Fennies Oxted, Amy Road

A garden growing area, an art studio and a cooking studio give Fennies Oxted, Amy Road a practical, hands-on character. Toddler and preschool rooms open directly into the garden, so outdoor exploration has a physical connection to the rooms where children spend their day. Babies have their own garden too.

The nursery accepts children from three months to five years. Ofsted rated it Good at its 11 August 2021 inspection, a dated judgement rather than a measure of today's practice. The current offer combines age-banded rooms, an app linking parents with their child's key person and a gradual settling period with parents involved from the start.

A standard day and a separately charged Early Start serve different morning schedules. The important distinction is between the nursery's opening hours and the hours included in the standard booking.

Rooms and Ages

Explorers accommodates babies aged 3–18 months; Creators serves children aged 2–3 years; Inventors is for children aged three and over, with space to investigate new ideas. These names give families a useful way to discuss room moves, while the toddler and preschool rooms' direct garden access makes outdoor play part of their physical layout.

The garden includes a growing area. Alongside the baby garden, the art and cooking studios give the setting separate spaces for outdoor exploration and creative activity. Their practical value is the opportunity to use different environments, rather than expecting every experience to happen in the main room.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care, with children developing skills through play and exploration. Here, group activities and adult-guided play include sharing, working together and communicating with other children. Those are everyday opportunities to practise friendship, rather than a separate lesson in social skills.

In August 2021, sensory experiences included colour-changing floor tiles for babies, foam and water play, and dough explored with pasta shapes by older children. Planting sunflower seeds prompted children to recall what plants need to grow and to name their parts. These examples show how physical exploration and conversation could work together in an activity.

Books and early writing also featured in August 2021. Children explored paint with brushes, made dinosaur footprints outdoors and created sunflower pictures using cotton buds. As children progressed through the nursery, stories demanded longer attention and introduced ideas about difference, including a character with a disability. The variety matters: early literacy extended beyond recognising letters to listening, making marks and talking about people.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with a short parent-and-child visit, with the parent staying onsite while the child gets to know the surroundings and adults. The free settling period normally lasts one week and can extend to two weeks when needed. This gives the introduction room to develop gradually, rather than making the first visit an immediate separation.

Parents can use the nursery app to follow activities and development during the day and communicate with their child's key person. That contact provides a direct route for sharing information between home and nursery. Regular parent events include Stay and Plays and Grab and Go Breakfasts.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2021 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding and good support for children with SEND, including referrals towards speech therapists, but also called for clearer purposes in planned activities and questioning that gave children longer to think before answering. The practical distinction is between having an activity ready and knowing what a child should learn from it.

Later regulatory outcomes record repeated safety-related non-compliance and corrective action already taken. The outcome dated 27 October 2023 described changes to staff deployment, first-aid cover and staff responsibilities when children moved between areas, including the garden. The outcome dated 20 December 2024 recorded reviews of policies, procedures and risk assessments, together with further staff training to keep children safe. These are dated findings, rather than evidence of current unmet requirements.

Current staff induction lasts two days and includes paediatric first aid certification, followed by role-specific development and individual coaching. These are training arrangements, not a fresh safeguarding judgement. They give families concrete topics to discuss when considering how staff prepare for their responsibilities.

Meals are cooked in the nursery's own kitchen by chefs and kitchen assistants. Breakfast, lunch and tea, together with snacks and drinks, are included in private fees; funded attendance has a separate food supplement, addressed below.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 29–31 Amy Road, Oxted, RH8 0PX. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, while the standard day runs from 7:45am to 6pm. Early Start covers 7am to 7:45am and carries an additional charge, so families needing the earlier opening should account for that separately.

Attendance options in the fee table cover two, three, four or five days each week. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and the Christmas period. Families therefore need to distinguish their weekly booking from those closure dates when planning childcare.

Getting There

Onsite parking supports collections and drop-offs, and a dedicated buggy shed provides somewhere to leave a pushchair. Oxted station is a named nearby transport option, giving families another point to consider alongside the car park.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts eligible government childcare funding, including 15 and 30 hours free childcare for working families, and also sells privately paid care. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fee information sets out the charge structure.

Private fees include food and personal-care consumables, including wipes, nappies and sun cream. For funded attendance, food and consumables carry separate supplements, already incorporated into the quoted fee totals; families can opt out of these voluntary supplements and supply their own items by arranging a meeting about the relevant policies.

A deposit is credited against the first month's fees. The registration charge is non-refundable, with an exemption for children taking funded-only placements. Joining the waiting list is free. Monthly payment falls due before the first of the month, and late payment attracts an administration charge.

• Activity purpose and thinking time. In August 2021, clearer learning intentions and more time for children to answer questions were improvement priorities. During a visit, ask how staff now plan an activity and adapt their questions to a child's response.
• The earlier morning costs extra. The standard day begins at 7:45am, although the nursery opens at 7am. Families needing Early Start should include that separately charged session in their childcare budget.
• Funded care and supplied items. Food and consumables supplements apply to funded attendance, with a voluntary opt-out route involving a policy discussion. Before joining, establish how supplying your own items would work for your child's booking.

Fennies Oxted, Amy Road suits families choosing either the standard day or that day with an Early Start, and those who value garden access alongside art and cooking spaces. The free, gradual settling period and key-person contact through the app are useful practical supports. Its Good judgement dates to 2021, with specific teaching improvements identified at that time. The strongest current reasons to consider it are the physical environments, the settling arrangements and the clear distinction between private inclusions and funded supplements.