekday opening window, with age-group progression from Little Stars to Shooting Stars. The purpose-built setting and the practical learning examples from February 2022 give useful context. The July 2026 welfare notice is the decisive consideration: families need to weigh its requirements alongside the February 2022 inspection outcome and establish the subsequent official position before choosing.