The Fun Hub

Books, signs and hands-on discovery give The Fun Hub its character: a story can lead to painted-foot butterflies, while a dedicated Sensory Room offers light, sound and tactile experiences. At its 17 June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, judged its education exceptional, including for children with SEND, and found safeguarding effective. The practical appeal is the connection between language, play and individual support.

Based at Foljambe Court in Rotherham, the nursery has 97 places in total. That is whole-setting capacity, rather than the number of children sharing a room. Its Baby Room, Toddler Room and Preschool Room organise the day around different developmental stages; in June 2025, the children attending were aged 1 to 4.

Outdoor gardens and community walks extend learning beyond room activities. Families also have the Famly App for photographs, learning updates and direct messages. These are useful connections between the nursery day and home, rather than separate additions that parents have to piece together.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room combines sensory exploration with books, songs and rhymes, giving children ways to investigate their surroundings and begin communicating. Settling sessions involve both baby and parent. This makes the room's introduction part of a relationship with the family, rather than simply the start of attendance.

Natural materials and messy activities shape the Toddler Room, where children can choose their play with practitioner guidance and explore movement through music. Books support emerging language, while relaxation activities introduce ways of recognising feelings. The balance is between increasing independence and adults helping children make sense of what they are doing.

The Preschool Room brings letters and numbers into everyday routines and includes cultural celebrations alongside preparation for school. Its activities sit within the EYFS, the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play and daily routines provide opportunities to practise communication, early mathematics and growing independence. Letter recognition therefore belongs within the day, rather than being presented only as a separate exercise.

Learning and Activities

In June 2025, communication took several forms. Younger children combined spoken words with signs, toddlers questioned adults during stories, and preschool children used hand movements to represent letters. These examples matter because language learning involved responding and joining in, as well as listening to an adult.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar became a starting point for toddlers' art that month: painted feet made butterflies, and mixing colours prompted discussion about the resulting purple. Counting entered the same activity through children's toes. Elsewhere, children explored shapes alongside staff. A book, a creative task and mathematical language were connected through something children were actively doing.

A June 2025 caterpillar project gave another concrete example of learning about the natural world. Children watched caterpillars develop towards butterflies, with The Very Hungry Caterpillar accompanying the project. Preschool children also made caterpillars from egg boxes. Observation and making offered different ways into the same subject, rather than relying on a story alone.

The Sensory Room adds a physical space for exploring sound, visual effects, textures, aromas and music. Its resources allow children to interact with their surroundings and influence the experience. For a family considering sensory activities, the useful detail is that this has a room of its own, alongside the sensory play offered to babies.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden spaces provide opportunities for climbing, running and splashing, with water play, imaginative activities and investigation extending the indoor day. Children are encouraged to try manageable risks through play. The emphasis is on active exploration, so outdoor time has a learning purpose as well as giving children space to move.

Regular walks include visits to the library and local shops. These bring ordinary community places into children's experience: books are encountered beyond the nursery, and outings make the surrounding area part of their day. The frequency is regular, rather than a fixed weekly schedule.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with sessions for babies and their parents, while conversations about routines help staff understand sleep and bottle patterns. Bottles and opportunities to nap are planned around the child's home schedule, with recognition that routines can develop differently at nursery. That is a practical starting point for families whose baby already has an established pattern.

Each child has individual bed linen, washed on site, and sleep checks are documented under the nursery's safer sleep policy. Older children can rest on sleep mats when they need a nap. These are specific care arrangements; they also give parents clear subjects to discuss when explaining their child's usual sleep needs.

The Famly App brings photographs, nursery news and a child's learning journey together, and parents can message staff, update details or report absence. Parents' meetings and opportunities such as afternoon tea, fairs and bake sales add face-to-face contact. Communication therefore includes both everyday exchanges and occasions for a longer conversation.

In June 2025, a lending library enabled families to borrow books and continue story experiences at home. Staff also helped parents with weaning and healthy eating. Support reached beyond the activity itself to the routines families were managing outside nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND learned with their peers, received individually tailored activities and made progress in skills such as feeding themselves, with professional collaboration and support for the move to school. The practical examples included water experiences and pretend bricks used for hand and arm movement. Inclusion was visible in both shared play and work directed towards an individual child's needs.

In June 2025, adults helped children recognise emotions and understand the effect of their behaviour on friends. Children asked before taking paint and shared materials during play. Alongside the toddler relaxation activities, these examples show how feelings and social behaviour enter ordinary interactions, rather than being confined to a separate discussion.

Home-cooked meals follow a four-week menu rotation, with options for dietary needs, allergies and cultural preferences. Children bringing packed lunches are encouraged to follow the nursery's healthy eating policy.

Sessions and Attendance

In June 2025, the nursery operated throughout the year on weekdays, with sessions running from 7.30am to 6pm. Those are inspection-time arrangements. Full fees apply when a child is absent through sickness, while bank holidays carry no charge.

Fees are paid in advance, either weekly or monthly; monthly payment is due before the 25th. Payment methods include standing order, BACS, cash, childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

The nursery's address is Foljambe Court, Rotherham, S65 2BF, while its contact address gives Units 1&2 at Foljambe Court with postcode S65 2BG. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by calling the nursery on 01709 828989.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid nursery attendance. For children aged 3 and 4, the universal entitlement is described as 15 hours a week across 38 weeks, with the option to spread the hours over 51 weeks instead. The entitlement begins in the term following the child's third birthday.

Eligible working parents may receive 30 funded hours from the term after their child turns 9 months old until school begins. This is conditional support, rather than an entitlement for every family. The nursery directs families to the eligibility criteria when considering this route.

• Address for journeys. The nursery address uses S65 2BF, while the contact address uses S65 2BG. Confirm which postcode and entrance to use before a visit.
• Your attendance quotation. Obtain a written proposal covering your child's accepted age, booking pattern, funded-hour arrangement and the treatment of meals and non-food consumables. These belong in the same decision as the headline price.
• Individual support. The June 2025 findings included tailored SEND activities and collaboration with professionals. On a visit, discuss how those arrangements would translate into support for your child's particular needs.
• Food and allergies. Dietary and allergy options form part of the menu arrangements, and children bringing packed lunches are encouraged to follow the healthy eating policy. Families managing allergies should confirm current preparation and serving practices.

The Fun Hub suits families who value language-rich play, sensory experiences and an active connection between home and nursery. Babies, toddlers and preschool children have different room emphases, while gardens, community outings and the Sensory Room give the day several settings for exploration.

The June 2025 judgement gives substantial weight to the review, especially for families considering SEND support. For parents weighing term-time use of funded hours against spreading them across the year, both funding arrangements are relevant. The strongest decision will connect that choice with the child's care routines and an agreed attendance quotation.