N Family Club, Godalming

Art, cooking and messy play have a dedicated home at N Family Club, Godalming: an atelier with a mini kitchen, alongside seven light-filled playrooms and a garden with its own baby zone. These are useful distinctions for families who want creative activities to have space beyond the main playroom. The setting caters for children from three months until school age and has 119 places in total.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that leaders sought additional funding promptly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The learning examples were persuasive, from adults extending babies’ sounds through animal play to older children investigating the garden’s wildlife. Behaviour guidance needed greater consistency, however, and a later medicines-related regulatory outcome merits attention.

Standard and extended days operate across 51 weeks of the year, with a minimum booking of two full days that includes either Monday or Friday.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build language, independence and understanding through play and everyday experiences. Here, the atelier gives art and cooking a purpose-built setting, with a mini kitchen for practical exploration. Messy activities have a dedicated space rather than depending solely on the main playrooms.

In June 2024, babies explored animal figures while adults added sounds and rhymes to their play. This gave early communication a concrete starting point: something to look at, handle and respond to. Toddlers used movement while exploring We're Going on a Bear Hunt, linking the story’s language with actions. Singing and storytelling happened several times during the day, giving children repeated opportunities to hear and use words.

Children’s interests also shaped activities in June 2024. Conversations about a European football competition led to learning about countries, cultures and climate. The useful principle was the connection between an interest children already had and something new to discover, rather than an activity detached from their conversations.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden supports Forest School-inspired sessions, meaning outdoor learning through exploration of the natural world. Its separate baby zone gives the youngest children an outdoor area of their own. Together with the indoor creative space, this gives the setting more than one environment for children’s play.

In June 2024, children spent time outdoors daily. Adults encouraged toddlers to think about the source of construction sounds, while older children’s questions about trees and wildlife prompted shared investigation. The garden was a place for conversation and discovery as well as movement.

A children’s council also gave older children a say in their surroundings in June 2024. They voted for new seating beside the garden’s water station. This gave children a concrete opportunity to express what they wanted in their environment.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person, giving families an identified member of staff connected to their child’s care. In June 2024, staff used their knowledge of children and families to adapt care and learning, and children formed close relationships with familiar adults. For babies starting nursery, that connection is a more useful consideration than the size of the building alone.

Support extends to parents through monthly virtual talks led by experts on child development. These are part of the group-wide family offer repeated for Godalming. The N Café provides another practical space for families, serving drinks and snacks and offering somewhere to meet other parents.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In June 2024, staff encouraged children to discuss differences in appearance and share their family experiences. Daily routines also included learning to put on sun hats and apply sun cream before outdoor play. These examples show how conversations and ordinary care tasks became opportunities for children to practise independence.

Behaviour support was less consistent in June 2024: adults did not always explain expectations and the effect of children’s actions clearly enough, and minor disagreements sometimes recurred. This matters for families whose children need steady help with feelings, sharing and boundaries.

In its outcome dated 28 October 2025, Ofsted recorded medicines-related non-compliance, staff retraining and interim arrangements restricting medicine administration to senior staff until staff knowledge was satisfactory. That is the latest published position for this event; it should be read separately from the earlier Good judgement.

Sessions and Attendance

The standard day runs from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with an extended-day option from 7am to 7pm, subject to availability. Standard days can also be extended by up to an hour at either end on a pay-as-you-go basis. This provides a choice between a regular standard-day plan and additional coverage around it.

Bookings start at two full days per week and must include Monday or Friday. Extra ad hoc days can be purchased subject to availability and booked no more than two weeks ahead. For healthcare or childcare emergencies, up to five day swaps per year may be agreed, subject to availability; the replacement day must fall within the same calendar month, and bank holidays and closures are excluded.

Places run across 51 weeks. Bank holidays, public holidays and staff training days are closures that remain payable within monthly charges. Fees are also payable during sickness and holidays, so the plan needs to suit the family’s regular attendance rather than occasional use.

Getting There

The address is Hambledon House, Catteshall Lane, Godalming, GU7 1JJ. A car park and storage for buggies, bicycles and scooters make it practical to leave bulky equipment at nursery rather than take it onward.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 hours Early Years Funding Entitlement and 30 hours Early Years Funding Entitlement are offered, with funding stretched over 51 weeks rather than delivered only in term time. The resulting weekly allocation is 11.18 or 22.35 hours respectively; on a two-day plan, the entitlement is capped at 20 hours in line with attendance. Eligibility conditions still apply.

Private-day fees include food, drinks, non-food consumables and activities. During funded hours, food and consumables are treated as additional charge categories, with age-dependent charges and a zero-charge band; food covers meals, snacks, drinks and formula, while consumables cover nappies, wipes, nappy cream, sun cream and emergency medication. Activities during funded hours have their own additional-charge category. Families receiving funding may opt out of these additional charges.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Under the joining arrangements, a waiting-list registration payment becomes a non-refundable joining payment when a place is accepted; a separate place-acceptance payment is credited against the final invoice. Those terms make the point of acceptance financially significant.

• Attendance commitment. The minimum is two full days including Monday or Friday, across a year-round plan. At a visit, discuss how the standard day and pay-as-you-go extensions would work with your actual working week.
• Behaviour guidance. In June 2024, inconsistent explanations of expectations contributed to recurring minor disputes. Ask how staff now use a shared approach when children struggle with boundaries or feelings.
• Medicine administration. The 28 October 2025 outcome described retraining and senior-staff-only interim arrangements. Families whose children need medication should discuss the current administration procedure before accepting a place.
• Funded-hours costs. Food, consumables and activities have separate additional-charge categories during funded hours, with age-dependent treatment and an opt-out. Obtain an itemised quotation that distinguishes funded hours from private attendance.

N Family Club, Godalming suits families choosing between standard days and extended days, who can meet the minimum weekly booking. The atelier, mini kitchen and baby garden zone give creative and outdoor experiences concrete space, while the June 2024 learning examples show adults building on children’s interests.

The balance requires care. Behaviour consistency was an improvement point, and the later medicines outcome deserves a direct discussion. Families comfortable with the attendance commitment and funded-hours charge structure have clear practical reasons to consider this setting.