Bizzy Tots Day Nursery, Long Itchington

Chapatti-making babies and preschool children building houses from sticks give Bizzy Tots Day Nursery, Long Itchington a recognisable character. At its 21 April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall. The strongest thread through that account is learning through doing: children mixing ingredients, negotiating over toys and finding their own ways to construct things.

Outdoor exploration remains central to the Long Itchington offer. Forest School brings regular nature-based experiences, while the outdoor spaces support climbing, building and investigation. For families who want movement and practical discovery to be part of nursery life, that is a useful starting point.

The setting cares for children aged 0 to 60 months at Furlong Barn, Church Road. Full-day, morning and school-day sessions give families different ways to organise attendance.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, play and care routines become opportunities to develop language, independence and understanding, rather than learning being confined to a separate lesson.

In April 2023, babies explored cooking by choosing jugs, pouring water and combining ingredients for chapattis. Staff introduced words connected to the actions and textures. The activity linked something children could handle directly with language they could use immediately: a practical example of learning built into an ordinary experience.

Toddlers' play in April 2023 included cars and a garage, with children taking turns and making room for others. Staff joined their play and used questions that invited more than a short answer. Sharing equipment therefore also gave children opportunities to practise conversation and cooperation.

For preschool children, the April 2023 account described remembered stories being recreated with materials that could serve different purposes. Older children also chose sticks, tape, blocks and string to make buildings, turning to books for further ideas. These examples matter because children were making decisions about both the project and the tools, rather than simply reproducing an adult's model.

Today, Curious Minds describes learning shaped by children's interests, with space to explore ideas and ask questions. Creative Play gives children opportunities to express their ideas through imagination. The practical attraction is the room for a child's own interests to influence what happens next.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds regular experiences centred on nature and exploration. The outdoor spaces also invite children to investigate, climb and build, bringing physical activity alongside problem solving. This is an offer with a clear outdoor emphasis, rather than an account built only around indoor activities.

There is an important distinction between that current offer and the detailed examples from April 2023. The cooking, construction and story activities illustrate nursery life at that date; the ongoing outdoor emphasis and interest-led learning describe the current approach.

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and reported excellent learning progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), with support targeted to individual needs. These are dated judgements, but they give parents a substantive quality reference alongside the overall grade.

In April 2023, staff used their knowledge of each child's abilities to plan the next steps in learning. When development caused concern, they worked with parents and other professionals. For a family considering additional support, the useful detail is that planning connected the child's needs with joint action, rather than treating support as a separate activity.

Personal care also received individual attention in April 2023. Staff explained care routines sensitively to younger children, while older children practised managing their own needs. That combines respectful adult help with opportunities to become more independent.

Family photographs and conversations about home life featured in April 2023, alongside discussion of different cultures and celebrations. Children could connect nursery experiences with people and occasions familiar to them. Communication with parents included what children had been learning, making the nursery day easier to discuss at home.

Meals are included in private session fees: a full day covers breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks, while shorter sessions have their own meal provision. Meals are charged separately for some funded-hour arrangements; the fully funded 9am-to-noon morning pattern has no charges for 15 funded hours only. Families supply nappies, formula and suncream.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Furlong Barn, Church Road, Long Itchington, Southam, CV47 9PN. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, selecting Long Itchington and the attendance days and session types being considered.

A Full day Session runs from 7.45am to 5.45pm, a Morning Session from 7.45am to 1pm, and a School Day Session from 9am to 3pm. There is also a fully funded morning pattern from 9am to noon for 15 hours, with the registration-charge exemption applying to children attending that pattern five days a week.

Attendance can be full-time or part-time, but part-time days follow set combinations. Two-day bookings use Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday; three-day bookings run Monday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Friday; four-day bookings run Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday. Those combinations matter if a parent's working days are scattered across the week.

The nursery operates across 51 weeks. Term-time-only bookings require at least three attendance days and at least one day each week during the summer school holidays, so that arrangement still includes summer attendance. Its term-time contract follows Warwickshire school holiday dates.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding includes 2 Help Funding Entitlement, Universal Entitlement 3- & 4-year funding and Expanded Funding. The working-parent entitlement applies from the term after a child reaches nine months, subject to eligibility and a valid code; universal funding begins in the term after the third birthday.

Expanded Funding can be used as 30 hours across 38 weeks or stretched across 51 weeks, with the pack describing up to 22 funded hours a week for the latter. The amount claimed can depend on when entitlement begins. A stretched arrangement spreads the entitlement across more of the year; it does not remove charges for additional private hours or meals.

Private session fees include their specified meals, while funded-hour examples separate food charges from any additional childcare hours. Nappies, formula and suncream come from home. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Fees are payable monthly in advance. A non-refundable registration charge applies, with an exemption for funded-only children attending 9am to noon five days a week; changes to sessions require one month's notice. Families claiming funding must complete an electronic Parent/Guardian Declaration.

• Set attendance combinations. Part-time bookings use specified consecutive-day combinations, and term-time-only attendance includes a summer-holiday commitment. Discuss how your working pattern fits those rules during a visit.
• Christmas charging. The terms say closed working days between Christmas and New Year are uncharged, while the stretch terms describe Christmas week at the full fee rate. Ask for the Christmas treatment of your proposed contract in writing.
• From inspection examples to your child's day. The detailed care and learning observations date to April 2023. During a visit, ask how settling and daily communication would work for your child's age and needs.

Bizzy Tots Long Itchington suits families attracted to outdoor exploration and learning that gives children room to choose, investigate and make things. The Outstanding April 2023 judgement supplies a strong dated reference, and the current Forest School offer keeps nature-based activity central to its identity.

Its attendance options suit both families seeking a full-day pattern and those wanting mornings or school-day sessions. The practical decision is whether the fixed day combinations, funded-hour extras and, for term-time-only bookings, summer attendance requirement fit the household's routine.