Butterfly Nursery at Greenwich House

Woodland exploration, beach outings and a dedicated milk kitchen give Butterfly Nursery at Greenwich House a clear identity: outdoor learning sits alongside the practical care that babies and young children need. The Peacehaven setting has capacity for 70 children, accepting ages from three months to five years. Its rooms move from Cocoons for the youngest children through Caterpillars and Grasshoppers to Butterflies for preschool.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated assessment, rather than a substitute for understanding the current day. Today's offer combines play, an established daily routine and weekly Forest and Beach School adventures, where children explore nature through practical activities.

Families can choose full days or half days, with attendance across the year or during term time. That breadth matters here: this is not a single attendance pattern dressed up as flexibility.

Rooms and Ages

Cocoons, for under-twos, has a first-floor base with a milk kitchen and nearby nappy-changing facilities, while its own garden area and pushchair outings bring outdoor experiences into the youngest children's day. The arrangement gives infant care its own practical spaces rather than treating feeds and changing as incidental tasks.

For two-year-olds, Caterpillars combines imaginative play and growing physical independence with access to soft play, the garden, a dedicated sleep room and nearby toilets for toilet training. Active play and rest both have a place in this stage of the nursery.

Grasshoppers supports three-year-olds with counting, pattern recognition and problem-solving, alongside free movement into the garden and courtyard play using scooters and bikes. Butterflies, the preschool room on the ground floor, adds a more organised daily pattern to play, with early literacy and maths, gardening and shared games supporting preparation for school.

Movement between groups takes account of development and readiness as well as age, with parents involved in the change. That makes room progression a conversation about the child, rather than simply a date on the calendar.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, relationships and experiences that support their language, physical skills and social development. It is the baseline, not the nursery's special ingredient. Birth to 5 Matters supplies developmental guidance that helps practitioners understand individual progress rather than expecting identical development from every child.

In-the-Moment Planning is the more concrete addition. Practitioners respond to children's emerging interests and extend the learning while an activity is happening. Regular observations inform the next experiences and support each child receives. For parents, the useful distinction is between an enjoyable activity and an activity that helps their particular child take a next step.

The curriculum approach combines a predictable daily pattern with freedom to explore. A book corner and role-play areas support stories and imaginative play; spaces for creative work accommodate craft and messy activities. There is also a children's kitchen for food activities. These are practical settings for learning through doing, rather than a curriculum defined only by its name.

In February 2023, children followed a jungle story with an animal-pattern matching activity, while younger children washed dolls and connected the play with a new sibling at home. These examples show how stories and family experiences shaped activities at that time. The same visit identified a need for staff to be more precise about the individual learning intended within activities, a useful distinction to keep in mind when discussing progress.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest and Beach School brings weekly nature adventures into the nursery experience. Bug hunting, building dens and balancing give children practical tasks; conservation activities and learning about tides and weather connect those tasks with the environment around them. The value is in doing something real, with opportunities to think, move and work alongside others.

Plans respond to the weather, tide times and children's needs, with alternatives when conditions are unsuitable. Waterproof clothing and wellies are part of the preparation families are advised about. This is an outdoor offer with practical consequences for the nursery bag, rather than an occasional photograph in the garden.

Within the setting, the garden and courtyard support gardening and wheeled play. The sensory space offers a calmer setting, while the padded soft play environment accommodates physical activity. Children therefore have different kinds of space for different kinds of day.

Relationships and Communication

Babies' routines in Cocoons are shaped around their usual feeds, sleep and play, with familiar carers and gentle routines helping them become accustomed to nursery. Parents share the details that make those routines work. For a baby, continuity between home and nursery is a practical matter, not just a warm description.

Famly is the parent app, bringing together room updates, photographs, messages and calendar information. Observations and activities shared by the child's key person help parents understand the learning behind the day. Access begins with an email invitation after the child starts, and families can use either a browser or the mobile app.

