Toad Hall Nursery Horley

A lending library, music and movement, and renovated outdoor areas give Toad Hall Nursery Horley a character that extends beyond its daily care routines. Activities follow children's interests, while books can travel home with them. For parents, that connects the nursery day with the conversations and shared reading that happen at home.

At its 2 November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. The practical offer covers babies through to preschool children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months and capacity for 100 children in total. That is a whole-nursery figure, rather than the size of any child's daily group.

The setting is on Massetts Road in Horley. Its combination of interest-led activities, funded sessions and an all-year opening pattern makes both the child's experience and the family's weekly routine relevant to the choice.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in daily life, that means combining opportunities to communicate, explore and develop physical skills with ordinary care routines. It is the shared foundation for early-years provision, rather than an extra unique to this nursery.

Horley's additional activities include Magical Maths and Cook and Grow, alongside Stork to Walk, Let’s Get Physical and the Early Language Project. These sit alongside music and movement programmes and activities shaped by individual children's interests. The lending library gives families something tangible to carry into home life: books to share together, rather than learning ending when the nursery day finishes.

In November 2022, practical play brought early mathematics into ordinary experiences. Children filled and emptied containers of rice, with adults introducing words for quantity and encouraging counting. Leaves and mud became ingredients for imaginary potions. These examples show how handling materials and talking about them can make learning concrete, rather than separating it into formal lessons.

Outdoor and Community Life

Renovated outdoor areas are part of the current setting. In November 2022, the outdoor experiences included tricycles and balance bicycles used on a racetrack, giving older children opportunities to practise steering and balance. Younger children built sandcastles and made impressions in flour using toy dinosaurs. The activities differed with children's stage of development.

Community experiences also formed part of the November 2022 nursery day. Children bought cooking ingredients from local shops, while babies visited parks and looked for insects for an insect hotel. Local care home residents made regular visits to share songs and stories. These were concrete encounters with people and places beyond the nursery, rather than community learning confined to pictures or conversation.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2022, children separated confidently from their families and sought comfort from familiar adults. Settling arrangements helped staff get to know children and parents, and families received spoken updates about the day alongside activities to try at home. For a parent choosing care for a young child, those details matter: the relationship involves both the child who stays and the family who leaves.

Daily routines also offered opportunities to practise doing things independently. In November 2022, younger children found their shoes, helped prepare the table and took part in their own care. Opportunities for older children were less consistent: an oversized water jug prevented self-service, and bagels arrived already buttered. Equipment and adult habits could therefore limit what children did for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements and strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language, with staff identifying needs and working with other professionals on individual strategies. That is a dated assessment of practice, rather than a promise about every child's future experience.

Paediatric first aid training is part of the current staff arrangements. Seasonal menus provide meals that can be adapted for allergies; allergy-affected families should confirm the arrangements for their child. Nappies and creams, including sun cream, are supplied, reducing the everyday items parents need to bring.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 19 Massetts Road, Horley, RH6 7DQ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with an all-year pattern and closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Families need to allow for those closures when planning care around work.

Funded sessions are offered. Enquiries can be made directly to the Horley team at horley@toadhall-nursery.co.uk or by telephone on 01293 823 500, and visits can be booked. The distinction between the opening window and the child's booked attendance matters when comparing the nursery with a family's working day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare forms part of the offer, without implying that every family qualifies or that a particular attendance pattern is guaranteed. Current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation. The practical care provision includes seasonal meals and supplied nappies and creams; families comparing costs should consider the attendance arrangement and these everyday items together.

• Language modelling. In November 2022, staff sometimes used shortened or imprecise words and did not consistently encourage children to put away unneeded dummies. Ask how everyday conversation now supports clear speech and vocabulary.
• Older children's independence. The November 2022 routines sometimes prevented children from pouring drinks or spreading food themselves. During a visit, look at how equipment and mealtimes allow preschool children to practise these skills.
• The additional activities. Horley offers Stork to Walk and Magical Maths, alongside Cook and Grow, the Early Language Project and Let’s Get Physical. Ask what each involves for your child's age and how they fit into the attendance pattern you are considering.

Toad Hall Nursery Horley suits families seeking care from babyhood through the preschool years, with an all-year weekday opening pattern, interest-led activities and books to share at home. Its renovated outdoor areas and music and movement provision give parents concrete reasons to consider it.

The November 2022 assessment provides a Good inspection baseline, alongside useful questions about language modelling and older children's independence. Those everyday details deserve attention: how adults speak, which tasks children can attempt themselves, and how the nursery day fits the child's stage of development.