Crown Daisy Nursery

A former coach house for babies, a Victorian manor house for older children and nearly three acres of gardens give Crown Daisy Nursery its character. The separation between the Baby Lodge and the older children's rooms is a substantial part of the offer: babies have their own garden access, while toddlers and preschool children use the manor house.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. That judgement comes with two useful cautions: staff needed a clearer grasp of each child's intended learning, and individual coaching needed to be more precisely targeted. These are practical questions about teaching and staff development, rather than reasons to judge the nursery by its buildings alone.

Crown Daisy accepts children from three months to five years. Its address is Anglesey House and Lodge, Farnborough Road, Aldershot, GU11 3BJ.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Lodge occupies the former coach house towards the rear of the grounds, with areas for eating, sleeping, learning and play, plus easy access to its garden. For parents of younger babies, that makes the relationship between rest and activity an important part of the layout.

Toddlers and preschool children occupy the manor house's first two floors, using spacious rooms with plenty of light. An art room, library, imagination area and sensory space sit alongside areas for group gatherings and activities at tables. These separate areas give children different settings for books, art, sensory exploration and imaginative play.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the March 2022 examples show what that can look like in practice: exploring materials, sharing stories, making things and becoming more independent.

In March 2022, babies handled instruments while staff sang nursery rhymes in Spanish. Toddlers mixed herbs, flowers and grasses into dough as they made characters inspired by stories. These were concrete combinations of sound, sensory exploration and imaginative play, rather than activities described only by a curriculum label.

Books also connected different stages of learning in March 2022. Toddlers identified features of the Gruffalo, while preschool children worked on holding pens and expressing ideas through early writing. Story discussions introduced words for parts of the body and how bones fit together. Everyday independence included changing shoes for outdoor play and pouring a drink when thirsty, giving children opportunities to practise managing small tasks themselves.

Outdoor and Community Life

Nearly three acres include both formal gardens and wilder ground. Outdoor space is therefore a substantial physical feature of this nursery, alongside the separate garden access for babies.

In March 2022, older children practised balancing on low wooden beams and tackled climbing activities with staff support. The relevant detail for families is the kind of physical challenge involved: children were making decisions about balance and movement, rather than simply spending time outside.

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, warm relationships between children and staff, and good collaboration with parents and professionals involved in children's care. Those findings describe care at that inspection date.

In March 2022, staff shared children's learning with parents and helped them support it at home; advice about introducing new foods was one example for families with babies. This gives a concrete picture of communication extending beyond a description of the day's activities to a child's next developmental step.

Staff practice in March 2022 also included helping toddlers wait while friends chose bricks for a shared tower. Such small exchanges made turn-taking part of ordinary play. Alongside these examples, the improvement request about individual staff coaching matters: supportive relationships and precise professional development are separate parts of care.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. This gives families a weekday opening window and identifies the closures that need to be accommodated in their childcare plans.

Getting There

Anglesey House and Lodge is on Farnborough Road in Aldershot, GU11 3BJ, on the A325. The grounds have ample parking, a practical consideration for families travelling by car.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01252 336319 or by email to crown@mydaisynursery.com.

• Teaching and coaching. The March 2022 improvement priorities concerned clearer learning intentions for individual children and more targeted support for staff. On a visit, ask for examples of how these now shape planning and coaching.
• Separate baby accommodation. Baby Lodge has its own garden access and space for sleep and play, while older children occupy the manor house. Consider how that arrangement fits your child's stage and the eventual move between buildings.
• Attendance and costs. The weekday opening window runs from 7.30am to 6pm, with bank holiday and Christmas closures. What booking patterns, funded entitlement arrangements and written quotation would apply to your family, including the treatment of meals and consumables?

Crown Daisy suits families who value substantial gardens, a separate base for babies and different spaces for art, books and sensory play. Its weekday opening window also matters for parents arranging care around work. The March 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference, while the teaching and coaching priorities give a useful direction for a visit. The strongest reason to consider it is the combination of the Baby Lodge, manor house rooms and outdoor grounds, assessed alongside how staff use them for each child.