Bluebell Nursery

A nursery teddy that travels between home and childcare gives Bluebell Nursery a practical starting point: familiarity matters here. Based at The River Bourne Club in Chertsey, this small setting combines a hall and its own garden with key-person care and opportunities to explore the local community. It has capacity for 23 children and accepts children from birth to five.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Bluebell Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The everyday detail is more useful than the grade alone: in June 2022, children experimented with painting using frozen colour, learnt mathematical vocabulary through water play and practised the hand movements needed for later writing. These were ordinary materials put to purposeful use.

Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance give families different ways to organise childcare. Settling support, meanwhile, extends beyond a first visit: younger children receive familiar objects to carry between home and nursery.

Rooms and Ages

The younger area serves babies and toddlers from birth to two, with sensory experiences, gentle routines and relationship-building as its emphasis. For children aged two to four, the emphasis shifts towards communication, social confidence, emotional wellbeing and independence. These are age-related priorities rather than promises of a fixed group size.

Children aged two to five also share a mixed-age learning environment, where activity areas change in response to their interests and adults introduce further challenges. There are opportunities to play alone and alongside others. For families, the useful distinction is between provision organised around developmental stages and a rigid timetable of adult-led tasks.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS framework shapes learning through play and planned activities, with children developing communication, independence and social skills across their day. Bluebell combines that foundation with a routine that leaves room for children to choose their play. Welcome time, time with a key person and quieter periods provide recurring points of connection.

The day for older children includes breakfast, outdoor play, snacks, music and movement, lunch, tea and a story before home time. Free-flow play allows movement between indoors and outdoors when the weather permits. Time with a key person gives adults a chance to support learning within that broader routine, rather than relying entirely on whole-group activities.

In June 2022, early writing preparation began with finger-and-thumb control using pegs, then moved towards threading. Water play introduced comparisons of size and capacity, while adults demonstrated lines and circles during babies’ mark-making. The value lies in the sequence: children worked on the physical movements and language behind later skills before being expected to use those skills independently.

Outdoor and Community Life

Bluebell has its own garden, and outdoor experiences include planting, searching for insects, construction and play with sand and water. Outdoor play forms part of sessions unless conditions make it unsafe. That gives children opportunities to investigate natural materials alongside their indoor activities.

Abbeymead Dental Practice has visited to introduce dental hygiene, while Chertsey's library provides a local destination for visits. These links give health and stories a connection beyond nursery activities. In June 2022, children also went shopping for nursery supplies and visited the library, bringing everyday community experiences into their learning.

Relationships and Communication

Each family is allocated a key person who supports settling, follows the child’s development and shares updates with parents. Parents’ contributions to learning are encouraged, including skills they can bring into nursery life. This gives communication a practical purpose: adults can connect what happens at home with the child’s interests and next steps at nursery.

For younger children, the 0-2 Transition Pack contains a cot sheet, a personalised Bluebell teddy, a muslin cloth and a canvas bag. Families take the items home each week for washing so that they retain a familiar smell. The pack turns settling into something tangible, with objects that can offer comfort during the nursery day.

Home visits are offered before children join the older provision, allowing them to meet their key person in familiar surroundings. Online journals invite parent participation, alongside parents’ evenings and appointments. A shared progress discussion takes place between 24 and 36 months, giving parents and the key person an opportunity to consider development and further support together.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO works with families and other professionals to identify needs and arrange support. That is a clear mechanism for discussing individual needs, rather than a general promise that every difficulty will be resolved.

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified inconsistent use of simple language and visual prompts for children with SEND, alongside uneven use of strategies to keep children engaged while waiting or changing activities. Both findings matter to parents: communication support needs to work across the staff team, and transitions are part of the child’s experience, not merely gaps between activities.

In June 2022, settling visits helped children become familiar with nursery, and staff offered comfort when children needed it. Staff supervision included professional development and reflection on practice. Safety arrangements at that time included keypad-controlled doors, supervision indoors and during movement to the outdoor area, and training on raising concerns.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The River Bourne Club, Heriot Road, Chertsey, KT16 9DR. Opening hours run from 8am to 6pm on weekdays. Morning sessions are 8am to 1pm, afternoon sessions are 1pm to 6pm, and full-day attendance is also offered.

Bluebell operates for 50 weeks each year, with a two-week closure around Christmas and New Year, as well as bank holidays. Families can enquire by telephone or email, and tours can be arranged by telephone. The holiday pattern deserves attention when planning childcare across the year.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered on a stretched basis, alongside privately paid attendance. The distinction between session choice and funding delivery matters: choosing a morning, afternoon or full day is a separate decision from arranging funded hours.

Snacks are supplied during sessions, with meals at lunch and dinner. The settling pack also provides its listed comfort items, with families handling their weekly washing.

• Support across the staff team. The June 2022 findings concerned both SEND communication and engagement during waiting periods. Ask how staff now use shared approaches to visual prompts, simple language and transitions for your child.
• The younger children’s space. Babies and toddlers use the younger area, while older children have mixed-age provision. During a visit, discuss how sleep, active play and movement between areas are organised for your child’s age.
• Funding and the quotation. Stretched funding sits alongside morning, afternoon and full-day attendance. Request a written breakdown covering the funded entitlement being used, additional hours, food and non-food consumables before choosing a pattern.
• Holiday cover. The annual pattern includes a two-week Christmas and New Year closure and bank holidays. Families needing continuous weekday childcare should factor those breaks into their arrangements.

Bluebell suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon sessions or full-day attendance, with key-person relationships and a familiar-object approach to settling. Its own garden, library visits and dental-practice link give the offer concrete substance beyond the daily routine.

The June 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality benchmark. The June 2022 concerns about SEND communication and engagement during transitions deserve equal weight. For parents, the strongest fit is a small setting whose practical settling arrangements appeal, alongside a clear conversation about how individual support works across the team.