Hatfield Nursery

A separate bedroom for the youngest children, a Pirate ship playground for toddlers and a conservatory for preschool quiet time give Hatfield Nursery a clear sense of progression. Its three named rooms offer different spaces as children grow, rather than simply repeating the same arrangement for different ages. The setting shares the Priory RC Primary School site in Torquay and accepts children from three months to five years.

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated assessment, with two useful qualifications: children needed more opportunities to pursue their own ideas, and staff needed more chances to learn from one another. Both matter when judging how play becomes learning.

Busy Bees, Curly Caterpillars and Eager Elephants form the room sequence. Free settling visits introduce children and parents to their keyworkers, while funded sessions can be taken across the year or during term time.

Rooms and Ages

Busy Bees serves the youngest age band, described as birth to two, although the nursery's current intake begins at three months; its emphasis is on following home routines, sensory exploration and early movement, with a quiet book area, a mirror with a support bar, messy play space and a separate bedroom. Those features give sitting, crawling and newly mobile children different ways to explore. Sleep has its own space, away from the main activities, with a window and monitors for checking sleeping children.

Curly Caterpillars, for two- to three-year-olds, combines support for language, behaviour and toilet training with a room upstairs, a bathroom with changing facilities and a quiet room used for stories, puppets, music and dance. A role-play kitchen, building materials and opportunities to make marks sit alongside sand and water activities. This is a stage where independence and communication can develop together through familiar play.

Eager Elephants, for three- to five-year-olds, places greater emphasis on independence and children's interests, with a conservatory for books and imaginative play, a maths area and resources for dressing up, construction and creative work. Shop, hairdresser and recycling-centre role play give children recognisable situations to act out. A bathroom with changing facilities remains part of the room, accommodating different stages of personal care.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play supports communication, physical development, relationships and growing independence. Here, the room descriptions translate that into sensory baskets for younger children, story props for toddlers and freely accessible number and shape resources for preschool children. The progression is concrete.

In December 2022, language activities included hidden objects for babies to discover and name, while older children explored vocabulary connected with changes in materials. Toddlers acted out familiar stories using props, and older children mixed jelly crystals with water. These examples show how conversation can accompany practical activity, rather than being confined to a separate language session.

The December 2022 improvement points concerned the way adults extended that play. Sometimes children had too little time to develop their own thinking or experiment independently. Staff also needed more opportunities to exchange effective teaching ideas. For parents, the useful distinction is between an inviting activity and an activity that leaves room for a child to investigate.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Busy Bees garden includes slides and a grassy slope, giving younger children opportunities to practise movement and manage changes in level. Plants, bugs, visiting birds and squirrels also provide things to observe. Outdoor exploration therefore includes both physical challenges and small discoveries in the natural surroundings.

Curly Caterpillars uses the larger outdoor area, including a sensory garden with rabbits and chickens and the Pirate ship playground.

Relationships and Communication

Free settling visits allow parents and children to become familiar with keyworkers before regular attendance. Busy Bees aims to retain the child's routine from home, making the exchange of information about everyday habits especially relevant for younger starters. The combination gives settling a practical starting point: familiar routines and a familiar adult.

In December 2022, staff comforted babies sensitively and built close relationships with children. Conversations with parents covered children's development, and staff shared information to support learning at home. The same visit recorded children making space for one another during sensory play, a small example of how consideration for others was becoming part of the day.

Current collection arrangements require parents or carers to authorise anyone else collecting their child. Absence should be reported by telephone; staff contact families when a child is absent without notification. These are clear communication responsibilities for families, especially when collection arrangements change.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including coordination with external agencies and the use of additional funding for children needing support. That finding belongs to the inspection date. Current joining arrangements ask families to discuss developmental, physical or learning needs before starting, so support can be planned and other professionals involved.

Families must also explain health needs, including allergies and dietary requirements, when their child starts. In December 2022, children brushed their teeth after eating, and staff supported increasing independence as children moved through the nursery.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Priory RC Primary School, St. Catherines Road, Torquay, TQ1 4NZ. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays, with year-round operation and a Christmas closure. Families can contact the nursery by telephone or email to discuss care.

Grant sessions provide several distinct choices: All day runs from 8.45am to 4.15pm; Morning from 9am to noon; and Morning Plus from 9am to 1pm. Afternoon runs from noon to 3pm, while Afternoon Plus continues from noon to 4pm. These patterns can be used throughout the year or in term time only.

Attendance beyond grant-session hours is charged at an hourly rate as wraparound care. Flexible arrangements can also be discussed. This makes the session boundary important: the funded pattern and any additional paid time are separate parts of the booking.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and additional private hours are offered. Grant sessions can run year-round or during term time, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Occasional contributions may be requested for outings or activities taking place inside or outside the nursery.

Breakfast is included when children attend before 8am and tea when they attend after 4.30pm; snacks and milk are provided, with a voluntary snack donation requested during grant hours. Midday meals can be ordered through ParentPay or replaced with a packed lunch, and families must supply a dairy-free alternative when their child cannot have dairy products.

Food restrictions include peanuts and raisins, and grapes must be halved lengthways. Allergy-affected families should discuss current practice alongside their child's individual requirements.

Sharing a school site does not guarantee a Reception place. In December 2022, the nursery had a relationship with its host school that supported children's transition; families still apply for a state-school place through the local authority admissions process.

• Child-led exploration. December 2022 improvement points concerned giving children more scope to experiment and helping staff exchange good practice. During a visit, ask how adults now extend play while allowing children time to develop their own ideas.
• Food and grant hours. Included breakfast and tea depend on attendance times, grant-hour snacks attract a requested voluntary donation, and families can choose a packed lunch. A written quotation should distinguish the chosen session, extra hours and food arrangements; discuss allergy practice where relevant.
• Moving between spaces. Curly Caterpillars uses an upstairs room, while Busy Bees has a separate bedroom and Eager Elephants a conservatory. A visit can help families judge how those arrangements fit their child's movement, rest and settling needs.

Hatfield suits families choosing between morning or afternoon grant sessions and an all-day grant pattern, with term-time or year-round attendance. Its strongest practical details are the separate bedroom for younger children, the toddler outdoor spaces and the preschool conservatory. Free settling visits add a useful bridge between home and nursery.

The December 2022 Good judgement provides a positive assessment with specific teaching improvements to weigh. For a family choosing here, the central question is how the room arrangements and adult interaction work together for their child's stage of development.