Wild Monkeys Nursery

Rock pools, crab hunting and ocean stories give Wild Monkeys Nursery its coastal character. Based at Telscombe Parish Hall in Telscombe Cliffs, this is the Wild Monkeys Beach Nursery setting, where seaside activities happen several times a week and children have daily access to a fully enclosed garden. Outdoor learning shapes the offer.

The nursery has capacity for 40 children and caters for children from birth to five. At its November 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance to meet the Expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. That gives parents a clear inspection position alongside the appeal of the beach programme.

Attendance includes shorter funded sessions and longer daytime patterns, with both term-time funding and a stretched arrangement across the year.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and practical activities help children build skills for their next stage. Beach School adds a concrete coastal element, with activities including searching for crabs, decorating collected rocks and sharing stories about ocean wildlife. These experiences give children things to investigate and talk about, rather than treating the seaside simply as a destination.

Several beach sessions take place each week, spread across the timetable so that children attending on different days can participate. Weather-appropriate clothing is part of the arrangement. The programme involves exploring local beaches and rock pools, giving children opportunities to create their own play while handling natural materials.

In November 2025, stories, counting rhymes and topic discussions were used to develop language and early mathematical understanding. Children counted objects during play and explored number values. The practical implication is straightforward: early literacy and mathematics were woven into activities, rather than confined to a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

A fully enclosed garden provides outdoor space between beach trips, with access every day throughout the seasons. This matters for children whose attendance does not coincide with a seaside session: outdoor time is also part of life at the hall.

In November 2025, older children could climb and practise different movements in the garden. A dedicated area for younger children was still planned, although babies and younger children already had daily fresh air and organised physical activities. The distinction matters when assessing how the outdoor space works for different ages.

At that time, outings also included the nearby Tye to see animals, with the days varied each week to include children across attendance patterns. Visits from the police and fire service supplied another kind of practical experience. Children remembered those encounters and discussed them afterwards, linking unfamiliar roles to people they had actually met.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2025, babies were cared for by familiar staff, and routines were agreed with parents, including preferred ways of settling them to sleep. Comforters were kept within children's reach when needed. For a family managing separation or a change at home, these are useful details: care took account of the child's existing habits.

The key-person arrangement helped children become familiar with the adults caring for them, and staff helped babies prepare to join the older children. Parents received regular information about activities and development. Together, these practices connected daily care, communication and changes within the nursery.

Quieter spaces also had a practical purpose in November 2025. Children could withdraw from the group, with staff responding and helping them put feelings into words before returning to play. Adults dealt calmly with minor disagreements and helped children practise sharing and taking turns. Emotional support was part of ordinary interactions.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2025 inspection, Ofsted found SEND support effective, including adapted activities and signing to help communication, also benefiting children learning English as an additional language. Families considering additional support therefore have a dated assessment of how adaptations worked in practice.

The Beach team includes a SENCO lead, a baby lead and a child protection lead. These roles give parents identifiable responsibilities to discuss, rather than relying on a general assurance about support.

In November 2025, healthy eating and dental health were also addressed through practical activities and help for families. Staff explained lunchbox choices, supported access to dentists and used local initiatives through which parents could take home fruit and other food. This extended care beyond the nursery day.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Telscombe Parish Hall, Tyedean Road, Telscombe Cliffs, BN10 7AU. Opening hours are 8am to 4pm from Monday to Thursday, with Friday finishing at 3pm. The all-year arrangement operates across 47 weeks, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures as well as designated closure weeks.

Paid attendance can use fixed or flexible hours, with a minimum booking of two three-hour sessions each week. Start points are 8am, 9am, noon or 1pm; finishing points are noon, 1pm, 3pm or 4pm, within the day's opening hours. This allows shorter attendance as well as longer days.

For stretched funding, the session choices are 8am to 1pm, 1pm to 4pm, 9am to 3pm or 8am to 4pm, subject to the Friday closing time. Only one funded session may be used each day. These booking rules matter as much as the total funded entitlement when matching childcare to working hours.

Enquiries can be made on 07866 20 19 96 or through the Famly app contact route.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 & 30 Hours Early Years Funding, subject to eligibility, through term-time and stretched arrangements. Stretching across 47 weeks provides 12 or 24 funded hours per week respectively; additional hours are paid separately. Families using the extended entitlement must provide eligibility confirmation and renew it every three months.

Snacks are included in the term-time funded option. Under the stretched offer, snacks and water are provided and parents supply lunch.

A refundable booking deposit is returned on the first invoice, but retained if the place is not taken up. Uniform is optional, and charges for larger outings or events are discussed with parents beforehand. With fixed hours, fees remain payable during a child's holiday or sickness when the nursery is open; closures are not charged. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

The hall is inland from The Smugglers rest, with the 12 and 14 bus stops only a few minutes walk away. This provides a practical public-transport option for families using those services.

• Teaching consistency. In November 2025, some staff were less confident about extending learning during spontaneous activities, and further staff development was needed for consistently inclusive teaching. During a visit, ask how practitioners now build on children's unexpected questions and interests.
• Outdoor care for younger children. A separate garden area for younger children was planned in November 2025. Ask to see how the outdoor arrangements now accommodate babies alongside the beach programme.
• Friday and funding patterns. Friday ends at 3pm, and stretched funding allows one session per day. A proposed booking should fit both restrictions, rather than relying solely on the weekly hours total.

Wild Monkeys Nursery suits families who want coastal learning alongside either shorter morning or afternoon attendance, or longer daytime sessions. The enclosed garden keeps outdoor experiences close to the hall, while the beach programme gives the nursery a recognisable character.

The November 2025 findings provide a balanced basis for choosing it: familiar care routines and practical adaptations sit alongside a clear need for greater teaching consistency. For parents, the strongest fit combines enthusiasm for outdoor learning with an attendance pattern that works within Friday's earlier finish and the funded-session rules.