Top Tots Day Nursery Hedgerow House

Two gardens give Hedgerow House a clear outdoor character: toddlers use the enclosed space at the front, while preschool children move freely into the back garden. Younger children also take daily neighbourhood walks. This large Southsea house combines outdoor play with views of the local park from an upstairs window, giving children different ways to engage with their surroundings.

Top Tots Day Nursery Hedgerow House has capacity for 41 children aged three months to five years. At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and reported good support and progress for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Those judgements belong to that visit.

Full days and half-days are offered, alongside term-time and stretched funding arrangements. The practical appeal is the combination of different attendance patterns, separate outdoor spaces for older age groups and daily walks for younger children.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play helps children develop communication, movement, relationships and independence. At Hedgerow House, outdoor resources and food preparation give those areas of learning practical expression. Children help make snacks and bake treats to take home, connecting an activity at nursery with something they can share with their families.

In January 2023, babies explored objects with different textures and practised pulling themselves upright. Older children searched for toy insects hidden among garden resources and in a tray of sand. These were concrete opportunities to investigate materials, move and work together, rather than simply watch an adult demonstrate an activity.

Conversation was also part of play in January 2023, including discussions about real vegetables and fruit in the pretend domestic area. However, adult questions sometimes broke the flow of children's thinking instead of extending it. Improving the timing and use of questions was an action for staff, with a direct bearing on how much space children had to develop their own ideas.

Outdoor and Community Life

The toddler group's enclosed front garden and the preschool group's back garden serve different stages. Preschool children can take their learning outside freely, using scooters and bikes, construction resources, mud kitchens, a planting area and a bug hotel. The combination supports movement, making and exploring living things in the same outdoor space.

Daily neighbourhood walks are part of the younger children's offer. Canoe Lake, Bransbury Park and Milton Park are among the nearby places, alongside the beach and local library. These surroundings give outings a purpose beyond a change of room, although the daily-walk commitment should not be read as a daily visit to every destination.

In January 2023, community outings followed children's interests. An interest in marine creatures led to an aquarium visit to explore where those creatures lived. The useful feature was the connection between a question arising in play and an experience beyond the nursery.

Preschool children take part in a nativity at the local church for their families. Cultural festivities, world book day and charity events also bring fundraising and dressing-up activities into nursery life. These occasions give parents ways to share in what their children are doing.

In January 2023, the key person relationship carried through changes between rooms, with a detailed handover to the next team. That continuity matters when a child moves into a different space: knowledge of the child goes with them, rather than the move becoming a fresh start for their care.

Daily conversations and parents' evenings were used to share children's development in January 2023. Families also joined activity sessions and fundraising events. Together, those arrangements provided both brief everyday contact and opportunities for a fuller discussion.

Support for children learning English included pictures and short sentences in January 2023. For children with SEND, the coordinator and manager worked with outside professionals, and additional funding paid for resources tailored to individual needs. These are specific support mechanisms rather than a general promise that one approach suits every child.

There was a weakness in communication beyond the nursery in January 2023: staff did not gather information from other settings children attended. For a child dividing their week between providers, that left staff with an incomplete understanding of learning elsewhere. Strengthening that exchange was the second improvement action.

Everyday independence also featured in January 2023. Older children prepared fruit and served their own drinks, while staff supported handwashing, toothbrushing and other personal care. These small responsibilities gave children opportunities to practise doing things for themselves throughout the day.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 41 Goldsmith Avenue, Southsea, PO4 8DU. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. The nursery closes on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Half-days run either from 8am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6pm, so families can choose a morning or afternoon pattern as well as a complete day. These are separate booking options, with the half-day boundary at 1pm.

Goldsmith Avenue enquiries can be made by telephone or email through the branch contact route. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

Fratton train station is close to Hedgerow House. The nursery's Goldsmith Avenue address also places it near the local parks, beach, Canoe Lake and library that form part of its surrounding neighbourhood.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and additional paid sessions are offered. Funding patterns include 15 hours TTO and 30 hours TTO, meaning term-time-only attendance, plus 20 hours stretched all year and a 30 hours stretched arrangement described as 25 hours each week during the September-to-July academic year. The distinction matters when comparing a school-term routine with attendance spread across the year.

Breakfast and snacks are included without a separate charge, including in the funded arrangements. Nappies, wipes, sun cream and toothbrushing consumables are also included without a separate charge, including for funded hours.

Additional voluntary services, including swimming and trips to local outings, are offered ad hoc without a separate charge. They are occasional additions, rather than a weekly programme to build an attendance decision around.

• Your child's outdoor routine. Younger children have daily neighbourhood walks, toddlers use the enclosed front garden and preschool children have free access to the back garden. During a visit, discuss how that arrangement works for your child's stage and interests.
• Conversation and shared care. January 2023 improvement actions concerned adult questioning and information exchange with other settings. Ask how staff now support uninterrupted discussion and coordinate learning for children attending another provider.
• The funded calendar. Term-time and stretched arrangements distribute attendance differently. Compare the nursery's written quotation with the weeks and sessions your family needs, including Christmas and bank-holiday closures.
• Main meals. Breakfast and snacks are included. What should your child bring for lunch and an afternoon meal when attending a full day?

Hedgerow House suits families choosing morning half-days, afternoon half-days or full days who value regular time outdoors and practical activities such as baking and planting. The separate gardens and younger children's daily walks give that offer substance.

The January 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality assessment, with useful detail about relationships and individual support. Its improvement actions also deserve attention, especially for children attending more than one setting. The strongest reasons to consider this nursery are its concrete daily arrangements and attendance choices.