Sunshine Day Nursery

A Grade II listed building, a garden for insect hunts and a baby room capped at twelve give Sunshine Day Nursery a recognisable character. Based in Clatterfield Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea, it has 53 places in total for babies and preschool children. Its appeal lies in the combination of small younger rooms, practical independence and outdoor play.

At its March 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged all six assessed areas to meet the expected standard and safeguarding standards to be met. The areas cover achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership. There are also clear priorities around access to activities for children who are not yet mobile and more consistent oversight of the younger rooms.

Opening hours are 7am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The building has air conditioning throughout, and off-road parking sits beside it.

Rooms and Ages

Sunshine, the baby room, accommodates up to twelve babies and separates milk preparation and nappy changing from its carpeted exploration space, hard-floor messy-play area and sleep area with cots and beds. That layout gives different parts of the baby day their own spaces. The routine can follow home arrangements for bottles, feeding and sleep, rather than expecting every baby to fit the same timetable.

Raindrop accommodates up to eight children and combines a home corner, books, a creative table and sand-and-water play, with naps taken upstairs using individually labelled bedding. Sunbeam also has a cap of eight: it serves as an overflow room for babies or younger children and becomes a bedroom for naps. Its kitchen role-play area, dolls house and book corner sit alongside a hard-floor space for meals and creative work.

Rainbow accommodates up to 24 children and emphasises independence through pouring drinks, choosing dressing-up clothes, washing hands at a small sink and preparing for school. Equipment supports self-care, with staff helping when needed.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) provides the educational framework: children develop through play, conversation, exploration and interaction with adults and other children. In Sunshine, daily planning emphasises communication, physical development and personal, social and emotional learning. The other areas are rotated through the week; older children's planning includes the full set of areas each day.

Tapestry is the observation and home-learning system used to record children's experiences, plan next steps and share activities with families. Termly reports draw on these observations. Parents can upload photographs or videos of learning at home.

In March 2026, sand-scooping activities helped younger children practise movements useful for feeding themselves, while painting at easels encouraged larger arm movements. Action songs combined movement with counting.

The teaching priority is to take children's enquiries further. In March 2026, children used magnifiers while searching beneath logs, but staff did not consistently draw on other resources, including insect fossils, to deepen that exploration. Leaders were supporting staff to sustain children's questions more effectively.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden provides space beyond the indoor rooms. In March 2026, children balanced on logs, constructed houses using substantial wooden blocks and developed imaginary stories together. Younger children experimented with sounds using pans and wooden spoons, and made marks with chalk and water. The outdoor space supported both active movement and quieter investigation.

Regular walks take children to the library to collect books and out on nature walks. At particular points in the year, outings include the farm, Sealife Centre and Christmas pantomime, with parents encouraged to join. These trips add experiences beyond the building, while the library visits connect reading with outings to collect books.

The Carbon Footprint Reduction Program covers waste recycling, LED lighting and monitoring energy use. Recycling the Christmas tree is one concrete example of how the nursery applies it.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an allocated key person working in their room. Settling sessions give families time to discuss routines and care needs with that practitioner and the room team before attendance begins.

Open evenings and open days provide opportunities to discuss development with the key person. Tapestry also supports activities at home and parent contributions, so communication includes children's learning as well as the practical details of care. In March 2026, staff invited families to share home experiences and gave regular updates on children's development.

Sleep arrangements differ by room. Babies have cots and beds within their designated sleep area, while Raindrop children nap upstairs with their own sheet and blanket. That bedding is washed at the end of the child's attendance for the week.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A special educational needs coordinator, access ramps and partnerships with speech and language therapists and specialist teachers form part of the support arrangements. The key person discusses concerns with families and can involve the coordinator; with parental permission, the area coordinator can also contribute. Visiting professionals can work with a child in the nursery itself.

At the March 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that SEND support included personal plans and professional partnerships, but identified delays in helping children who were not fully mobile reach activities, inconsistent adaptation of teaching, and leadership monitoring that needed to cover younger rooms more thoroughly. These are material qualifications for families of babies and children needing assistance with movement. Physical access to the building and access to learning are separate considerations.

In March 2026, staff used stories and emotion stones to help children recognise feelings during small-group activities. Children also practised personal-care tasks with adult encouragement. Staff training included SEND support, and a language-screening programme had recently been introduced to identify speech and language delays earlier.

Meals and snacks are provided, with lunches cooked on the premises and dietary requirements discussed with families. Breakfast includes cereal, fruit and toast; snacks include vegetables, cheese and crackers, with drinks accessible throughout the day.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery's address is The White Hall, Clatterfield Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 0AX. It opens from 7am until 6.30pm on weekdays and operates for 51 weeks of the year, closing on UK bank holidays. These are opening hours, rather than a timetable prescribing how every child attends.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01702 333313 or through the contact form. Pre-registration and attendance-change forms are also provided.

Getting There

Off-road parking is beside the building, which stands in the grounds of Clatterfield Gardens. Access ramps are part of the building's accessibility arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early Years Free Entilement Funding is offered for three- and four-year-olds, with a term-based calendar for nursery grant children. Families arranging care across the year should distinguish those funded terms from the nursery's wider operating calendar.

Private childcare is also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fee list is reviewed annually. Parents supply nappies and summer sun cream; children also bring a toothbrush, spare clothing and seasonal items such as Wellington boots and hats.

Preparation for school is built into Rainbow's activities. Pouring drinks, washing hands and managing dressing-up clothes give children practice in looking after themselves, alongside the room's transition-to-school activities.

• Access for less-mobile children. In March 2026, some children needed quicker assistance to move between activities or reach resources. During a visit, ask how the baby-room layout and staff support now enable participation throughout the day.
• Room allocation and sleep. Sunbeam can accommodate either babies or younger children and also becomes a nap space. Ask which room your child would use and how sleeping and active play are organised around that allocation.
• Funded terms and paid attendance. Grant-funded attendance follows a term calendar, while the nursery operates for 51 weeks. Request a written quotation setting out your intended attendance, funded hours and any additional charges together.
• Dietary arrangements. Meals are prepared on site and individual diets are discussed with families. If your child has an allergy, confirm current preparation and serving arrangements before they start.

Sunshine suits families who value practical independence, garden play and a clearly identified key person, with particular reasons to examine the younger rooms closely. The baby-room cap, milk kitchen and home-led feeding and sleep arrangements give parents concrete care details to weigh. Rainbow's everyday self-care tasks offer a different emphasis as children approach school.

The March 2026 assessment reached the expected standard across the assessed areas, but access for less-mobile children and consistent monitoring of younger rooms remain central decision points.