Jungle Tots Day Nursery

Safari Adventure Play gives Jungle Tots Day Nursery an unusually substantial space for indoor movement, alongside a garden built for outdoor learning. Physical play is its clearest attraction. For families in Bretton, Peterborough, that combination offers children room to climb, explore and stay active when the weather changes.

The nursery welcomes children from 3 months to 5 years at its Coningsby Road site, PE3 8SB. At the 16 April 2026 inspection, Ofsted recorded safeguarding standards as met and Expected standard for inclusion and children's welfare and wellbeing, but Needs attention for achievement, behaviour and routines, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance. The practical concern was inconsistent behaviour guidance and lengthy waits during routines, which disrupted learning; leaders' training and other initial changes had yet to produce consistent improvement.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings give families different attendance options. Those choices sit within an offer across the year, with funded entitlement stretched rather than delivered through term-time-only places.

Rooms and Ages

Cubs Room takes children approximately from 3 months to 2 years, Tigers Room from 2 to 3 years, and Macaw Room from 3 to 4 years. Development, rather than a birthday alone, guides a move between rooms. That matters for a child who needs more time before changing surroundings or who is ready for the next stage earlier.

The rooms connect, allowing children to become familiar with the space they will move into next. Preschool preparation includes early reading, mathematics, friendships and greater independence. These aims belong alongside the practical arrangements for moving rooms: a familiar adult accompanies the child, rather than handing over the relationship abruptly.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS shapes the nursery day through play, with communication, movement and relationships providing the starting point for younger children. As children develop, activities also address reading and writing, numbers, creative expression and understanding the world. This is the common early-years framework; the more useful distinction here is the space and resources used to put it into practice.

Safari Adventure Play provides exclusive access before the play centre opens in the morning and during quieter periods later. The garden adds opportunities for physical challenges and investigation. Neither resource, however, settles the question of teaching consistency: in April 2026, long periods of sitting and uneven behaviour strategies interrupted children's attention and the delivery of planned learning.

Reading has a practical link with home. The Queen Elizabeth Library allows a book to be borrowed once a week for families to share together, while Enhanced Learning supplies tailored packs for continuing activities outside nursery. These give parents something concrete to do with their child, beyond receiving an update about the day.

The nursery also uses 50 things to do before you are 5, a source of activity ideas for parents and carers to enjoy with children. It complements the home-learning packs with inspiration for play. It is an activity resource, rather than a separate curriculum or a promise about children's progress.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two shelters support outdoor play in wet weather, and the garden is organised into four zones. Children can also use a nearby vegetable plot. Gardening brings a direct connection between caring for plants and exploring food, while summer water activities include measuring, pouring and washing toys.

In April 2026, children used climbing equipment, beams and wheeled toys, and took part in planting and harvesting. They also observed chicks hatching and butterflies developing. These experiences made physical movement and changes in the natural world tangible, rather than leaving them solely to discussion or pictures.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with a key person and an all about me document covering the child's routine, preferred comfort and favourite activities. Settling sessions are free, and families can take the time their child needs. The useful detail is the attention to familiar habits: the information collected gives staff a starting point for responding to an individual baby or toddler.

Blossom carries development updates and care diaries. Parents receive a daily online account covering food, sleep and activities, with a parents evening each term for a fuller discussion. Daily care information and the longer conversation serve different purposes: one helps parents understand the immediate day, while the other makes space to discuss development at home and nursery together.

Room changes have a planned handover. A Transition Form passes information to the next key person, and the existing key person accompanies the early visits. These begin with short periods and build towards longer attendance, with written updates shared after each visit. Familiarity and communication are built into the move.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its April 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with families and other professionals to identify additional needs, share strategies and implement individual support plans, including for children with SEND, while sensitive care interactions supported babies and younger children. These support mechanisms sit alongside the April 2026 concerns about consistency across everyday routines.

Quiet spaces had been introduced by April 2026 to help children manage their emotions. Behaviour training was also under way, but agreed strategies were not yet used reliably across transitions, routines and unexpected events. A quiet area is a useful resource; consistent adult responses are the more consequential issue for families weighing this nursery.

Food is cooked on site in the Safari Adventure Play kitchen by a chef dedicated to nursery meals, and menus receive nutritionist review. Staff work with parents on dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan and cultural needs.

School preparation includes inviting teachers to visit, reading about starting school and practising experiences such as eating from a lunch box or wearing school uniform for a day. These activities address familiarity and practical independence. They describe preparation for the next setting, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery's address is 17 Coningsby Road, Bretton, Peterborough, PE3 8SB. Core opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, and a full day from 8am to 6pm.

Early drop-off runs from 7.30am to 8am and late collection from 6pm to 6.30pm. Both require advance booking and carry an additional charge. The distinction matters for work schedules: the longer opening window depends on booked extensions, rather than being included automatically in a standard day.

A minimum booking of two half-day sessions applies, taken either as one full day or as two half days. Fees are based on 51 weeks and paid monthly in advance by direct debit. Bank holidays are closed but charged normally; sickness and family holidays do not attract refunds. The Christmas closure runs from 25 December to 2 January, subject to variation, and that closed week is excluded from charges.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at hello@jungletotsdaynursery.co.uk or by telephone on 01733 303775.

Getting There

Dedicated nursery parking is outside the building, with a separate entrance from Safari Adventure Play; access is from the entrance after the play centre's entrance, rather than its car park. Bus services 2 and 3 provide options from Queensgate Bus Station, with service 3 also serving areas including Stanground, Fletton and Westwood.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and additional privately paid hours are both offered. Funding includes entitlements for two-year-olds and three- and four-year-olds of up to 30 hours, with the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds also accepted. Funded hours are spread across the year, and term-time-only places are not accepted. Eligibility determines which entitlement a family can use.

Meals, drinks and snacks are included in private fees; meals during funded attendance are charged separately. Parents bring milk feeds, nappies or trainer pants, wipes, creams and summer sun cream, so these supplies need to be included in the family's preparations.

A refundable booking deposit is required except for fully funded hours, and is credited against the final invoice. A separate registration charge is non-refundable, except that it is returned at the end of the first month for children attending on fully funded hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charging structure.

• Consistency during routines. The April 2026 findings linked waiting, noise and uneven behaviour guidance with disrupted learning. An action required consistent behaviour approaches by 15 May 2026. At a visit, ask what has changed in mealtimes and transitions, and how leaders assess whether those changes work.
• Attendance across the year. Funded entitlement is stretched, term-time-only places are excluded, and the minimum booking is two half days or one full day. This suits a continuing weekly routine; families planning childcare solely around school terms need to weigh that commitment.
• Funded-place costs. Parents provide milk feeds, nappies, wipes, creams and sun cream. Funded attendance carries separate meal charges; the registration charge is returned after the first month for fully funded children. Match the written quotation to the exact funded and private hours being booked.
• Moving between rooms. Room ages are approximate and moves follow development. During a visit, discuss how the Cubs Room handover and settling visits would work for your child, including the pace of the move and contact with the next key person.

Jungle Tots suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, especially those who value substantial indoor play space and regular outdoor experiences. Safari Adventure Play, gardening and home reading give the offer recognisable substance. Free settling sessions and planned room handovers are useful care arrangements too.

The April 2026 findings are the central caution. Physical resources and sensitive care do not remove the concerns about behaviour guidance, waiting and uneven teaching. Families should weigh the attendance model and practical support alongside clear answers about how everyday routines have changed.