The Fun Factory

Roos, Piglets, Tiggers and Owls give The Fun Factory’s Camberley nursery a recognisable progression from babyhood to preschool. Its Victorian house on London Road has a garden divided between younger and older children, while the baby provision separates children who are walking from those who are still getting there. Developmental stage matters here, alongside age.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and highlighted effective support for children with SEND and possible speech delays. Two improvements were required: more consistent encouragement of independence, and better explanations of healthy choices. Those are useful points against which to assess everyday practice.

The nursery accepts children from six months to five years at 104 London Road, Camberley, GU15 3TJ. Full-day attendance is offered, with opening hours of 8am to 6pm on weekdays.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room unit has a stated capacity of 21 babies under two; that figure belongs to the combined baby provision, rather than either of its named sections. Roos starts at six months and continues until children are walking, while Piglets takes walkers up to two years. Bright rooms, toys and a separate fenced garden give the youngest children indoor and outdoor places to explore.

Tiggers covers ages two to three, with an emphasis on discovery and growing independence, while Owls serves children aged three to five through individual activity planning, indoor and outdoor play, and opportunities to work alone or alongside other children.

The distinction between Roos and Piglets is useful for parents whose child’s movement and play are changing quickly. It also makes the combined baby-unit size a more meaningful visit topic than the room names alone: families need to understand how the spaces work together during a normal day.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for learning, development and care: here, individual observations inform activities suited to each child’s stage, with play taking place both indoors and outside. Children’s achievements, assessments and observations are gathered in an individual record. For parents, that gives a thread connecting the activities children enjoy with their developing skills.

In June 2024, babies experimented with rice using containers and scooping tools, toddlers constructed homes for superhero figures, and older children made juice from citrus fruit. These were practical experiences with materials children could handle and change. Language also developed through imaginative play: a pirate-ship activity introduced vocabulary connected with sailing and exploring.

During that same month, staff brought mathematics into play through conversations about how much containers held and counting while children added herbs and leaves to mixtures. This made numbers and quantities part of an activity, rather than a separate task. The detail matters more than a broad promise of school preparation.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden has separate areas for babies and children over two, with natural surfaces and textures. Activities used indoors are also taken outside, and families are asked to supply suitable coats, gloves and hats. Outdoor play is therefore part of the nursery day, with clothing an everyday practical consideration.

In June 2024, older children used kitchen tools and ingredients in the mud kitchen, while younger children played with footballs and see-saws. These examples show different kinds of outdoor activity, from manipulating materials to moving and balancing.

Settling for babies begins with pre-start visits and conversations about feeding and sleep. The under-two routine is intended to follow home routines where possible, rather than expecting every baby to fit one timetable. For a family managing naps or changing feeds, those early discussions provide a practical starting point.

Toilet training in Tiggers follows signs that the child is ready. Parents supply spare clothes and, when needed, nappies, wipes and creams. This puts readiness ahead of a fixed age expectation and makes the nursery’s approach relevant to children progressing at different speeds.

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that targeted support, developed with parents and other professionals, helped children with SEND and possible speech delays progress, and that settling arrangements supported strong relationships with families. In June 2024, parent communication included spoken updates, weekly photographs and activities to try at home. That combination gave families both an account of the day and something practical to continue together.

Independence was less consistent. In June 2024, children were encouraged to manage tasks such as finding shoes and attending to personal hygiene, but adults sometimes completed tasks before children had enough opportunity to try. The improvement needed was in the timing of adult help, rather than simply adding more independence activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Full-day attendance appears across the Camberley age bands. The nursery opens from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and operates throughout the year, closing on bank holidays. Opening hours define the operating window; they should be considered alongside the full-day booking pattern.

Getting There

The address is 104 London Road, Camberley, GU15 3TJ, in a Victorian house on the A30 between Camberley and Bagshot. It is five minutes walk from Camberley town centre.

Enquiries go to the Camberley team by telephone on 01276 469469 or by email at camberley@thefunfactorynursery.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early Years Free Entitlement is offered for preschool children aged three and four. Private full-day care is also offered; current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, with the Camberley fees page setting out the attendance categories.

For Tiggers children who need them, parents provide nappies, wipes and creams, together with a change of clothing. These everyday supplies should be planned alongside attendance rather than treated as part of the child’s activity provision.

• The combined baby unit. The Baby Room provision has a stated capacity of 21 under-twos across its spaces. On a visit, ask how Roos and Piglets are organised during play, sleep and movement between areas.
• Time to do things independently. June 2024 brought a recommendation for staff to give children more consistent opportunities to complete everyday tasks themselves. Ask how practitioners now decide when to help and when to wait.
• Understanding healthy choices. The June 2024 improvement points included explaining the reasons for healthy eating and exercise more consistently. Ask for an example of how that discussion fits into an ordinary day.
• The preschool funding arrangement. Early Years Free Entitlement is offered for three- and four-year-olds. Ask how funded attendance is arranged and which additional costs apply to the proposed booking.

The Fun Factory suits families seeking full-day attendance, a baby routine shaped around home habits, and a progression into discovery-led toddler and preschool activities. Roos and Piglets make developmental stage visible in the baby provision, while Tiggers and Owls put growing independence into the older children’s day.

The June 2024 Good judgement provides a clear inspection position. The decision should also take account of the combined baby-unit size and the practical follow-through on independence and healthy-choice explanations. Those are specific points to explore, alongside the nursery’s individual planning and separate outdoor areas.