Tops Day Nurseries: Copnor Nursery

Balls rolling through chutes, paint mixed into gloop and children building their own outdoor track give Copnor a recognisable character in its August 2022 account: learning through hands-on experiments and shared play. These examples make the nursery day easier to picture than a list of educational promises.

At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. Today, Tops Day Nurseries: Copnor Nursery has capacity for 35 children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months, at Pompey Health and Fitness in Portsmouth.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support communication, physical skills and preparation for later learning.

In August 2022, baby-room activities drew on parents' information and staff observations of what children were ready to learn next; rolling balls and mixing paint gave babies practical ways to explore movement and materials. Older children practised writing their names while working out the sounds in them. The emphasis was on doing things, with adults joining the activity rather than simply setting it out.

Outdoor play had room for children's own ideas. In August 2022, children combined rainwater and sand in imaginative play, while others selected equipment and worked together to extend a track for wheeled toys. The large outdoor area supported both physical activity and cooperative problem-solving.

There were teaching weaknesses too. In August 2022, some adult exchanges missed opportunities to stretch children's thinking, and larger group activities could lose children's attention. Those are useful distinctions: engaging resources and purposeful individual play did not consistently translate into equally effective group learning.

In August 2022, children built close bonds with familiar staff, and parents received detailed handovers alongside other updates about learning. Staff also introduced vocabulary through conversations. For families, these practices connected the child's day at nursery with what adults knew about them at home.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress, with the manager and special educational needs coordinator responding promptly to professional advice and using additional funding effectively. Meetings involving parents and professionals helped identify learning needs, giving support a practical route beyond the nursery team.

In August 2022, children grew and tasted garden produce, chose fruit and vegetables at snack time, and ate lunch alongside staff who demonstrated table manners. Food was part of learning about healthy choices and social routines.

The address is Pompey Health and Fitness, 442 Copnor Road, Portsmouth, PO3 5EW. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; the nursery operates across the year, closing for Bank Holidays and Christmas.

In August 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. That is a dated participation fact rather than a description of a current funding package.

• Teaching challenge. In August 2022, adult interactions did not consistently extend children's learning. On a visit, ask how practitioners now build on an older child's ideas rather than moving straight to the next activity.
• Group activities. Larger gatherings sometimes lost children's attention in August 2022. Ask how these are organised for children of different ages and needs.
• Your weekly routine. The weekday opening window runs from 7.30am to 6pm, with Bank Holiday and Christmas closures. Which booking pattern and current funded-hours arrangement would fit your family's week?

Copnor suits families seeking weekday childcare across the year who value practical exploration and outdoor play. Its August 2022 examples show children experimenting with materials and working together on their own ideas. The teaching concerns deserve equal weight: the strongest individual experiences were not consistently matched by adult challenge or the organisation of group activities.