West Wight Nursery

A chicken coop, a trickle stream and an allotment give West Wight Nursery a character that reaches beyond its playrooms. Based on Summers Lane in Totland Bay, it combines separate provision for babies with outdoor exploration for older children, while its place on the site of St. Saviour's Catholic Primary School makes the distinction between nursery care and school admission important.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found exceptional progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those receiving additional funding.

The nursery has 72 places in total and an early-years age range of three months to five years. Its wider services extend to children aged 12 through Fun Club. Term-time nursery opening hours and separate breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs support different family routines; the precise club arrangements belong in the practical section below.

Rooms and Ages

Crèche caters for children from three months to two years, with a maximum of 14 attending together; sensory play, regular use of the ball pool and sensory rooms, a separate garden and a link into Tumblers give the youngest children several ways to explore. This is the youngest group's cap, separate from whole-nursery capacity.

Tumblers serves children aged two to three, extending sensory exploration into activities chosen by adults and children, with access to the ball pool, sensory rooms and outdoor space, plus some shared activities with Pre-school. Children can follow their interests across indoor and outdoor learning for much of the day. The connections between groups provide opportunities to become familiar with the next stage before moving into it.

Pre-school is listed for ages three to four and combines writing, storytelling, construction, imaginative play and maths resources with a whiteboard, music and dance in the large activity room, and daily access outside. Children can build, act out ideas or make marks.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework guides learning through play, with activities initiated both by children and by adults and adjusted to their developmental needs. This is the shared early-years framework. The useful detail here is how play connects with conversation: adults help children talk about what they have discovered and build understanding from their interests.

Every Child a Talker is a pilot programme in which the nursery has participated, bringing practitioners and parents together to support language development. Story Sacks, Maths Sacks and Chatterboxes are resources demonstrated to parents and available to borrow for short periods. That gives families a practical connection between activities at nursery and experiences at home, rather than leaving learning entirely inside the setting.

In June 2022, babies pointed to story characters, toddlers encountered new vocabulary through conversations with staff, and preschool children joined in familiar stories and explored rhyming words. Language work differed by developmental stage. In the same month, toddlers persisted with balancing large blocks and took turns adding ingredients during pretend cooking, examples of learning that combined concentration with cooperation.

Outdoor and Community Life

For preschool children, the allotment supports planting and the natural copse provides opportunities to explore nature. Caring for the chickens includes collecting eggs each day and learning about feeding the birds. The trickle stream and sensory bike track add further outdoor experiences. These features make the grounds part of the nursery day, rather than simply a space for running around.

Babies have their own garden, with short local walks arranged when numbers permit. That condition matters: the walks are an additional opportunity, rather than a fixed timetable. Older children have daily access outside and can mix with children from other groups, giving outdoor play a different social shape from activities within their own room.

Relationships and Communication

A Key Person system gives each child a practitioner who supports relationships within the setting. Settling can include brief periods of parents staying to play before their child is ready to remain independently. For Crèche children, staff discuss home routines on admission and follow them closely, making the family's existing pattern part of the transition into nursery care.

Tapestry, an online app for sharing photographs and comments about children's learning, allows contributions from both parents and staff. Learning is also documented in a personal file passed to parents or carers when their child leaves.

In June 2022, staff gave quieter children time, encouragement and praise suited to their personalities. Partnerships with parents and other professionals also supported preparation for the eventual move to school. These examples describe the approach at that time, rather than a promise about any individual child's experience now.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes a SENCO role, and staff training covers disability awareness, mental health and early language development. All staff have paediatric first-aid training.

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, with staff understanding how to recognise and escalate concerns, suitable supervision indoors and outside, and checks on staff suitability. The strength of that judgement lies in the practices beneath it, rather than the grade alone.

For Crèche, families supply food that can be warmed or send a packed lunch; preschool children may bring a packed lunch or have a school meal. Staff join children at mealtimes, using the occasion for conversation and support with eating.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Summers Lane, Totland Bay, PO39 0HQ. Term-time opening runs from 7.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. These are nursery opening hours, rather than a named full-day or half-day booking pattern.

Breakfast club runs during term time from 7.30am to 8.45am. The after-school Fun Club begins at 2.45pm, and its closing time needs clarification because the two stated schedules differ. School Holiday Club runs from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday during school holidays. These clubs extend the nursery's offer to school-age children; Fun Club serves ages four to 12.

General enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. For families managing siblings at different stages, the distinction between nursery opening hours and the separate club windows is useful: the same organisation provides several services, each with its own timetable.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 30-hour working-parent entitlement from nine months, starting in the term after the child reaches that age, subject to eligibility. Eligible three-year-olds can receive 30 hours, while those who do not qualify for that entitlement can receive 15 hours. Funding confirmation must be renewed every three months.

Grant-funded hours carry no extra fees, including for consumables. Private childcare is also offered, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Moving on to School

The nursery shares a site with St. Saviour's Catholic Primary School. Attendance at the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. A familiar site and a school place are separate matters, so the nursery choice should stand on its own merits.

• After-school collection. The services timetable ends Fun Club at 5.30pm, while the term-time opening timetable ends it at 5pm. Clarify which collection deadline applies before relying on this arrangement for work.
• The youngest group's day. Crèche has a cap of 14 and its own garden. During a visit, ask how the group uses those spaces and how your baby's home routine would fit into the day.
• Food and funded attendance. Families provide Crèche food, preschool children have a packed-lunch or school-meal choice, and grant-funded hours have no consumables extras. Ask how your intended attendance pattern and any dietary needs would work together.
• School admission. Sharing the St. Saviour's Catholic Primary School site does not guarantee Reception admission. Keep the nursery decision and the school application separate.

West Wight Nursery suits families drawn to sensory exploration for younger children and hands-on outdoor experiences for preschool children. The capped Crèche group, take-home learning resources and chicken care give that appeal substance. Its June 2022 Outstanding judgement adds weight, while remaining a judgement about that period.

Its attendance offer also serves different needs: term-time nursery care, breakfast and after-school clubs, and holiday club attendance. Families combining early-years care with provision for older siblings have several arrangements to consider. The unresolved after-school closing time is the practical point to settle before making that combination part of a working week.