Russell Hill Road Day Nursery

Pygmy goats, a theatre stage and a log cabin give Russell Hill Road Day Nursery a character that goes well beyond conventional garden play. Animal care, storytelling and practical exploration connect its outdoor spaces with what children learn indoors. For families seeking a nursery where children can investigate, make things and perform, there is plenty of substance behind that combination.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. The two improvement priorities concerned giving individual children more scope to pursue an activity during group sessions and making encouragement of independent self-care more consistent. Those are useful points to keep alongside the appealing activities: the organisation of a child's day matters as much as the resources within it.

The Purley setting provides care spanning babies and preschool children. A key person provides a continuing relationship, while music, drama and French extend the learning offer. Daytime opening runs from 7am to 7pm on weekdays, with a separate overnight service for families whose working hours extend beyond the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides the day: children learn through play, relationships and exploration, with activities shaped around their development and interests. Alongside that framework, the nursery organises its curriculum into named strands with concrete experiences attached. The useful distinction is what children actually do, rather than the curriculum label alone.

Express Yourself combines language and creative activity. Children can make books, dictate stories and act out narratives on the garden stage; the library gives them stories to draw on. These activities connect speaking, listening and imagination, allowing a child to tell a story through words, movement or pictures. Makaton adds signs and visual support to spoken communication, offering another way for children to express themselves.

Pioneers brings science, technology, engineering and mathematics into practical play. Children investigate construction challenges, weigh objects and use pretend shop money, while tablets offer drawing and learning games. A designated tablet area gives that activity a physical place within the setting. Photographs of children's creations can then become something to discuss with staff and friends, rather than screen use standing apart from the rest of their play.

The visiting sessions have a clear shape. Theatre Bugs provides drama every week; Thoughtz 4 Totz brings piano and original songs twice weekly. Kidslingo introduces French through songs, puppets and props. These are different ways to participate: a child can join through movement, listening, singing or imaginative play. The frequency is clear for music and drama, while French belongs to the offer without a stated timetable being needed to explain its content.

Wellbeing connects physical activity with everyday health and feelings. Garden obstacle courses, parachute games and wheeled toys give children opportunities to practise balance and coordination. Preparing snacks and cooking brings food into learning, while imitation mouths and dolls make toothbrushing a practical subject for role-play. During the daily hello song, children are invited to say how they feel, giving emotional language a recurring place in the day.

Outdoor and Community Life

Beyond the Garden Fence is an animal-care and nature area with chickens, micro pigs and pygmy goats. Feeding activities give children a practical task involving living creatures, rather than simply something to watch. The log cabin provides space for nature books, sensory exploration and creative work, while the theatre stage supports storytelling and performance outdoors.

In May 2023, children helped feed the farm animals in the morning and returned later to help settle them for the night. They also chose fruit to grow during a garden-centre outing before planting in the allotment area. These examples connect an activity with its preparation and follow-through: choosing, planting and caring become parts of the same experience.

Trips extend that approach beyond the nursery. Visits have included Godstone Farm, Box Hill and the Transport museum, and the setting has a minibus for its own use. Outings are regular rather than a promised weekly fixture. Their value lies in connecting a nursery theme with an actual place or experience, giving children something concrete to discuss afterwards.

Global Understanding includes recycling projects, growing produce and sharing family experiences. Russy Bear, the travelling bear, accompanies children on their travels; its diary and children's accounts bring those experiences back to the group. Parents can also contribute accounts of their occupations. For a child, home life and family knowledge therefore have a route into nursery conversation.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated to each child, providing the main relationship for settling and the main contact for parents. Feeding, changing and comforting can sit within that familiar relationship. When a child moves between rooms, the key person helps both child and parent build confidence with the next member of staff responsible for their care. That continuity is especially relevant when a room change coincides with new routines.

The Incredible Learning Profile records each child's development and provides a basis for discussing observations with parents. Families can contribute what they see at home, helping staff plan around the child's needs. Communication books carry everyday information between nursery and home, while the open-door policy allows concerns and developmental or health information to be discussed directly. There is a distinction between documenting learning and exchanging the practical details that keep care consistent; both have a place here.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support through work with parents and prompt referrals, and that safeguarding arrangements were effective. That is a dated assessment of practice, rather than a guarantee about an individual child's experience today.

Current arrangements include adapting activities so that children with special educational needs can participate in the same curriculum. The mechanism matters: adjusting an activity can preserve shared play while allowing children to work at their own pace. In May 2023, dual-language books and contributions from parents using their home languages also connected learning with children's family backgrounds.

Meals and snacks are made on site each day, with monthly menus and an in-house cook working with parents on dietary requirements. Breakfast, tea and lunch are served alongside snacks, so eating is distributed across the day rather than concentrated into one meal.

Overnight care follows routines discussed with parents and provides a bed or cot, bedding and a separate sleeping room. Parents share sleeping habits and any difficulties so that staff can plan around the child. This service has a different practical purpose from daytime learning: continuity with home routines becomes especially important when a child sleeps away from home.

Sessions and Attendance

Weekday opening is 7am to 7pm, excluding bank holidays, across 51 weeks of the year. Weekly, daily and session rates are offered through the fees page. These give families different charging arrangements; the opening window describes the nursery's operating day.

Overnight care runs from 7pm to 7am and excludes Sunday evenings. It is intended for evening and overnight work, including non-traditional shifts, and arrangements are agreed with parents. The service also involves exchanging information about home routines, rather than treating the night as simply an extension of daytime attendance.

Getting There

The address is 45 Russell Hill Road, Purley, CR8 2LD. Public transport options include Purley Station and bus routes 127, 289, 407, 434, 455 and 612.

The contact form provides an enquiry route, alongside telephone and email contact. A viewing can be arranged through that route.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2023, the nursery received early-education funding for children aged two, three and four. This is an inspection-time participation statement, so it should be kept separate from any individual family's entitlement or proposed attendance arrangement.

The practical decision is the whole arrangement for the child, including the chosen attendance pattern and anything supplied alongside care.

• Individual attention during group play. In May 2023, group activities sometimes moved children on together before individual interests had been fully explored. During a viewing, ask how staff allow a child to continue investigating while others move to another activity.
• Everyday independence. The May 2023 improvement priorities included more consistent encouragement of self-care, such as managing coats and wiping noses. Look for how staff balance help with opportunities for children to try these tasks themselves.
• The complete care quotation. Weekly, daily and session charging arrangements sit alongside a separate overnight service. Ask for the proposed funded and private hours, food and consumables arrangements to be set out together, so the quotation matches the care your child would use.
• Sleeping away from home. Overnight care uses separate sleeping accommodation and routines agreed with parents. Discuss how your child's sleep habits, comfort items and night-time needs would fit those arrangements before choosing this pattern.

Russell Hill Road Day Nursery suits families drawn to practical outdoor learning, performing arts and a close connection between home and nursery. Beyond the Garden Fence, the theatre stage and the visiting music and drama sessions give children several ways to explore and participate. The key-person system and learning profile provide the corresponding structure for relationships and communication.

Its attendance offer serves both daytime care and overnight care for non-traditional working hours. The May 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference, with group activity organisation and independent self-care as the specific points families should weigh alongside the breadth of experiences.