Hunnypot Corner Day Nursery

Tuesday brings football, yoga and preschool phonics at Hunnypot Corner Day Nursery, while the garden has space for books as well as bikes. That combination gives this Harold Wood setting its character: physical activity sits alongside language, music and quieter play, with visiting specialists adding recognisable sessions to the week.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, but asked for more consistent adult support for communication and language during outdoor play. That is a useful distinction for parents: having an appealing garden and using it frequently are different from making every outdoor activity a learning opportunity.

The nursery accepts children from 3 to 60 months and has 50 places in total. Full-day care and an 8am to 1pm morning session feature in its attendance arrangements, with funding organised around specified blocks rather than spread evenly across the year.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, with activities guided by adults alongside those children choose themselves. Children’s development is observed regularly, and parents receive a termly assessment. This gives the everyday play a purpose while allowing children’s interests to influence what happens next.

The preschool timetable adds several concrete experiences. Weekly Spanish lessons come through speak the word language school, giving children contact with another language. Robot Reg is a Tuesday phonics class within the nursery’s preparation for primary school, bringing a separate session to the development of early reading skills.

Music takes different forms across the ages. Younger children have music and movement on Monday mornings, while Jo Jingles runs on Fridays, combining singing with instruments. Babies also have a Baby ballet music class early in the week. These are identifiable activities rather than a general promise of enrichment, and the additional classes are included in the fee.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily garden use is part of the current routine. An outdoor book area offers a quieter option beside the climbing frame, bikes and scooters, so outdoor time can involve reading as well as movement. Tuesday football sessions are led by Super Star Sports. Serene Mind provides Tuesday-morning yoga and sound classes involving stretching and relaxation, giving children another way to use their bodies.

In June 2022, children explored mark-making with chalk outdoors and practised careful hand movements by threading pipe cleaners through small hoops. Pretend cooking at the mud kitchen introduced vocabulary about time and temperature. Those examples show how physical play and conversation can work together.

Outings often include the local park, church and shops. These extend children’s experiences beyond the nursery and introduce familiar parts of their community. Preparation for primary school is also explicit in the preschool activities, with phonics sitting alongside language lessons rather than replacing play.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2022, older children helped younger ones with sand play, and babies practised feeding themselves with spoons and cleaning their hands and faces. A sleep room contained cots and a low crib. These are dated examples of care that made room for increasing independence, including small practical tasks during meals and rest routines.

Current communication includes termly developmental assessments shared with parents. Accident and incident forms are sent through the famly app, with parents asked to acknowledge the information and action taken. That provides a written account of an incident as well as a conversation about it.

Settling is adapted to each child’s needs. The SEND policy sets out involvement for parents and a key person, rather than treating support as a separate process removed from daily care. For a child who needs additional help, this connects support planning with everyday care.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDCO coordinates additional support, working with the key person and parents through assessment, planning, action and review. Support plans are reviewed once per term, and specialist professionals can be involved with parental agreement. The mechanism matters: parents contribute to the intended outcomes and the review, rather than receiving a plan only after it has been decided.

For children with identified additional needs, transition arrangements include a report and a meeting with the receiving setting to pass information on. This gives the next setting practical information about the child’s needs. Safeguarding arrangements include a designated lead role, staff training and procedures for referring concerns to outside agencies; these are arrangements, rather than a fresh judgement on their effectiveness.

Hot meals are supplied daily by Zebedees, while the nursery’s kitchen assistant prepares tea; supplier menus are issued termly, and the food policy covers recording allergies and keeping individual care plans accessible. Parents can see what food their child was offered through an app, providing a starting point for conversations about eating.

Sessions and Attendance

Hunnypot Corner operates at 140 Squirrels Heath Road, Harold Wood, Romford, RM3 0LU, and opens Monday to Friday from 7am until 6pm. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01708 376586 or by email at hunnypotcorner@outlook.com.

Full-day attendance is offered, and the funding policy also describes a morning session from 8am to 1pm when using the 15-hour entitlement. The nursery prefers attendance on at least two days each week to help settling, but considers individual family circumstances. It does not routinely offer term-time-only places, although individual requests can be considered without a guarantee.

Bank holidays are closed and chargeable. The Christmas and New Year closure lasts five working days and is also charged, so the attendance calendar affects the bill as well as childcare arrangements. Four weeks’ notice is required to leave or reduce attendance by a day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both funded childcare and privately paid hours are offered. Entitlements include 15 hours for children from the term after turning three and working-parent funding from nine months for eligible families. Funding runs across 38 weeks, with no stretched model, and its dates do not necessarily match school holidays.

Funded hours are normally accessed in 10-hour blocks. Hours beyond the entitlement are paid for separately, while unused entitlement can be banked towards non-funded weeks if parents do not want to purchase additional hours. This makes the particular combination of days and hours important: the entitlement does not automatically cover the entire opening day. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees and funding policy explains the charging arrangements.

The fee includes three meals, including a hot lunch, and three snacks each day. Nappies, wipes and formula until a baby turns one are included too, with no extra consumable fee for funded attendance; parents are encouraged to supply sunscreen and apply it before nursery in hot weather.

A holding deposit applies except where a family only claims the 30-hour entitlement each week. Where required, it is returned during the first four weeks of attendance but is not refunded if the child does not start. There is no registration or administration charge. Fees are payable on the final working day of the preceding month, and late payment or collection can incur additional charges.

• Outdoor conversation. The June 2022 improvement point concerned adults extending communication and language in the garden. On a visit, ask how staff now build conversation into football, climbing and children’s chosen outdoor play.
• Funding and holiday costs. The 38-week funding calendar, paid additional hours and chargeable closures all affect the bill. Request a written quotation showing how your intended days work across funded and non-funded weeks.
• A child’s care plan. Settling is individualised, SEND support involves parents, and the food policy addresses allergies. Discuss how your child’s settling, support or allergy arrangements would work in practice, including current food handling for an allergy-affected child.

Hunnypot Corner suits families seeking full-day attendance or the morning-session arrangement described for funded hours, especially those who value music, language lessons and daily garden use. The timetable has substance: Robot Reg, Jo Jingles and specialist-led physical activities give parents concrete experiences to weigh.

The June 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality benchmark, with outdoor communication the clear improvement point. The practical decision is equally specific: this is an attendance and funding model built around year-round care, with individual consideration of requests and a bill shaped by extra hours and closures.