Glaisdale Day Nursery

In January 2026, independence at Glaisdale involved ordinary jobs: serving lunch, clearing plates and learning to make choices. This Cheam nursery combines age-separated rooms with a shared outdoor area, while its care for babies places considerable emphasis on keeping familiar home routines. The progression is clear: comfort and communication first, then increasing responsibility as children grow.

At its January 2026 inspection, Ofsted awarded Strong standard in all six assessed areas, including achievement, inclusion and curriculum and teaching, and confirmed that safeguarding standards were met. These are area judgements rather than a single overall grade. Practical examples give them substance, from children managing mealtime tasks to staff adapting activities for different sensory needs.

Glaisdale accepts children from 3 months to 5 years and has capacity for 110 children in total. Six rooms divide the age stages, with two for babies, two for toddlers and two for preschool children. That makes the whole-setting size worth understanding alongside the smaller environments in which children spend their day.

Rooms and Ages

Sweetpeas and Buttercups are the baby rooms, where sensory exploration sits alongside care that follows each baby's home routine as closely as possible. The baby provision covers children aged 3 to 16 months and 16 months to 2 years. Familiar patterns matter here: starting nursery involves a change of carers, but feeding, rest and comfort need not all change at once.

For children aged 2 to 3, Daisies and Poppies combine messy play, shared meals, communication and physical development with rest and support for toilet training. Planning responds to children's interests, giving practitioners a starting point for activities that children want to explore. Toilet training is approached jointly with parents when the child is ready.

Sunflowers and Blossoms serve the preschool stage from age 3, combining freely chosen play with planned activities involving language, mathematical thinking, music, stories and creative work. Reading, counting games and role play give school preparation a practical shape rather than turning the day into formal lessons. Play and learning take place both outdoors and inside.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, with play and everyday interactions used to develop skills. It is the common foundation, rather than an extra offered by Glaisdale. The nursery builds on it through children's interests, planned activities and opportunities to practise independence.

In January 2026, younger children were beginning to serve food and help put things away, while older children managed more of the meal routine themselves. The useful detail is the sequence: responsibilities develop before a room move, helping the next stage feel familiar. Conversations about animal stories also connected books with children's experiences of visiting a zoo.

Group-wide practices include Book of the Week, which children help choose through a vote, and Golden Rules, agreed by children and staff to guide everyday behaviour. Those give children a say while making expectations understandable. Daily yoga sessions add movement, breathing and time to relax, rather than relying only on verbal reminders about managing feelings.

Outdoor and Community Life

A large outdoor area allows children from different age groups to mix occasionally, as well as spending time in their own rooms. Outdoor play continues in wet weather, so suitable clothing is part of the daily kit. The garden is a shared part of the nursery day rather than an occasional destination.

Visits to Sutton Court care home bring children and residents together through play and conversation. The relationship gives children opportunities to exchange interests and experiences with older people. It is a concrete community connection, with no fixed visit frequency attached to it.

Enrichment can also include Forest School, an approach centred on outdoor learning, alongside cooking, gardening, dance and excursions using the nursery minibus. The excursion examples include farm visits and garden centres. These are examples of what enrichment may involve, rather than a fixed weekly timetable, which matters when comparing the offer with a scheduled activity programme.

Relationships and Communication

Baby care comes with a daily diary covering sleep, eating, milk, nappy changes and general wellbeing. Parents can contribute news from home, including milestones and weekend experiences, and telephone during the day for an update. This creates communication in both directions: staff share the nursery day, while parents supply context that may affect the next one.

In January 2026, key staff worked with families during settling, offering emotional support to younger children as relationships developed. Predictable routines also carried through the day. The point for parents is consistency between the people helping a child settle and those supporting everyday care.

The staffing structure includes a deputy-manager SENCO role, giving special educational needs coordination a defined place in management. Glaisdale employs its own bank staff rather than using an outside agency.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with families and external professionals to plan SEND support, used communication aids such as sound buttons and signs, and adapted experiences so children facing learning barriers could participate and progress. The examples are useful because they show mechanisms, not simply a broad promise of inclusion.

In January 2026, some children had specialist equipment to assist movement, while sensory adjustments offered another way into an activity. Staff training also covered emotional support. Together, these examples describe support tailored to a child's circumstances rather than expecting every child to approach an experience in the same way.

Food is prepared by nursery cooks in the on-site kitchen, with an 11-day menu cycle and options for dairy-free and vegetarian requirements. Dietary needs are discussed during settling, giving families a practical point at which to explain their child's requirements.

Security arrangements include office-controlled electronic door access, accompanied visitors and advance authorisation with a password when another person collects a child. These are specific procedures families will encounter, separate from the dated safeguarding judgement. Prescribed medication can be administered after parents complete the relevant form.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 26 Manor Road, Cheam, SM2 7AG. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with closures for public and bank holidays and from 24 December until 2 January. Families therefore need a separate plan for the Christmas closure as well as bank holidays.

Attendance options include full-time bookings across Monday to Friday and bookings for two to four full days. The minimum attendance rule is two days each week. This supports repeated contact with the nursery routine, but also makes Glaisdale a different proposition from occasional single-day childcare.

Funded-hours-only attendance runs from 8am to 6pm. Choosing this arrangement is a termly opt-in or opt-out decision, with two months' notice required for a change; extending beyond funded hours brings an additional private-hours charge. Changing ordinary attendance days requires one month's written notice and depends on whether the change can be accommodated.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. Absences for holidays or sickness do not receive refunds, and persistent late collection attracts a charge. Those terms matter alongside the attendance pattern when assessing the ongoing commitment.

Funding and Paid Extras

Glaisdale offers working-family funding for children aged 9 months to 4 years and universal funding for 3- and 4-year-olds. The entitlements are 30 and 15 hours respectively, subject to eligibility. Funding is stretched across the nursery's 51-week opening year, distributing the entitlement rather than restricting it to term time.

Private childcare uses an inclusive rate covering meals and snacks together with nappies, wipes, nappy cream and sun cream. Funded attendance has a separate voluntary charge covering food, non-food consumables and enrichment beyond the curriculum. The distinction matters: inclusion in a private rate does not mean the same items are automatically covered by government-funded hours.

A payment charged once your child's place is confirmed is credited against the final invoice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and charge terms explain how private hours and funded attendance fit together. Families can pay through bank transfer, childcare vouchers or tax-free childcare.

• The room behind the whole-setting size. Glaisdale has capacity for 110 children across six age-stage rooms. During a visit, ask how many children normally share your child's room and how care is organised through the day.
• The funded attendance choice. The funded-hours-only option is 8am to 6pm, with termly choices and two months' notice for a change. Discuss how this pattern and the voluntary extras charge would work for your family before committing.
• Outdoor development. In January 2026, leaders were redesigning the garden to improve its use for children, while the next steps called for greater impact for disadvantaged children and others facing barriers. Ask how the garden work and that improvement priority have progressed.
• Dietary requirements. The menu accommodates dairy-free and vegetarian diets, and individual requirements are discussed during settling. Allergy-affected families should confirm current preparation and handling arrangements for their child.

Glaisdale suits families seeking either full-time weekday attendance or a regular two-to-four-day pattern, with a separate funded-hours-only option. Its appeal lies in familiar baby routines, supported by daily diaries for babies, and activities that connect children with choices, movement and the wider community. The January 2026 observations of preschool mealtime responsibility add substance to that picture.

The scale deserves attention, as do the attendance and funding terms. For parents comfortable with those commitments, the named rooms, practical approach to independence and January 2026 area judgements make a persuasive combination.