Butterfly Nursery School, Horne

An eight-child maximum in the Caterpillar Room gives Butterfly Nursery School, Horne a concrete point of difference for families choosing care for a baby or young toddler. The youngest children have an in-room sleep area, routines shaped around home habits and written updates after each session. Those details make the early experience easier for parents to picture.

At its 29 May 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged inclusion and behaviour, attitudes and routines to be at Strong standard, with achievement, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance at Expected standard, and safeguarding standards met. These are separate area judgements, rather than an overall grade.

Based at Horne Village School on Church Road, the nursery accepts children from nine months to five years and has 30 places in total. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings sit alongside ad hoc and rota-based attendance. The practical appeal is a choice of attendance patterns; the educational picture includes clear strengths in inclusion and routines, alongside work still needed on teaching challenge and healthy eating.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillar Room serves children aged nine months to two years, with a maximum of eight; its spacious room supports exploration of textures and materials, while a sleep area allows rest to follow individual routines. That cap is a room maximum, distinct from the nursery's total capacity. For parents comparing baby care, it gives a useful measure of the scale of the youngest children's surroundings.

Butterfly Room serves children aged two to five years. Across the nursery, a book area supports individual browsing and shared stories, a computer area introduces technology, and role play gives children room to recreate familiar experiences. These spaces offer different ways to take part, rather than expecting every child to engage through the same activity.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS) sets the framework for learning, development and care: children build language, physical skills, early number understanding and social confidence through play and everyday experiences. Here, construction materials, small-world toys and sensory baskets provide starting points for exploration. Paint, playdough and cornflour give children different materials for expressing ideas.

Cooking and growing vegetables connect practical activity with discussions about food. In the garden, children also grow flowers, bringing changes in living things into their everyday learning. The nursery works with local authority Early Years Services and the National Day Nursery Association (NDNA) to keep its practice informed.

In May 2026, children investigated herbs through smell, watered plants and looked for insects. They also mixed paint colours and used containers of water in their play. Staff introduced counting, size and quantity during activities, with books and rhymes woven through the day. The large outdoor space allowed running and negotiating obstacles, adding movement to the quieter exploratory work.

The May 2026 teaching picture also had a limitation: adults sometimes left play insufficiently extended, so the level of challenge varied. Staff development needed more systematic monitoring to help practitioners take children's learning further. For families, the question is how an interesting activity becomes a next step in understanding, rather than simply something to keep a child occupied.

Relationships and Communication

For Caterpillar Room children, a care plan is discussed when joining, and daily routines take account of the child's established habits. Session-end sheets cover sleep, eating, nappy changes and development. This gives parents specific information to connect the nursery day with care at home, including whether a child has rested or eaten differently from usual.

In May 2026, children expressed their needs to staff, who allowed time for answers during conversations. Visual prompts helped explain changes in routine, and adults played alongside children with gentle guidance. Everyday tasks also built independence: children practised handwashing, toileting, handling cutlery and getting ready to go outdoors.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted experiences for children facing barriers to learning, worked with external agencies and parents, and supported significant progress for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Practical support included repeated language and key words; quieter areas gave children somewhere to pause when overwhelmed before returning to play.

A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and a Behaviour Management Coordinator provide dedicated roles within the team. Staff undertake safeguarding updates, first aid and food-hygiene training. These are arrangements for care and support, while the dated safeguarding judgement belongs to the inspection.

In May 2026, staff protected children's privacy during personal care and supervised eating, with procedures for sleep, dietary needs and medical needs. Healthier meals were being introduced, but the changes had not yet become established. In May 2026, healthy eating remained an area for development, alongside teaching and staff development.

Transition work in May 2026 included contact with teachers and other settings children attended. Parents were also invited to talk about their jobs, bringing familiar adults' experiences into children's understanding of community life. The transition work concerns continuity of care and preparation for school.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Horne Village School, Church Road, Horne, Surrey, RH6 9LA. Opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year; closures include bank holidays and two weeks at Christmas.

Morning bookings run from 8am or 9am to 12.55pm. Afternoon bookings start at 1.05pm and finish at either 5pm or 5.30pm, while the full day runs from 8am to 5.30pm. The different start and finish options matter when matching care to a working day: a morning booking and an afternoon booking are separate patterns, rather than simply shorter versions of the full day.

Ad hoc sessions and attendance arranged around a rota are also accommodated. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone or by email. Unauthorised late collection attracts a separate charge, so the chosen finish time has practical consequences.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes Universal Funding for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, 30 hour (extended) funding for eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds, and Free Early Education for Two Year Olds (FEET) for eligible two-year-olds. Universal Funding can be taken as 15 hours weekly over 38 term-time weeks or 11 hours weekly across 50 weeks. These are different ways of distributing the entitlement across the year.

Private morning packages include lunch, with breakfast included in the 8am option; afternoon packages include tea, and the full-day package includes all meals. For children claiming three- and four-year-old funding, meals and additional attendance hours are invoiced separately each month. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation, with the funded and private parts of their booking distinguished.

• Teaching challenge. In May 2026, play was not consistently taken further and staff development required closer monitoring. At a visit, ask for examples of how practitioners extend an activity when a child is ready for more.
• Healthy eating. The May 2026 changes to meals were still becoming established. Ask how the current menu puts those changes into practice.
• Baby-room routines. Caterpillar Room has an eight-child maximum and an in-room sleep area. Discuss how sleep and familiar home routines would work for your child within that shared space.
• The full cost of attendance. Private packages include specified meals, while three- and four-year-old funded attendance carries separate meal charges. Ask for an itemised quotation covering your chosen pattern, including the arrangements for nappies and other consumables.

Butterfly suits families choosing between morning sessions, afternoon sessions and full-day care, with additional flexibility for rota-based or ad hoc attendance. For the youngest children, the Caterpillar Room's stated cap, care plan and daily sheets make the care arrangements tangible.

The May 2026 assessment gives inclusion and routines greater weight than teaching or leadership. That balance matters: this is a nursery with practical support mechanisms and adaptable attendance, but teaching challenge, staff development and healthy eating deserve attention when making a decision.