Highwood Nursery

A separate cot room for babies, two younger age groups capped at 14 children each, and an outdoor area with space for trikes give Highwood Nursery a concrete identity. Based at Brockenhurst College in Brockenhurst, it takes children from three months to under five. The progression through Bunnies, Bunnies Two, Squirrels and Owls lets parents see how care changes as children grow.

Ofsted rated Highwood Good at its 3 September 2025 inspection and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The practical strengths are clear: gradual moves between rooms, a named Key Carer and communication through Famly, an app that brings developmental records and everyday care information together. The main educational reservation concerns children’s freedom to make their own choices in art.

Attendance can be arranged through flexible hourly or half-hourly bookings, with minimum session and weekly attendance requirements. That flexibility comes with a firm commitment to booked hours.

Rooms and Ages

Bunnies accommodates up to 14 babies aged three to 18 months, with sensory play involving water, sand and musical instruments, plus a separate room containing cots for sleep. That separation matters: sleeping has its own space rather than sharing the main play room.

For children aged 18 to 30 months, Bunnies Two also has a maximum of 14, with an emphasis on friendships and increasing independence. These are room limits, not a statement about how many children attend on a particular day.

Squirrels takes up to 20 children between 30 and 44 months, using indoor and outdoor resources for exploration and creative play. Owls accommodates up to 24 children from 44 months to five years, with activities across indoor and outdoor spaces that develop independence and preparation for school.

Room changes are gradual. Before moving to Squirrels, children begin settling into the next group roughly a month ahead, when developmentally ready; parents receive information about the sessions and their new Key Carer. Passing on children’s likes and dislikes gives the receiving staff something personal to work with. A move is more than a change of room.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care, with play and first-hand experiences helping them build communication, physical skills and understanding. Alongside it, the Highwood Curriculum shapes activities for each age group: babies explore sensory materials, while older children encounter purposeful play led both by adults and by their own interests.

Planning responds to what children are doing and exploring at the time. Construction, cooking, stories, role play and mark making sit within the day, rather than learning being confined to a single organised activity. For parents, the useful question is how those experiences connect to their own child’s next steps, rather than how many activities appear on a timetable.

In September 2025, younger children exercised their fingers by squeezing pipettes in water, while older children handled story-related sensory materials with spoons and tweezers. Staff introduced vocabulary through practical exploration, including introducing the words solid and liquid while exploring glue. Books also became participatory experiences, with expressive storytelling encouraging children to join in. These examples connect language and hand control to things children can manipulate and enjoy.

There was a clear weakness in creative work that September. Adults steered art towards matching finished pieces, leaving too little room for children to choose their own ideas and methods. The improvement required was greater freedom for individual expression. Parents who value open-ended art should give this point attention alongside the sensory and story work.

Outdoor and Community Life

Owls has an outside area combining AstroTurf, bark and concrete, with a sandpit and space for bikes, trikes and ball games. Different surfaces and resources allow movement and quieter exploration to sit alongside one another. Outdoor play is also part of the younger children’s activities.

In September 2025, children took part in the daily mile, a movement activity intended to encourage exercise and time outdoors. They also collaborated on vehicle ramps and large-brick towers. Those observations show how physical activity and shared problem-solving featured in the day at that time; they do not turn a particular activity into a promise about every child’s timetable.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with time together. Highwood offers up to three settling sessions without charge, allowing the child and parent to get to know staff before regular attendance. The first session includes discussion with the Key Carer about feeding, sleep and dietary needs. Subsequent separation is adjusted to the child’s response, rather than everyone following the same pace.

Famly supports two-way communication. Parents can see developmental observations, care information such as sleep and meals, and invoices; they can also contribute photographs and notes about life away from nursery. That gives staff another way to understand a child’s interests and gives families a connection between nursery learning and home.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children, including those with SEND, progressed well, and that work with agencies and local schools supported early help and effective transitions. This is the strongest quality evidence for inclusion. The practical mechanism is collaboration around a child’s needs, rather than a general promise that one arrangement will suit everyone.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Baby feeding is discussed with families during settling, and weaning starts only after a full discussion with parents. Babies are fed according to need, with continuity of carer where possible until they can join the group routine. A quiet area is available for mothers who want to breastfeed, while the cot room provides a separate place for babies’ sleep.

Nursery Kitchen supplies meals and snacks, with a monthly menu designed to give children variety across a three-week cycle. Dietary information is passed to the cook daily, and Highwood’s packed-lunch policy asks families to leave out nut products.

The allergy policy uses an individual Health Care Plan, discussed with the Key Carer and senior staff and shared with the relevant nursery team. Parents must communicate changes in symptoms or allergies. This is a specific information-sharing process; families managing an allergy should discuss how it will work for their child during a visit.

Sessions and Attendance

Highwood’s address is Brockenhurst College, Lyndhurst Road, Brockenhurst, SO42 7ZE. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm on weekdays. The nursery operates for 50 weeks, closing for bank holidays, two weeks around Christmas and New Year, and two training days whose dates are communicated in advance.

Bookings use hourly or half-hourly increments, with at least four hours in a morning or afternoon session and a minimum of two sessions each week. Morning attendance, afternoon attendance and longer combinations of flexible hours therefore serve different family routines. The opening window is separate from the hours a parent books.

Term-time-only attendance is also offered, with allocation on a first-come-first-served basis. Children using funding across 38 weeks do not usually attend in school holidays, although paid holiday sessions can be booked with two weeks’ notice. The Get in touch enquiry route provides a starting point for arranging childcare.

One month of written notice is required to end attendance or change booked hours. Occasional adjustments depend on staffing and require advance agreement. Fees continue during sickness and other absences, with possible individual consideration for prolonged sickness or hospitalisation exceeding four weeks; scheduled nursery closures and bank holidays are not charged. Families attending across the year or using stretched funding continue to pay during their own holidays.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early Years Education Funding is offered from the term after a child reaches nine months. Highwood also offers universal funding for three-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, extended 30-hour funding for eligible families, and specific two-year funding for children meeting the criteria. Funding can be delivered across term time or stretched through the year; the two-year offer is stretched only.

Private hours beyond the funded entitlement are charged separately. Meals carry an additional charge, including during funded attendance, and families may instead supply lunch and tea. Parents provide nappies, wipes and changing creams for babies, as well as sun cream. These supplies need to be considered alongside the childcare booking.

A deposit and returned contract form part of securing a booking. Trips or outings can carry an additional charge if families choose participation. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees page explains the charging structure. Keeping childcare hours, meals, supplies and chosen activities separate makes the overall commitment easier to assess.

• Creative independence. In September 2025, adult direction restricted children’s choices in art. During a visit, ask to see how children now choose materials and develop different finished pieces.
• Booking commitment. Each morning or afternoon booking requires at least four hours, with two sessions weekly and a month’s written notice for changes. Compare that commitment with the hours your family will regularly use.
• Cover during closures. Christmas and New Year closures and two training days sit within the annual calendar. Families needing continuous weekday care should plan around those breaks.
• Allergy arrangements. Individual care plans and a packed-lunch policy excluding nut products support information sharing. Confirm current food-handling practice and the plan for your child before starting.

Highwood suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions, flexible longer attendance, or term-time-only care within a nursery organised into clear age stages. The baby-room caps and separate cot room give younger children’s care a tangible shape; gradual transitions and Famly make continuity between rooms and home easier to understand.

The September 2025 Good judgement provides a positive overall assessment, with the limitation around creative independence kept firmly in view. For parents, the decision turns on whether the room progression, booked-hour commitment and approach to individual care fit their child and routine. Those are substantial strengths to weigh against a specific educational improvement point.