Grayswood Nursery School

Woodland challenges and village-hall play give Grayswood Nursery School its character. Forest School, an approach built around learning outdoors, sits alongside an indoor classroom and free access to the outside area. This is a nursery for families who want exploration to be a substantial part of childhood, including when the weather demands wellies.

At its 28 April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and judged safeguarding effective. The setting operates at Grayswood Village Hall near Haslemere, has 32 places in total and accepts children aged two and a half to five. Its charitable structure includes a board of parent-elected trustees overseeing finances and legal responsibilities, giving families a route into the organisation as well as their child's learning.

Attendance is term-time, with morning sessions and longer days subject to age and toileting conditions. Those conditions matter as much as the finish time when deciding whether the nursery fits family routines.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play, conversation, stories and physical activity give children ways to practise skills throughout the day. Forest School adds a substantial outdoor emphasis. Children can move between indoor resources and the outside area, while groups head out for woodland learning on most days. Exploration is part of the routine.

Children choose painting and home-corner play, while staff plan activities around individual next steps. Group discussions and singing sit alongside weekly music, dance and sports lessons from visiting teachers.

In April 2025, adults helped children cross slacklines between trees by guiding hand and foot placement, making physical challenge manageable. Conversations, songs and stories developed language, with a lending library extending reading into the home. Children chose vegetables, bought seeds and watered their plants, linking decisions with consequences.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular outings include Blackdown, Winkworth Arboretum, Petworth Park and Roly Poly Hill. Children also visit a museum, library, farms and the village infant school, often by public transport.

The summer leavers programme includes Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Queen Elizabeth park, helping older children practise self-reliance in unfamiliar places. In April 2025, children's interests prompted train journeys to see city buildings and visits to butterfly sanctuaries.

Sports Day, the Pancake party and Christmas Performance bring parents, relatives and friends into nursery life during the year.

Relationships and Communication

Settling includes stay and play, a required home visit before starting and an intended preliminary hour-long session. Staff observe the child's play to inform activities and resources.

A key person handles settling and learning plans, supported by colleagues. Tapestry, an online learning journal, gives parents access to activities and progress, alongside written observations, photographs and planning records.

Rhyme of the Week accompanies weekly plans so families can support learning at home. Fabulous Me vouchers add home achievements to children's profiles. Twice-yearly consultations, termly coffee mornings and daily staff conversations give parents several ways to contribute.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged progress for children with SEND excellent, supported by personalised plans, joint work with parents and professionals, and adjustments to activities and the environment. Current support arrangements include a SENCO and Surrey Support Plans, agreed with parents before implementation. Specialists can contribute, and additional individual support may be arranged where necessary.

The hall has ground-level access, wide front doors, an accessible toilet and a shower facility. These are concrete considerations for children with mobility or personal-care needs. Support planning can also include specialist furniture, toys or other equipment, with regular reviews considering whether assistance should increase, continue or reduce.

Medical needs are addressed through staff allocated to receive training for the child's requirements. Medication administration requires instructions from parents and a written record. Paediatric first aid training and designated safeguarding lead roles are part of the staffing arrangements; these describe the systems in place rather than replacing the dated inspection judgement.

Moving on involves a transition report that parents can amend before it goes to the next setting or school. For children with support plans, records are discussed with the receiving school. This gives families a role in the handover and helps carry useful information beyond nursery.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning attendance runs from 9.05am to 12.35pm, Tuesday to Friday. Tuesday and Thursday offer an extended day ending at 2.45pm for children who are reliably toilet trained; the afternoon session starts at 1pm. The minimum booking is two sessions across two days, so attendance requires a recurring pattern rather than a single weekly morning.

Monday runs from 9.05am to 2.45pm for children who will turn four during the academic year. During autumn they may finish at 1pm after lunch, but from January they stay for the whole day. This makes Monday a different arrangement from the shorter mornings: eligibility depends on age, and the attendance expectation changes through the year.

The nursery opens on weekdays during term time. Autumn, spring and summer terms each include a half-term break, so families needing holiday childcare must account for those closures. The nursery partners with Greensand Forest Adventures for out-of-school care; that partnership is separate from its own session pattern.

Getting There

The address is Grayswood Village Hall, Grayswood Road, Grayswood, Haslemere, GU27 2DJ, opposite All Saints Church. A drop-off rota helps manage congestion in the car park, making the rota part of the practical routine for families who drive.

General enquiries can be made by telephone or email. Longer conversations with staff can be arranged alongside the everyday opportunities at the beginning and end of sessions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including the term-after-third-birthday entitlement of up to 15 hours weekly across 38 weeks and up to 30 hours for eligible families. FEET funding is also accepted for eligible two-year-olds. Delivery is term-time, while hours beyond a child's funded allocation and attendance before eligibility are charged privately; eligibility and the nursery's minimum attendance pattern need to be considered together.

Parents supply packed lunches for children staying to eat and bring nappies, wipes and nappy sacks where needed. The nursery's allergy policy excludes birthday cakes and treats brought from home.

Arts-and-crafts contributions and separately charged sports and music sessions form part of the additional charge structure. The fee structure distinguishes these from childcare charges; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A registration charge becomes non-refundable once a place has been offered. The deposit is credited against the final invoice, but is non-refundable if a family withdraws before starting without giving a full half-term's notice. Fees are payable ahead of each term, and permanent withdrawal requires half a term's notice or fees instead. Those terms deserve attention when comparing the total commitment with another setting.

• Different rules for longer days. Monday is for children turning four within the academic year; Tuesday and Thursday extensions require reliable toilet training. At a visit, discuss how the relevant pattern would work for your child, including Monday's change from January.
• Outdoor kit and family involvement. Woodland learning continues through the year, with wellies and suitable clothing part of the routine. Consider the preparation involved alongside the opportunities to join family events and nursery activities.
• Funding and additional charges. Term-time funded hours sit alongside private hours, activity charges and arts-and-crafts contributions. Request a written quotation for your intended pattern that separates each category before committing.
• Allergies and packed lunches. Lunch comes from home, and birthday cakes and treats are excluded under the allergy policy. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice for packed lunches and shared snack times.

Grayswood suits families seeking shorter morning sessions or eligible longer days within a term-time routine, with woodland learning and outings forming a substantial part of the experience. The combination of outdoor challenges, individual learning plans and parent communication gives the offer substance beyond its inspection grade.

The practical fit is more selective. Monday's age condition, the toileting requirement for extensions and the two-day minimum need to match the child and household. For families comfortable with those arrangements and the preparation for outdoor play, this is a compelling choice with a clear identity.