Frimley Nest Day Nursery

Playing fields, woodland and an allotment give Frimley Nest Day Nursery a character shaped by the outdoors. Its home at Frimley Green Football Club Hall puts park facilities into everyday nursery life, while preschool children follow the growing season from planting to eating what they have grown. These are concrete experiences: children have places to explore and living things to care for.

At its May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found that children communicated well, formed friendships and developed independence, while asking for greater challenge in the toddler room and more everyday exploration of people's similarities and differences. That is a positive, qualified judgement. Both improvement points matter when considering the learning offered to younger children.

The nursery has 34 places in total, with an age range covering birth to five years; its childcare offer starts at six months and extends to four years and eleven months. Full days and half days give families different attendance options.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides the learning here: activities draw on children's interests and stage of development, with play providing opportunities to practise skills and explore ideas. Practitioners also use their knowledge of each child to plan activities. The practical implication is that children's interests help shape what they do, rather than every child following an identical plan.

Allotment Club gives preschool children a weekly outing to the nursery's own growing space during spring and summer. Preparing soil, sowing seeds, tending plants and tasting the produce connect gardening with food. There is a clear sequence for children to follow, rather than a single activity that ends when the session finishes.

Two sporting options have different age thresholds. Play Ball is open to children from two years and develops movement skills alongside sharing and taking turns; payment goes separately to the company running it. Tennis Club offers weekly sessions from three years, using the refurbished courts, with the booking day changing each week so different attendance patterns can be accommodated.

In May 2022, older children recognised letters, including the initial in their own name, and noticed house numbers on a walk. Those examples show how familiar surroundings were used for early literacy and number work at that time. They also give parents useful points of comparison with the current activities offered to their child.

Outdoor and Community Life

The surrounding park provides a playground, playing fields and woodland, used daily for outdoor play and learning. Regular Woodland walks add opportunities to listen, investigate tracks and make marks with sticks in mud. The emphasis is on exploring the surroundings and encountering manageable challenges, rather than simply taking indoor activities outside.

In May 2022, children also visited nearby parks, woodland and duck ponds regularly. During an allotment outing, they noticed strawberries changing colour; on walks, exchanges with local residents helped connect nursery life with the neighbourhood. These dated examples give substance to the outdoor character that continues in the current activity programme.

Relationships and Communication

Care planning begins with a conversation about the individual child. Parents and carers can explain routines and requests, which are used to prepare a customised care plan. This is a practical starting point for babies and young children whose home routines differ: the discussion concerns the child who will attend, rather than a standard description of nursery care.

In May 2022, staff worked with families during settling and brought children's home experiences into nursery activities. Children had formed attachments across the staff team. Settling therefore involved both the child and their family, with home life contributing to the activities planned at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and staff leading support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities knowledgeable, working with families and other professionals to arrange support. These findings belong to that inspection date.

During May 2022 outings, staff assessed risks and taught children road-crossing skills. Children also practised safe use of cutlery and recognised hazards such as brambles. This combined adult preparation with opportunities for children to learn how to take care of themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day sessions run from 8am to 6pm. Half Day sessions offer either 8am to 1pm or 1pm to 6pm, making the shorter option a genuine morning or afternoon booking rather than an unspecified reduction in hours.

The nursery opens Monday to Friday. Its charging structure combines term-time funded attendance with privately paid attendance outside the funded weeks, with one Christmas week excluded from charges. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form.

Getting There

The address is Frimley Green Football Club Hall, Frimley Green, GU16 6JX, with access from Frimley Green Road via Frimley Green Recreation Ground. Parking is free in front of the tennis courts; the directions warn that some sat-nav systems instead lead to a nearby primary school.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15hr and 30hr funded entitlements are offered, claimed across 38 term-time weeks. Funding is therefore applied term-time, even though the resulting bill is spread across the year: funded-week charges and 13 weeks at the private rate are combined into 12 equal monthly payments.

For funded attendance, meals and snacks are charged separately through a contribution for each funded day. That contribution also covers outings, special holidays and associated activities, tennis and allotment costs. Funding covers education and care, so families need to consider the additional charge alongside their attendance pattern.

Play Ball has a separate fee paid directly to its organiser. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees and funding page explains the billing structure.

• Toddler challenge and everyday differences. The May 2022 improvement points concerned stretching toddler learning and using everyday opportunities to explore similarities and differences. At a visit, ask for examples of how both now appear in children's activities.
• Funding across the year. Entitlement is claimed over 38 weeks, while the monthly bill also includes privately paid weeks and funded-day extras. Ask for a quotation matching your intended sessions, including how nappies, wipes and other consumables are handled.
• Finding the right entrance. Sat-nav directions can lead to a primary school instead of Frimley Green Recreation Ground. Use the recreation-ground directions and the parking area beside the tennis courts when planning a visit.

Frimley Nest suits families seeking outdoor experiences alongside either full-day attendance or morning and afternoon half days. Daily use of the park, seasonal Allotment Club outings and age-specific sports give parents concrete activities to weigh against their child's interests.

The May 2022 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, qualified by the two learning priorities. The practical choice rests on the child's stage, the session pattern and the annual funding calculation: this is a nursery whose outdoor offer deserves as much attention as its timetable.