In February 2023, daily conversations and an online app were part of communication with parents, but information about individual progress and learning at home was not consistently clear enough. The current communication tools make sharing possible; the important question remains whether an update explains the child's next step as well as what they enjoyed.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO coordinates personalised support plans, guides practitioners and reviews children's progress with families. External liaison can involve ISEND, health visitors and speech and language therapists. Activities are adjusted to children's needs, and family discussions include shared goals and strategies for learning at home. These are specific support mechanisms, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that managers sought additional funding promptly for children with special educational needs and disabilities and that children made good progress. That finding belongs to the visit date; today's SENCO and planning arrangements explain how support is organised now.

Designated Safeguarding Leads are available, and staff receive child protection training, undergo DBS checks and hold first aid qualifications. Those are arrangements parents can understand alongside the dated safeguarding judgement. Emotional wellbeing work includes helping children recognise feelings, build friendships and become more independent within familiar routines.

Little Tums supplies lunch, while tea is prepared in-house; individual milk routines are supported through the milk preparation facilities. The nursery's allergy policy prohibits food brought from outside, with allergen care plans displayed for staff and expressed breast milk supported.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Booked full days run from 8am to 6pm or from 8am to 4pm; half days run from 8am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6pm. Separately, funded term-time blocks run from 9am to noon or from 1pm to 4pm.

Attendance can cover 51 weeks of the year or 38 weeks during term time. Shift bookings carry a minimum booking requirement, and ad-hoc attendance attracts a surcharge. These conditions matter if working hours change frequently: flexible attendance still has booking terms attached to it.

The contact form, telephone and email provide enquiry routes, and visits can be arranged through the nursery. Its address is Greenwich House, Meridian Centre, Peacehaven, BN10 8BB.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes up to 30 hours for eligible working families with children aged nine months and over, 15 hours for qualifying two-year-olds receiving additional support, and the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds. Eligible working families in the older age group can receive up to 30 hours. Funding can be used during term time or spread across the year, and the nursery handles termly claims and helps families with codes and paperwork.

Private session fees include the optional Enhanced Care Package, covering food and drinks, formula, nappies, wipes and creams, together with activities and outings. On funded sessions, the package is charged separately from the funded childcare; the shorter free term-time blocks include a snack, while meals can be bought separately. Food and non-food essentials therefore need to be considered alongside the attendance pattern, rather than treating funded hours and an inclusive private session as the same purchase.

The package also covers enhanced settling support and Forest and Beach School. Early starts, later finishes and additional hours have separate charges, and a new booking involves both a booking fee and a deposit. The fees and funding information helps families plan; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

School preparation continues through the preschool day, and the nursery works with local primary schools on transition. This is preparation for moving on, not an admissions advantage.

• Individual learning. February 2023 improvement points concerned precision in activity planning and clearer explanations of children's next steps. During a visit, ask for an example of how an observation becomes a learning goal and how that goal is shared at home.
• Funded sessions and the care package. Inclusive private fees and funded childcare have different charging structures. Discuss the optional package, snack provision and separate meal charges against the exact pattern you intend to book.
• Outdoor preparation. Weekly Forest and Beach School plans respond to weather and tides. Waterproofs and wellies deserve a place in your planning, and a visit is a useful opportunity to discuss how outings work for your child's age.
• Allergies and infant feeding. Lunch comes from Little Tums and outside food is prohibited under the nursery's policy, while expressed breast milk is supported. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice and their child's care plan before starting.

Butterfly suits families who want nature-based experiences alongside rooms with practical provision for feeding, sleep, toilet training and increasing independence. Its mix of full days, half days and shorter funded term-time blocks accommodates genuinely different attendance needs. The weekly outdoor programme and Famly communication give parents concrete things to weigh, rather than relying on broad promises about care.

The Good judgement from February 2023 provides a positive inspection position, with clear improvement priorities around individual learning and parent communication. The strongest choice here is for families who value outdoor exploration and a gradual move towards a more structured preschool day, while taking care to match the funded-hours charging arrangement to their chosen sessions.