Dragonflies Day Nursery & Out of School Club

Woodland exploration and a garden built for hands-on play give Dragonflies its character. Beside Knightwood Leisure Centre in Chandler's Ford, children can investigate the woods of Zionshill Copse, experiment with water and build obstacle courses from loose parts. This is an outdoor-minded nursery whose surroundings contribute directly to the day.

The nursery has 42 places in total for children aged two to five, with care running from age two until children start school. At its 30 July 2021 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). That is a dated assessment, rather than a judgement on today's provision.

Full-day and half-day attendance sit alongside term-time-only arrangements. A later compliance action concerning director suitability checks also matters to the choice, alongside the nursery's learning and care offer.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and practical experiences help children develop across its areas of learning. Dragonflies builds its activities around children's interests through in the moment planning, getting to know what absorbs each child and using that interest as a starting point. Staff also arrange materials to introduce unfamiliar ideas, so children encounter more than the subjects they already enjoy.

The Curiosity Approach is an inspiration here. The concrete offer is easier to assess than the label: loose parts for construction, child-led exploration and resources adapted to children's stage of development. Activities are made accessible across the nursery's ages, with adjustments to how children take part. For families, the useful question is how an individual interest becomes a worthwhile next step in learning.

In July 2021, books about the Olympics prompted children to recreate sports using wooden planks. Another activity involved designing a beanbag target, testing ways to score and recording points on a chalkboard. These examples brought movement, problem-solving and early number work together. Children also voted for their lunchtime story, giving them a practical way to influence the day.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden has several different uses. A mud kitchen and water wall support messy experimentation; a sandpit provides another material to explore. Children can assemble obstacle courses with loose parts, while a reading teepee gives quieter activity a place outdoors. The Cabin is an outdoor classroom, extending the space for learning beyond the main building.

Regular local outings take children into the woods and to the balancing ponds. Zionshill Copse gives those excursions a recognisable setting, with creatures and minibeasts providing things to investigate. Building the Bug Hotel involved collecting materials in the woods and working together on its construction, connecting woodland exploration with a shared construction project.

In July 2021, children helped assess garden hazards before playing. They considered how rain could affect a balancing beam and discussed how to use it carefully. Safety was therefore something children practised thinking about, as well as something adults managed for them.

Relationships and Communication

Famly is the online learning journal used to share observations and record children's experiences. Parents receive a notification when an observation is added and can contribute photographs and stories themselves. That gives communication two directions: families can see nursery experiences and add context from home.

Individual conversations are also part of the offer, with longer discussions arranged when a parent needs more time. In July 2021, children readily shared personal experiences with staff, who listened and encouraged conversation with other children. The account of daily relationships was specific, rather than simply a description of friendly adults.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO lead provides a named role for coordinating special educational needs support, and there is a Designated Safeguarding Lead. Staff undertake safeguarding-related checks and ongoing training. These are arrangements for managing responsibilities; the dated inspection judgement above supplies the assessment of effectiveness.

In July 2021, support included identifying additional needs promptly, using additional funding and arranging staff training for children's language development. However, individual learning targets were not consistently precise enough, and monitoring of teaching needed to identify staff development more accurately. Those two improvement points are important alongside the positive findings: responding to interests still needs clear thinking about what each child should learn next.

Slice of Pie prepares the nursery's food, which arrives freshly cooked each day; its catering arrangements cover special diets and scrutiny of ingredients for allergens. Morning and afternoon snacks include choices such as fruit, cheese and crumpets, with children supported to serve themselves and pour drinks.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Knightwood Leisure Centre, Skys Wood Road, Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 4SJ, with the nursery building next to the leisure centre. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Nursery care runs across the year, closing on bank holidays, Christmas Eve and during Christmas week.

Families can book full days or half days, and term-time-only attendance is also offered. These are different attendance patterns, rather than a requirement to use the entire opening window. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the visit enquiry form, which leads to arranging a tour.

The wider service includes breakfast and after-school care for children attending St Francis CE Primary School, with delivery and collection provided. This is a school-age childcare service, separate from the nursery's offer for younger children.

Funding and Paid Extras

Dragonflies participates in Hampshire County Council early years education funding, and 30 hours funding is among its funding options. Private childcare is also offered. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation, with the attendance pattern and funded hours clearly separated from any additional private care.

• Director suitability checks. Following a regulatory visit on 3 October 2025, Ofsted issued an action requiring all directors to be notified so suitability checks could be completed, with a deadline of 17 October 2025. Before joining, ask for confirmation of the action's outcome; the dated notice is the latest published position supplied here.
• Individual learning targets. In July 2021, next-step planning and the monitoring of teaching both needed greater precision. During a visit, ask how staff now connect child-led play with individual learning targets and review their teaching.
• Attendance and closures. Full days, half days and term-time-only arrangements serve different family routines, while Christmas week is a closure. Ask for a written quotation showing the chosen pattern, funding treatment and any meal or consumable charges.
• Dietary needs. Slice of Pie supplies the meals and caters for special diets. Families managing an allergy should confirm current ingredient checking and how their child's requirements are communicated between the caterer and nursery.

Dragonflies suits families seeking half-day attendance as well as full days, including those choosing term-time-only care, who want outdoor exploration to be a substantial part of nursery life. Zionshill Copse, the balancing ponds and The Cabin give that preference concrete substance, while Famly creates a practical link with home.

The July 2021 inspection provides dated context, but its learning-planning improvement points and the October 2025 compliance action deserve direct attention before a family commits. The strongest reason to consider Dragonflies is the combination of child-led activity, purposeful outdoor resources and different attendance patterns.