Dawny's Nursery & Pre-School

Monday music, Thursday sport and baby rooms named Cherry Blossoms and Saplings give Dawny's Nursery & Pre-School a recognisable character. At The Hub in Addlestone, the offer combines care from three months to five years with a curriculum built around communication, independence, community and wellbeing. Parents also have practical ways to follow the day, including meals, sleep and learning updates through Famly.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 27 June 2025 and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. That judgement comes with two useful points for families to keep in view: greater consistency in communication support for children with SEND, and opportunities for every child to practise independence at mealtimes. These are specific improvement priorities, rather than reasons to overlook the rest of the nursery's offer.

Attendance centres on a minimum of two full days each week, with morning and afternoon sessions requested as additions. For families balancing work and childcare, that minimum matters as much as the opening hours.

Rooms and Ages

Cherry Blossoms and Saplings are the baby rooms; Willows and Chestnuts take toddlers; Maples and Oaks are for preschool children. The room structure separates these developmental stages, giving families a clear picture of the progression through the nursery. Children are accepted between three months and five years.

In June 2025, babies practised standing and moving along low furniture, while older children used apparatus for climbing and balance. Those concrete experiences show how physical learning differed by stage at that time: early movement for babies, larger movements and balance challenges for older children. They also make the day easier to picture than a general promise of active play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the required framework for children's learning, development and care, encompassing everyday play, communication and growing independence. Alongside that framework, The Dawny's Curriculum organises the nursery's ambitions through its own learning pillars. It gives parents a useful vocabulary for discussing what their child is working towards.

Curious Communicators emphasises expressing feelings and needs, asking questions and understanding instructions. Independent explorers concerns children extending learning for themselves and sharing it. Community champions brings together relationships and respect for the surrounding world, while Wellbeing warriors addresses resilience and understanding emotions. These are the nursery's own additions to the framework, rather than a replacement for it.

HARTBEEPS is a weekly Monday-morning class combining music with sensory experiences for every age group; sets and props help bring stories into the sessions. PLAYBALL runs on Thursday mornings for toddlers and preschool children, introducing sport through activities suited to their ages. The timetable has a practical implication: children attending different weekdays encounter different scheduled activities.

Regular YOGA sessions add another form of movement, with a qualified instructor leading activities intended to support physical and mental wellbeing. Wellness leads also bring wellbeing activities and resources into nursery life. Together, these offer several ways for children to participate, from story-led music to sport and quieter movement.

In June 2025, staff extended language during play by describing what children were doing, allowing thinking time and introducing vocabulary. Colour mixing provided a concrete example: children explored how colours changed as they combined them. Learning was organised around what individual children could already do and the next skills staff intended to introduce, making the teaching more specific than simply setting out activities.

Relationships and Communication

Famly gives parents access to interactive learning journals and information about eating and sleeping during the day. That connects the practical care routine with learning, so a parent can follow more than a collection-time summary. IWATCH adds secure online viewing of children from home or work, providing a separate way to stay connected.

Settling is adjusted to individual needs. The SEND policy provides for a full settling period for new children rather than treating the same timetable as suitable for everyone. For families whose child needs additional support, the policy also places the key person within the assessment and planning process, alongside the SENCO and parents.

In June 2025, parents valued regular information about their children's development and used it to continue learning at home. Staff also handled small disagreements calmly and used everyday routines to practise sharing and taking turns. These observations describe the relationships and routines at that visit, while the current communication systems give families concrete ways to follow their own child's experience.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND made good progress and benefited from targeted plans developed with parents and professionals, but communication strategies were not applied consistently by all staff. The qualification matters: a support plan needs to shape the child's day across the team, as well as exist on paper.

The Graduated Response Approach sets out a cycle of assessing needs, planning support, putting it into practice and reviewing its effect. Parents participate in agreeing outcomes and evaluating support, and progress and support plans are reviewed every six weeks. The key person carries out daily support, with the SENCO helping to assess the child's response and adjust implementation. Transition arrangements with other settings and schools form part of the SEND policy too.

Mealtime independence was another June 2025 improvement priority. Preschool children were already collecting tableware and pouring drinks, but children with dietary requirements needed fuller opportunities to do things for themselves. For affected families, this links inclusion to a very ordinary part of the day, rather than treating it only as an educational support issue.

Slice of Pie prepares lunch and tea for twice-daily delivery, with cereal and toast for breakfast. The caterer can accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions, including vegetarian and pescatarian diets; allergy-affected families should confirm current arrangements during a visit.

Sessions and Attendance

Dawny's operates at The Hub, Chertsey Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2EP, next to Chertsey High School. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with closure between Christmas and New Year. These are opening hours, distinct from the attendance patterns families book.

The general booking minimum is two full days per week. Morning and afternoon sessions can be requested on top of that pattern, while private charging also distinguishes Half Day and Full Day bookings. A family seeking only occasional short sessions needs to weigh the full-day minimum carefully.

Funding has its own attendance conditions. Working-parent bookings for children aged nine months and over and for two-year-olds require at least two full days each week; the stated pattern for three- and four-year-olds using the 30-hour entitlement requires three full days. Eligible FEET children can attend two sessions weekly with no additional charges.

The waiting-list policy considers siblings already attending, time on the list and the nursery's ability to meet a child's needs. Visits can be arranged by email at info@dawnys.co.uk or by telephone on 01932 988202. Before attendance, parents complete a contract and registration form covering matters such as dietary needs, emergency contacts and collection arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

The funding offer includes Funded Early Education for two-year-olds (FEET), Universal Entitlement (15 Hours), and Working Parents Entitlement (15 Hours for 9 months+ and 2 year olds and 30 Hours for 3&4 year olds). Eligibility conditions apply to FEET and working-parent funding. Entitlements are delivered over 38 weeks, with fully funded arrangements stretched across 51 weeks and a maximum of 10 funded hours in a day.

For funded bookings with additional hours, food and non-food consumables are charged separately alongside the extra attendance. Fully funded places incur none of those additional charges. The distinction is important when comparing a funded-hours arrangement with a booking that also includes private hours: the charge structure changes with the arrangement.

A registration charge applies where parents book hours beyond their funded entitlement, with part credited to the first invoice and the remainder covering administration; fully funded places are exempt. Withdrawal requires six weeks' written notice, with fees payable throughout that period. Current prices should be obtained in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees and funding policy explains the charging structure.

• Attendance commitment. The usual minimum is two full days, with morning and afternoon additions; the stated 30-hour working-parent pattern requires three full days. Match the contract to the childcare days your family actually needs.
• SEND support across the team. Consistency in communication strategies was a June 2025 improvement priority. During a visit, ask how agreed strategies are shared and applied by everyone caring for your child.
• Meals and independence. The June 2025 priority included children with dietary requirements. If allergies affect your child, discuss both current food arrangements and how they will participate in serving and managing their meal.
• Weekday activities. HARTBEEPS falls on Monday mornings and PLAYBALL on Thursday mornings. Consider how those sessions fit your intended attendance, especially if music or sport is a strong interest.

Dawny's suits families seeking a regular full-day pattern with the option to add morning or afternoon attendance, and eligible families considering its separate fully funded session arrangements. Named age-stage rooms, scheduled music and sport, and practical parent communication give the offer substance.

The June 2025 improvement priorities deserve attention, especially for children needing communication support or dietary adjustments. The decision is best made around the actual attendance commitment and how individual care plans translate into daily routines. Those details will determine the fit more directly than the overall grade alone.