Emmer Green Kindergarten

A separate outdoor area for children who are not yet walking gives Emmer Green Kindergarten a clear starting point: nursery life is organised around different stages of development. Willows and Maples follow children's individual routines, while Acorns builds towards greater independence through language, early maths and creative play. Preschool children move into Chestnuts and Hollies, where adult-led activities sit alongside learning they initiate themselves.

The nursery has capacity for 80 children, accepting ages from three months to five years, at 85 Grove Road in Emmer Green, Reading. At its September 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with additional needs and those learning English experienced a sense of belonging. That is a dated assessment, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision.

Term-time attendance and care across the year are both offered, with several session lengths rather than a single full-day booking model. The practical choice is broad; the detail of how each room supports a child's next stage matters just as much.

Rooms and Ages

Willows caters for children aged three to 24 months, and Maples for those aged 12 to 24 months; both follow individual routines and include outdoor play each day. The overlapping age bands make developmental stage an important point to discuss when choosing a room. Outside, the separate space for non-walkers allows outdoor provision to take account of children who are still developing mobility.

Acorns takes children from 24 months to three years, combining early maths, language, creative activities and stories with daily outdoor play. Its key-person arrangement also connects nursery care with potty training at home. This gives the toddler stage a practical emphasis as well as an educational one.

Around their third birthday, children move into the preschool provision, Chestnuts and Hollies, where adult-guided and child-chosen activities encourage independence and preparation for school. The change is about taking more responsibility for learning, rather than simply moving into an older room.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and care, with play, communication and growing independence forming part of the day. Across the nursery, children have opportunities to select activities, set their own pace and play alone or with others, alongside activities led by adults. That balance gives them choices while retaining a planned structure.

In September 2021, babies selected illustrated rhyme spoons and listened as adults sang, while older children showed interest in books and displayed letters. These examples give substance to the emphasis on language: songs, pictures and shared reading connected words with things children could recognise and choose.

At the September 2021 inspection, Ofsted identified two areas for improvement: adults needed to extend older children's reasoning and problem-solving, and the baby-room environment restricted opportunities for larger physical movements. Both matter to families choosing a room, because a varied timetable alone does not establish how well children are challenged or how freely babies can move.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play is part of the current daily offer for Willows, Maples and Acorns. In September 2021, children also explored growing carrots in the garden, dug together in a sand pit and took regular community outings, including visits to a local church. These were concrete opportunities to connect play with nature and the surrounding area, rather than keep learning entirely indoors.

Relationships extend beyond activity planning. In Acorns, the key person works with parents to keep potty-training routines consistent between home and nursery. For a toddler managing this change, continuity makes the practical expectations easier to understand.

The staff structure includes safeguarding lead and deputy safeguarding lead roles, a SENDCo and room leadership. Those roles give families identifiable responsibilities to discuss when a child needs additional support or a concern needs raising; they do not replace the dated safeguarding assessment.

In September 2021, babies rested in sleep pods, with staff responding to their need for a nap. Parents received spoken and written updates about their children each day, and stay-and-play opportunities had been reintroduced so families could see how play supported learning. These observations describe care and communication at that time.

Crumbs Food Company (Educatering Solutions) prepares fresh meals and delivers them to the nursery, catering for special dietary requirements. Lunch attendance includes a hot meal, while the tea period brings sandwiches and fruit; children attending before 8:30am are also offered breakfast.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 85 Grove Road, Emmer Green, Reading, RG4 8LJ. Care operates for 49 weeks each year, with a week's closure at Christmas, another during Easter Monday week and another during August Bank Holiday week. Families can choose term-time attendance or care across the year.

The session choices are 8am–6pm, 8am–3:30pm, 8am–4:30pm and 9am–3:30pm, plus a morning option running 8am–1pm and an afternoon option running 12:30pm–6pm. Those alternatives accommodate different working days and shorter attendance patterns. They also make the lunch and tea arrangements relevant to the particular session booked.

Registration forms are obtained by email, and there is neither a registration charge nor a deposit. Returning a form is also the nursery's route onto its waiting list. This is a booking procedure, rather than an assurance of a place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 30hrs Funding for 3 & 4 year olds, 30hrs Extended Entitlement for children aged 9+mths Funding, and Targeted 2 year old Funding. Private childcare is also offered. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their chosen sessions and any additional charges.

For children under three, meals, nappies, wipes and creams are included in private fees. Funded attendance carries a separate monthly consumables charge covering those supplies, including meals; once children enter preschool, parents supply nappies, wipes and creams in the nursery bag. These age and funding conditions make the charge structure more useful to compare than a headline daily price.

Fees are paid monthly in advance. Holidays and sickness do not attract refunds or reductions, and booked sessions cannot be swapped; bank holidays and nursery closure dates are not charged. Late payment and late collection can bring additional charges. The fees page sets out these terms, and payment through HMRC's Tax Free Childcare is accepted.

• Baby movement space. In September 2021, the baby-room environment needed expansion to support larger movements. During a visit, ask how Willows now accommodates crawling, movement and physical exploration.
• Challenge for older children. The September 2021 improvement point concerned reasoning and problem-solving. Ask to see how Chestnuts and Hollies encourage children to explain an answer or try a different solution.
• Attendance and charges. Term-time and year-round care are offered, but sessions cannot be exchanged and sickness or holidays do not reduce fees. Compare a written quotation for the actual pattern you need, including funded consumables and preschool supplies.
• Visits and room choice. Visits can be arranged Monday to Thursday between 4pm and 5:15pm. Use that time to discuss the overlapping Willows and Maples age bands and, where relevant, how current dietary arrangements meet your child's needs.

Emmer Green Kindergarten suits families seeking either morning or afternoon sessions, shorter daytime attendance or a full day, with a choice between term-time and year-round care. Individual routines for younger children, daily outdoor play and the Acorns link with home potty training give the offer practical substance.

The September 2021 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference. The two improvement points deserve attention alongside the current room arrangements: space for babies to move and teaching that stretches older children's thinking. For families whose attendance needs fit the session choices, those are the useful tests of whether this nursery is right for their child.