Lets Explore Day Nurseries

Soft play belongs to the nursery day here, alongside garden play, stories and spaces organised for different ages. Lets Explore Day Nurseries in Horley combines that physical offer with gradual settling, individual sleep arrangements for its youngest children and a parent app that follows the everyday details of care. Those are practical strengths: children have different ways to play, while parents can follow more than a brief end-of-day account.

At its 23 November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children needing additional support benefited from targeted help and collaboration with families and professionals. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of the current nursery day.

The nursery has capacity for 110 children aged three months to five years. Full days, half days and a shorter school-day pattern give families several attendance options.

Rooms and Ages

The youngest age-group accommodation consists of two rooms for children from four months to two years, with an individual cot or bed for each child.

Two- to three-year-olds have a large, open-plan area, separate from the youngest children's accommodation.

Children aged three and over have two further rooms. The classroom themes are Sea Explorers, Jungle Adventurers and Space Cadets, giving the nursery's age-group spaces an adventure theme.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage supplies the framework for learning and care, with play and activities supporting children's communication, physical development and social and emotional skills. It is the shared foundation for nursery education. Here, organised activities sit alongside play led by children, so the day includes adult guidance and opportunities to choose and explore.

The sample afternoon includes messy play, group activities, garden play, stories and singing. Meals, snacks and naps break up the activities, allowing time to rest as well as participate.

In November 2022, babies linked pretend play with familiar experiences at home, including making tea. Toddlers explored paint through footprints and talked about what they had made; preschool children experimented with building houses that could resist a storybook wolf. These examples show learning carried through children's actions and conversation, rather than confined to an adult explaining a task.

Books also featured across the age groups in November 2022. Babies explored lift-the-flap stories, toddlers joined storytelling with an adult nearby, and preschool children acted out stories together. Mathematical play included counting objects and experimenting with circles of different sizes, using materials such as paper and sand. For families, these are useful examples of how ordinary play can carry language, number and shape learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play equipment and access to the Lets Explore soft play add two physical settings beyond the rooms. The sample day includes garden play at different points, while children have access to soft play during nursery sessions. The latter is an additional place for movement, rather than a separate public booking families must arrange for the nursery day.

In November 2022, children used a substantial outdoor area for exercise and physical exploration. Indoor opportunities for babies to practise larger movements were less consistent. That distinction matters: an attractive outdoor offer does not answer every question about how the youngest children move and practise skills inside.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key worker, and gradual settling allows time to become familiar with adults and surroundings. Home routines inform nursery care, giving families a concrete starting point for discussing their baby's sleep and feeding.

Famly provides photographs and regular updates about the day, including sleep, nappy changes and toilet use. Development is also recorded against the framework's areas of learning, and parents can discuss progress at sessions held during the year. The combination gives families both immediate care information and opportunities for a longer conversation about learning.

In November 2022, children were comfortable with staff and practised doing things for themselves, including serving breakfast and trying to put on coats. Toilet routines and handwashing were also part of that growing independence. Current bathroom arrangements support potty training, allowing self-care to develop alongside play rather than becoming a separate lesson.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The care structure includes a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), a deputy SENCO and a designated safeguarding lead. These are identifiable responsibilities within the team. The nursery also works with external agencies and local SEN charities to support participation for children with learning difficulties or disabilities, providing a route for collaboration beyond the room team.

Foodie Explorers is the nursery's meal provision with Zebedees: specialist dietary chefs prepare food each morning, using a seasonal three-week menu covering purees, lunch and tea. Its dietary arrangements address allergies, intolerances and cultural requirements; the nursery also operates a policy excluding food brought from home, so allergy-affected families should discuss current practice before committing.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 59-61 Brighton Road, Horley, Surrey, RH6 7HJ. Nursery opening hours are 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. Full-week, part-week and sessional attendance are supported, giving families ways to organise care across different working patterns.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Half-day choices run from 8am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6pm, and the school-day session runs from 9am to 3pm. Early Start covers 7am to 8am, with Late Pick-up from 6pm to 7pm. These extensions sit outside the core full-day booking, so the opening window and the booked session need to be considered separately.

Applications begin with contact with the nursery, followed by information, a tour and forms. Nursery enquiries can use the enquiry form or telephone 0330 055 3336.

Getting There

Free on-site parking serves the venue, with nearby on-street parking used at busy times. Horley station has services to London Victoria and London Bridge.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted, including 30 hours free childcare and FEET Funding for eligible two year olds from Surrey County Council. Tax-free childcare is also accepted. These are separate payment and funding routes, and eligibility conditions still apply.

For funded hours, meals, snacks and activities outside the funded provision are covered by a separately charged daily supplement. The supplement is non-obligatory, while the nursery's food policy excludes bringing meals from home. Those two terms need to be considered together when deciding how a funded booking will work for your family.

Private sessions and additional hours are also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page sets out the attendance choices and supplement structure. Comparing the complete arrangement, including food and extended hours where needed, is more useful than considering the core session alone.

• Babies' movement indoors. In November 2022, opportunities for babies to develop larger movements inside were inconsistent. During a visit, ask to see how indoor play now provides space and activities for practising those skills.
• Teaching and staff development. The November 2022 improvement priorities included more purposeful supervision, support and training to strengthen teaching consistently. Ask how the team chooses training and puts it into everyday activities.
• Funded sessions and food. The daily supplement covers food and additional activities, is non-obligatory and sits alongside a restriction on bringing meals from home. Discuss how those terms work together, including any allergy arrangements, before agreeing a booking.
• Youngest starters. Children are accepted from three months, while the youngest accommodation caters for four months to two years. Families considering an earlier start should ask how their baby's care and gradual settling will be arranged.

Lets Explore suits families seeking full-day care, morning or afternoon half days, or a shorter school-day session, with extensions for earlier starts and later collections. Access to soft play, garden equipment, age-group spaces and detailed Famly updates give the offer a recognisable shape.

The Good judgement from November 2022 provides a useful quality reference. Its two improvement priorities also provide concrete questions for a visit, especially for parents of babies. Families who value gradual settling, visibility of daily care and several attendance patterns have clear reasons to consider this Horley nursery.