Top Tots Day Nursery MLC

Swimming, soft play and shoreline walks give Top Tots Day Nursery MLC a setting-specific character that few city nurseries can match. Based inside The Mountbatten Centre in Stamshaw, Portsmouth, it accepts children from three months to five years and has separate large rooms for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

Ofsted rated the provision Good in January 2023. The visit portrayed a warm, reassuring start for children, alongside activities and outings including swimming and nature walks. Safeguarding arrangements were effective at that inspection. This is a full-day nursery with a choice of full days and morning or afternoon half days.

Rooms and Ages

Babies, toddlers and preschool children each have their own large room, designed around the needs of that age group and equipped with engaging resources. The nursery accepts children from three months to five years.

A key person takes overall responsibility for each child's learning and development, planning activities and experiences from what they know about that child.

Learning and Named Experiences

The statutory Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning across communication, physical development, personal and social development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts. In practice, that means play and adult-led experiences are used to notice progress and plan what a child should learn next.

The Mountbatten Centre adds real breadth. Splash sessions use its swimming pool, children explore its soft play centre, and shoreline walks extend outdoor experiences beyond the nursery rooms. These are concrete experiences rather than decorative curriculum labels. The branch also lists swimming and local outings among its additional voluntary services without a separate charge.

At the January 2023 inspection, relationships were a clear strength: staff used settling-in visits and sensitive reassurance, while quiet spaces in the preschool room gave children somewhere to relax. Praise and calm explanations helped children build confidence, make decisions and understand how their behaviour affects friends.

Support for additional needs is practical. The nursery's Local Offer describes termly progress monitoring by the key person and SENCO involvement. Where needed, an Individual Education Plan sets clear targets that are reviewed with parents. At the January 2023 inspection, staff also used now and next picture cards to help children understand the day.

The group also publishes a forces-friendly offer. It describes resources for children experiencing deployment or separation, including military-themed books, dress-up and displays, alongside links to support services in Portsmouth. For service families, that gives the key person a published starting point for discussing a move, absence or unsettled period.

The same dated evidence carried two cautions. Room leaders did not always guide colleagues consistently, and some staff occasionally concentrated on other tasks while children drifted between activities. The improvement points were stronger room-leader support and more consistent encouragement of independence and self-care.

Sessions and Attendance

Full days run from 7:30am to 6pm. Morning half days run from 8am to 1pm and afternoon half days from 1pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The branch also lists funded patterns on both term-time and stretched arrangements. Families should use the nursery's written quotation to establish the current package for their child's age and attendance pattern.

The wider terms require four weeks' written notice to withdraw a child and two weeks to reduce sessions. A deposit applies to private bookings, while funded-only children do not pay one. Additional hours beyond funded entitlement are charged separately. Payment methods include direct debit, bank transfer, childcare vouchers, tax-free childcare and university or college grants. Invoices are due by the last working day of the month under the published terms.

The nursery operates for most of the year, Monday to Friday, and closes during the Christmas period. That long operating year may suit working patterns that continue through school holidays, but families still need to map the Christmas closure and bank holidays against their own leave.

Funding and Paid Extras

The branch lists funded patterns for eligible children, including term-time and stretched delivery. Funded-only children do not pay a deposit or top-up fee, while private additional hours remain chargeable. This separation matters because funded entitlement does not make every hour in a family's chosen pattern cost-free. Breakfast and snacks are included, as are nappies, wipes, sun cream and toothbrushing supplies. Parents provide the child's dinner, and snacks include fresh fruit and vegetables.

Getting There

The nursery is inside The Mountbatten Centre at Alexandra Park, Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth, PO2 9QA. Its position in the centre enables the swimming and soft-play experiences that distinguish the branch.

• Room leadership and independence. The dated improvement points concerned stronger room-leader guidance and more consistent support for children's self-care. Discuss how these priorities now show up in supervision and daily routines.
• Attendance package. Full days and two half-day windows are published, alongside different funded patterns. Compare the written quotation with the hours your family actually needs.
• Dinner routine. Parents currently provide dinner for the late-afternoon meal. This matters for preparation, storage and allergy arrangements, so discuss the current process before starting.

Top Tots Day Nursery MLC makes unusually good use of its host venue. Splash sessions, soft play and shoreline walks give children varied physical and outdoor experiences, while the separate rooms and key-person model provide a clear structure as they grow.

The relationship-building, active experiences and practical SEND mechanisms are substantial strengths, while room leadership and independence are useful topics for a visit. This setting best suits families wanting either a 7:30am to 6pm full day or defined morning and afternoon half-day sessions, especially those who value swimming and active experiences as part of nursery life.