Hopscotch Day Nursery Sholing

Child-height windows, transition rooms and a sensory room give Hopscotch Day Nursery Sholing a recognisable character. Children can see neighbouring spaces before moving between them, while the sensory room combines lighting, sound and physical play and can be requested by children themselves.

At the 25 November 2025 inspection, Ofsted assessed inclusion as Strong standard, the remaining education and care areas as Expected standard, and safeguarding standards as met, while identifying inconsistent routines and staff practice. Later safety and safeguarding compliance findings in April and June 2026 also matter to the decision.

The nursery cares for children from birth to five at 200 South East Road, Southampton, SO19 8LW. Attendance options include morning, afternoon, school day and full day sessions across the year. The choice between its Basic Funded Offer and Premium Flex Offer affects much more than the bill: it changes booking restrictions, food arrangements and access to enhanced digital updates.

Rooms and Ages

Under 2s, Toddlers and Preschool are the three main rooms, organised around children's age and stage. The layout also includes transition rooms and internal windows positioned for children, giving them a view of adjoining spaces as they move through the nursery.

In November 2025, babies explored vegetables and herbs through touch, smell and taste, toddlers practised balancing and jumping from a beam, and preschool children investigated frozen model animals. Preschool dough-making also involved remembering ingredients, using mathematical ideas and sharing materials.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage: children's learning and care develop together through play, conversation, movement and everyday routines. In November 2025, staff used observations and information from parents to decide what individual children needed to learn next. A pretend shop gave children opportunities to talk, interact and use mathematical ideas in the same activity.

Independence was also practised during ordinary tasks. Babies were learning to feed themselves, toddlers began serving food, and preschool children cut up food and cleared their plates.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outside, the gardens have sheltered areas, an outdoor classroom, a sandpit, a mud kitchen and spaces for gardening and wet play. An interactive water-play wall adds another resource for experimenting with water; the rhythm woodwork area provides a different kind of hands-on activity.

The sensory room brings together mirrors, speakers, LED lighting, climbing equipment, soft play and a ball pit. Children can request access to it. Regular parent visit days and grandparent events also create opportunities for family members to take part in nursery life.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2025, staff gathered information about children's backgrounds, languages and home routines when they started. Daily handovers kept that information current, and key-person observations helped connect parents' knowledge with children's next learning steps. For babies, discussions included sleeping and weaning, making care routines part of the relationship with home.

Regular communication now includes the Famly app. The funding package affects its detail: Basic families receive core digital information and assessment, while enhanced access includes learning journals, photographs, videos and fuller observations. Those extras sit within the non-food consumables contribution under the Basic offer and within the Premium package.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDCO role provides additional-needs support at this branch. The sensory room offers another physical space children can request, alongside the main rooms.

In November 2025, individual learning plans incorporated advice from external professionals, signing and tailored individual activities. Song and story sacks could be borrowed for use at home, and a lending library extended access to books beyond the nursery day.

The same November account identified important inconsistencies. Some toddlers were left unoccupied during tidying, and some preschool children had little purposeful activity while waiting for lunch. Staff sometimes missed children needing help after a routine changed or when they were new to the setting. The required next steps concerned better-organised routines and more consistent use of staff training.

Ofsted's findings published on 28 April 2026 recorded unmet safety and welfare requirements and corrective action. The nursery had also reported a staff-to-child ratio matter on 27 March 2026. Its findings published on 4 June 2026 described further safeguarding and record-keeping non-compliance with action taken to put matters right. The June measures included a safeguarding audit, a revised records system and further training initiated by a new management team. Required paperwork was made accessible in playrooms to support prompt referrals. These were repeated compliance matters, so the November safeguarding outcome should be read alongside them.

A dedicated nursery cook supports individual dietary preferences and allergies. Under the funded charging arrangements, fully catered food and the alternative cold lunch provision depend on the package and contribution choices; families cannot bring packed lunches or snacks.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 200 South East Road, Southampton, SO19 8LW, with on-site parking. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas.

Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm, Morning from 8am to 1pm and Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. School Day options are 8am to 3pm, 8.30am to 3.30pm or 9am to 4pm. Breakfast Club runs from 7.30am to 8am.

Basic funded hours are restricted to a single morning or afternoon block each day. Breakfast Club and extra ad-hoc hours are excluded during a funded term, and session patterns cannot change within that term. Changes require at least two months' notice and take effect from the following funded term. At least one booked session must fall on a Monday or Friday.

Premium permits funding across different sessions, up to ten hours per day, and gives access to all three School Day options. Session changes within a funded term require one month's notice and depend on space. Breakfast Club and additional sessions can be booked under the usual charges and availability conditions. Confirmed bookings continue between funded terms unless parents request a change.

Funding and Paid Extras

Sholing offers funded childcare through the Basic Funded Offer and Premium Flex Offer, alongside paid sessions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Basic provides funded hours with optional contributions for food and non-food consumables. Choosing the food contribution provides fully catered meals and snacks; declining it gives children a standard cold lunch and snacks instead. Parents declining the non-food contribution bring nappies or potty-training pants, wipes, creams and sunscreen daily, because these items cannot be stored at the nursery.

The non-food contribution also covers enhanced Famly tools and activities applicable to the setting.

Premium adds a separate charge to each funded hour covering both catered food and non-food consumables. Families choosing it must take both components. Children receiving disadvantaged funding under Basic receive catered meals, snacks and non-food consumables without charge, with a minimum of two sessions.

• Repeated compliance matters. The April and June 2026 findings both involved unmet requirements and corrective action. Ask how the safeguarding audit, records changes and staff training are being maintained in daily practice.
• Routines between activities. In November 2025, tidying and waiting for lunch did not consistently engage children, and some needed more help with changes. A visit is a useful opportunity to discuss how staff now support these parts of the day.
• Basic booking commitment. The Basic terms give differing minimum attendance requirements and require a Monday or Friday session. Obtain the exact minimum for your chosen pattern in writing before committing.
• Food and daily supplies. Basic permits contribution choices, while Premium bundles food and non-food items into a funded-hour charge. Allergy-affected families should confirm current kitchen practice, and Basic families should establish what they will bring each day.

Sholing suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full days or school day patterns, with a choice between more restricted funded bookings and the Premium package. Its sensory room, visible connections between spaces and varied garden resources give the setting a clear physical identity.

The decision also needs careful attention to practice. The November findings identified uneven routines, followed by repeated compliance matters in April and June. Corrective action is documented, but families should weigh those events alongside the facilities and attendance options when deciding whether this nursery fits their child.