Rainbow Day Nursery & Pre-School

An animal sanctuary, a maze and a double-decker play bus give Rainbow Day Nursery & Pre-School a character shaped by its grounds. At Almners Priory in Lyne, the nursery combines grade II listed buildings with 5 acres of outdoor space. Children can plant in allotments, spend time around farm animals and use all-weather play areas. Outdoor life has several different settings here, rather than relying on one playground.

At its 19 May 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance to be at Strong standard, with behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines, and children's welfare and wellbeing at Expected standard, while safeguarding standards were met. The distinction matters: learning and inclusion received stronger judgements than the consistency of everyday routines.

Rainbow has capacity for 224 children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months. That is the whole nursery's capacity, rather than the size of any one room. Younger children have separate home rooms, while Little School and pre-school provide later stages. The practical attraction is the combination of different indoor spaces and substantial grounds; the main consideration is how consistently children are supported between activities.

Rooms and Ages

Separate home rooms serve children under two, with babies, wobblers and toddlers occupying different developmental stages; each of these rooms has its own nappy-changing room. Keeping those stages separate gives the youngest children a base designed around their changing needs, rather than treating infancy as one uniform phase.

Little School follows, with resources and toys suited to children's development. Around three, children move into pre-school to prepare for school.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care: Rainbow combines planned play and activities across its areas of learning, supporting children's physical, social, emotional and intellectual development. This is the common foundation for early-years provision. The grounds, animal sanctuary and allotments provide concrete settings in which that learning can happen.

In May 2026, staff built activities around children's interests and used conversations to extend them. Changing weather became a reason to discuss suitable clothing and what rain would mean for outdoor play. Children also matched numbers with quantities. These examples connect language and early mathematical ideas to things children can see and do, rather than leaving them as isolated exercises.

Communication had a prominent place in the nursery day that May. Staff talked children through experiences, asked questions and built on what they already knew. Independence was practised through ordinary tasks too: children learnt to handle cutlery, pour drinks and dress themselves. Those are useful steps towards managing a school day, alongside the learning that happens through play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Rainbow animal sanctuary includes guinea pigs, rabbits, goats and donkeys. Alongside it, children's allotments offer space for planting, while the maze and soft-surface play spaces give outdoor activity different forms. All-weather areas allow outdoor play across the year. For families who value regular contact with animals and growing things, these are substantial parts of the setting itself.

In May 2026, children visited alpacas at the on-site farm and took part in forest school, with outdoor exploration including finding and identifying insects. Stories then extended their interest in the creatures they had discovered. Children also helped assess outdoor risks alongside staff through a garden detective activity. The learning moved between observation, conversation and practical decisions.

The wellness bus had another use that May: children visited it for yoga. They also grew plants together in the allotments. These experiences brought quieter physical activity and shared practical work into the nursery day, alongside exploring the grounds. The bus, growing spaces and farm make Rainbow's outdoor provision easy to picture in concrete terms.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2026, children remained with their key person during the day and returned to them for reassurance while exploring. Staff took individual care routines into account when arranging activities. That gives the key-person relationship a practical role: it connects a child's experiences with someone who knows their needs, rather than serving only as a point of contact for parents.

Learning Journeys are detailed records of children's experiences and development that parents can see at any time. Parents' evenings provide another opportunity for discussion, and staff are available to talk about a child's day or progress. The combination gives families both an ongoing account and a chance to discuss what it means. It also makes communication broader than an occasional formal meeting.

Settling had some tangible supports in May 2026. Children shared personalised books containing photographs of important people, while experience bags went home to help with changes such as moving house, bereavement and toilet training. These connect home circumstances with nursery care. Emotion recognition activities drew on stories, feelings mirrors and puppets; staff used a sand timer to support turn-taking.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received targeted support, with adaptations enabling participation and rapid, sustained progress, supported by collaboration with families and external partners. Practical examples that May included visual now and next boards for transitions and tools to help children regulate their emotions. Support was reviewed to see whether it was addressing the child's barriers to learning or wellbeing.

Everyday consistency was less secure in May 2026. Some staff did not reinforce agreed boundaries when children ran or shouted indoors. Transitions could interrupt absorbed play, and waiting could leave children unsettled; babies sometimes found the wait before meals difficult. Leaders were working on consistent behaviour expectations and changes to routines. These are material care considerations, especially for children who find waiting or changes of activity difficult.

Meals and snacks include fresh fruit and vegetables, with children eating outdoors when the weather allows. In May 2026, planting in the allotments also prompted conversations about healthy eating, linking food with something children had helped grow.

Rainbow's address is Almners Priory, Almners Road, Lyne, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 0BH. It has private car parks for families bringing or collecting children, giving car journeys a dedicated parking option on site. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01932 570888 or by email.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. For working families, the closing time is a useful practical boundary; the holiday closures still need to fit the family's childcare arrangements.

Preparation for school runs through the later stages of Rainbow. Pre-school begins around age three, while the learning approach includes play, communication and increasing independence. The practical examples from May 2026, including dressing and managing drinks, show how school preparation can extend beyond early literacy and number activities into handling everyday tasks.

• Transitions and waiting. In May 2026, some changes of activity disrupted play or left children unsettled, including babies waiting before meals. During a visit, ask what changes have been made since May 2026 to reduce waiting and disruption during transitions.
• Consistent boundaries. Behaviour expectations were still being embedded across the staff team in May 2026. Families whose children need predictable reminders should discuss how practitioners now respond consistently during indoor play and shared activities.
• The scale of the setting. Rainbow has 224 places in total, spread across developmental stages and substantial grounds. A visit should centre on the home room your child would use and how their key-person relationship works within the wider nursery.
• Your attendance and funding arrangement. Year-round opening runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures. Which booking pattern and funded-hours arrangement would apply to your child, and how would meals, consumables and other charges be handled?

Rainbow suits families who value animal contact, gardening and outdoor exploration alongside planned early learning, and whose childcare needs fit weekday, year-round opening. Its animal sanctuary, allotments and play bus give that choice a clear physical basis. Learning Journeys and regular parent discussions add useful ways to stay involved.

The May 2026 findings also call for a measured decision about daily care. Behaviour reminders and transitions needed greater consistency, including the handling of waiting before meals. For a family considering Rainbow, the grounds and activities are a strong reason to look closely; how the child's home room now manages those ordinary moments deserves equal attention.