Tiddly Winks Nursery

Individual sleeping pods for babies, a supervised treehouse for preschool children and music sessions that reach every room give Tiddly Winks Nursery a recognisable character. This Emlyn Road setting in Redhill combines carefully arranged play spaces with practical independence: children gradually take responsibility for snacks, clothing and their own choices.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found safeguarding effective, with strong teaching, effective support for children with SEND and confident communication. That judgement belongs to that visit. The current offer includes individual learning plans, flexible settling and several ways for parents to follow their child's day.

There are 89 places in total. Attendance choices include Whole day and Short Stay bookings, alongside shorter funded sessions; the detail matters because these patterns serve quite different family routines.

Rooms and Ages

Four rooms divide the nursery day into developmental stages, with transitions taking account of children's development, friendships and family circumstances rather than birthdays alone. The room age bands are guidelines. That flexibility matters for a child who is ready for new challenges in one area but still needs familiar routines in another.

Acorns, with a guideline band of 3 to 18 months, combines sensory and movement experiences with underfloor heating, a reading garden and individual sleeping pods in a separate quiet area. Little Oaks, for 18 months to 2.5 years, emphasises conversation and social interaction, with sensory resources and separate carpeted and laminated areas accommodating different kinds of play.

Junipers, spanning 2.5 to 3 years, supports growing independence and self-care through resources including a mathematics area, role play and a reading garden. Willows, for 3 to 5 years, links school preparation with everyday independence, offering writing and mathematics areas alongside a practitioner-supervised castle and treehouse.

The physical detail has a purpose. Babies have somewhere quiet to rest, while older children can choose resources for construction, imaginative play or early writing. The progression gives families more than a sequence of room names: it connects changing interests with changing environments.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the shared early-years framework: through play, children practise communication, movement, social skills and independence, alongside early writing and mathematical ideas. Here, adult-planned experiences sit alongside children's own ideas, and the key person uses each child's interests and developmental needs to shape an individual plan. The framework is the foundation; the choices made around it give the day its character.

Rugbytots introduces rugby through play and runs on Wednesdays for Juniper and preschool children. Jingle Bugs introduces music to children across the rooms, with Friday sessions during term time. Yoga, gymnastics, Spanish lessons and cookery club add other experiences, although the weekly timetable belongs specifically to the two named visiting programmes.

In March 2023, spoken language and signs were used together, and story activities included choosing toy animals before hearing about them in the story. Children also contributed ideas through a nursery committee. These examples show how communication was practised through decisions and shared play, rather than confined to a single group activity.

Recent activities retain that practical flavour. In February 2026, preschool children took part in a dressing relay, practising self-care and discussing clothing for different weather. In April 2026, preschool children planted sunflower seeds to take home. Both turn familiar tasks into opportunities to talk, make choices and try something independently.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden gives babies room to experiment with movement. Activities described in May 2026 included crawling through a colourful tunnel and water play with natural materials. These are concrete opportunities for physical exploration, alongside the quieter resources indoors.

Annual Beach Week brings beach-inspired activities into the nursery. World Book Day also connects stories with imaginative play: the March 2026 celebrations included different story themes across the rooms, and children subsequently enjoyed dressing as favourite characters. Costumes form part of that event's character, rather than being an everyday expectation.

Relationships and Communication

A key person supports each child from settling through to planning their next developmental steps. Settling is flexible, allowing the beginning of nursery life to respond to the individual child. Room changes also consider readiness and peer relationships, which can help families understand why a move may happen at a different point from the guideline age.

Learning Journals is a digital record of achievements, staff observations, photographs and videos; parents can contribute their own comments and experiences. Parent Admin app handles direct messages, invoices and account history. Together, they separate developmental communication from everyday administration while giving parents a route to contribute to both.

For Acorns and Little Oaks, a daily communication book travels between home and nursery with information about sleep, nappies, food and drinks. Each room can also be reached by telephone through the main nursery number. These details are useful for families whose immediate questions concern the ordinary rhythms of a young child's day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SEND arrangements use a SENCO-led cycle of assessment, planning, action and review, involving parents and the child's key person. Support plans have review dates, and outside professionals can contribute where needed. This gives families a defined process for discussing a concern and revisiting whether an intervention is helping.

In March 2023, practitioners used home languages with toddlers and provided accessible spaces with books and sensory resources for children working through difficult feelings. These are dated examples of how familiar language and the environment supported daily care. They should be read alongside the current settling and support arrangements.

Acorns children follow their own sleep routines, using individual pods in the separate quiet area. The emphasis is on accommodating rest within the baby's day, rather than making every baby sleep at the same point.

A cook prepares meals and snacks on site, using a five-week menu cycle, with the Early Years Nutrition Partnership informing menu choices. For medically confirmed allergies or intolerances, parents and the manager draw up a care plan; the nursery also says that complete freedom from allergens cannot be guaranteed.

School preparation extends beyond early writing. Preschool children practise serving snacks, pouring drinks and dressing themselves, while the April 2026 transition work asked families for their allocated schools so children could be grouped in preparation for moving on. This is preparation for a change of setting, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Emlyn Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 6EP. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. A separately booked early session runs from 7.30am to 8am.

Whole day bookings run from 8am to 6pm; Short Stay days finish at 4pm after the same start. Funded attendance also includes a Whole Day, a Short Session from 3.35pm to 6pm on a third day, and a Shorter Session from 4.45pm to 6pm on a second day, subject to eligibility, availability and the admissions policy.

The admissions arrangements operate a waiting list and give priority to existing children seeking attendance changes and to siblings, among other criteria. Longer attendance patterns and privately funded hours also receive priority over shorter or government-funded patterns. That is a material consideration for families comparing different booking arrangements.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form. Fees continue during sickness and holidays, and late collection attracts an additional charge. Families should obtain their current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Universal funding, Working Parent Entitlement and FEET Funding are supported. Government-funded hours are stretched across the 51-week year. The fees page sets out the payment structure and the route to a personalised quotation.

Private fees include meals, snacks, nappies, wipes and additional activities. Funded hours themselves carry no childcare fee, but food, toiletries and enrichment are charged separately through sundries for the Whole Day and Short Session; the nursery expects families to commit to these costs throughout the year. The specified Shorter Session carries no sundries charge. Families need to compare the complete attendance package rather than treating funded hours and private fees as interchangeable.

• Later safeguarding action. Ofsted's April and June 2025 compliance outcomes concerned leaders' understanding of disqualification and staff suitability, recording that action had been taken and the April safeguarding and welfare action was met. Because the subject recurred, discuss the present recruitment and suitability procedures when visiting.
• Age range. The current age entry covers birth to 11 months, while the nursery's room structure extends through preschool. Confirm the age groups accepted before arranging a visit.
• Funded booking pattern. Funding is stretched across the year, with specified shorter sessions and sundries charges attached to particular patterns. Establish how your intended days fit those arrangements and the admissions priorities.
• Allergy care. Individual care plans sit alongside a policy that cannot guarantee allergen-free food. Families managing allergies should confirm current kitchen practice and how their child's plan would operate.

Tiddly Winks suits families comparing Whole day care with an earlier-finishing Short Stay day, as well as those considering its specified funded afternoon sessions. Its practical strengths are clear: age-linked rooms, separate baby sleep arrangements, music and rugby programmes, and detailed communication about younger children's routines.

The Outstanding judgement dates to March 2023. Later, repeated safeguarding-related compliance action remains a consideration alongside the recorded corrective outcomes. For parents, the decision rests on how the present care arrangements, accepted ages and funding pattern fit their child, alongside those concrete strengths.