Bright Horizons Farnham Day Nursery and Preschool

A children's kitchen and caring for chickens gave Farnham's December 2023 nursery life a practical character: children could make something, take responsibility and test their ideas. Bright Horizons Farnham Day Nursery and Preschool, at 1 Wilkinson Way, Monkton Lane, accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 99 places in total.

At the 18 December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, finding effective safeguarding, carefully tailored learning that supported excellent progress, and timely intervention for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Those judgements belong to that visit. A later organisational safeguarding notice is material to the decision families make now and is explained below.

Weekday opening runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm. Funded childcare and privately paid hours are both offered, with the funded arrangement stretched across the year.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means activities should help children communicate, move, develop relationships and build understanding through their everyday experiences; it is the common framework rather than an extra offered by this nursery.

In December 2023, babies explored sounds and textures, with interesting objects positioned to encourage movement. Toddlers investigated what happened when materials were mixed into soil, water and sand, and used tools during pretend excavation. Preschool children developed an interest in flight by folding paper aircraft, predicting their travel and measuring the results. The progression was concrete: exploration became experimentation, then a chance to explain and test an idea.

A child-sized kitchen added another form of practical learning at that visit. Older children made pizza from the beginning rather than simply assembling a snack. Preparing food gave them something real to do with their growing independence, while younger children practised feeding themselves or helping with snack routines.

Outdoor and Community Life

Current facilities include a Mud Kitchen, Vegetable Garden and Children's Kitchen, alongside a landscaped garden. These are useful spaces for families who value hands-on experiences involving food, growing and messy play. The nursery also holds an Eco-Schools Green Flag Award, recognising its environmental work.

In December 2023, children talked about nature walks and outings nearby, and explained how they looked after the nursery's chickens. Learning about living things involved care as well as observation: children discussed gentle handling and feeding. That gives the environmental emphasis a tangible example, rather than leaving it as a general theme.

In December 2023, staff responded to children's news with conversation and encouraged them to explain more. Behaviour was supported through calm prompts and redirection when needed. For a parent weighing the daily experience, these examples matter because they show how ordinary interactions were used to support language and relationships.

Communication extended beyond conversations at nursery. At that time, families had different ways to stay in touch, resources for learning at home and opportunities to participate in children's activities and events. Staff also worked with parents, schools and other professionals when a child needed targeted help. The useful point is the mechanism: support involved people around the child working together.

Meals and snacks were cooked on the premises in December 2023, with dietary needs considered and cultural celebrations reflected in the food. Staff had also received further dietary and allergy training following a food incident, and the resulting procedures were being applied consistently at that visit.

On 22 June 2026, Ofsted issued an organisational Welfare Requirements Notice to Bright Horizons after finding serious failings in how safeguarding was led, governed, supervised and carried out across the organisation; the provider had not demonstrated that it could ensure consistently effective safeguarding across its provision. Required changes covered leadership, oversight, staff support and handling of concerns and allegations, while making clear that the actions did not mean every nursery had been found at fault. The notice required action by 1 August 2026; its dated position must be considered separately from Farnham's December 2023 judgement. It does not establish a safeguarding breach at this branch, nor establish that the organisational actions were subsequently completed.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank and public holidays, one inset day and the period between Christmas and New Year. Those closures matter when matching childcare to a working calendar.

Funded childcare uses 10-hour sessions beginning at opening time. Attendance beyond that funded session attracts an additional hourly charge, but buying those additional hours is not a condition of taking a funded place. This separates the funded booking from the longer opening window: families do not have to purchase the whole window simply because the nursery is open for it.

Fees are paid ahead of attendance through a monthly direct debit. There is a registration charge, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The nursery telephone is 01252 917 078.

Getting There

The address is 1 Wilkinson Way, Monkton Lane, Farnham, GU9 9FA. Onsite parking and a Buggy Park provide practical options for families travelling with young children.

Funding and Paid Extras

The funded arrangements include 30-hour entitlements for eligible children from 9 months and for two-year-olds, plus 15-hour and 30-hour arrangements for eligible children in the older age band. Eligibility conditions apply. Funding is stretched over 50 weeks, so the term-time entitlement is spread across more of the childcare year.

On privately paid hours, meals and snacks are included in the fee, together with nappies, wipes and milk; formula is included for babies under 1 year. The nursery's terms carry a small-setting exception to these inclusions, so the written quotation should specify the package for the child.

For funded hours, food is charged separately and that charge is non-mandatory: it is not a condition of accessing the funded place. Consumables associated with funded hours are supplied, although supplying them does not by itself establish whether a separate consumables charge applies. Families should distinguish food, consumables and any privately purchased hours when assessing their quotation.

• Organisational safeguarding action. The notice dated 22 June 2026 required changes by 1 August 2026 across organisational safeguarding arrangements. Ask how those changes have been implemented at Farnham and what subsequent official outcome applies.
• Funded sessions and the working day. Funded care is organised in 10-hour sessions beginning at opening time, with extra attendance charged separately. At a visit, discuss how that arrangement fits the hours your family needs and have the food and consumables terms itemised.
• Care around food. Dietary procedures received further staff training before December 2023 following a food incident. Allergy-affected families should confirm today's arrangements for their child's meals and participation in the Children's Kitchen.

Farnham suits families seeking practical early learning alongside weekday childcare, whether using funded sessions or buying additional private hours. Cooking, growing and outdoor materials give the offer tangible substance, while the December 2023 observations show children progressing from sensory exploration to testing ideas.

The decision also needs the later organisational safeguarding notice in view. The December 2023 inspection assessed this branch; the June 2026 notice addresses the provider's wider arrangements. Both matter, and neither should be used to erase the other.