Toddletown Day Nursery Godalming

A garden for muddy experiments, an art gallery wall for children’s work and a recreation ground across the road give Toddletown Day Nursery Godalming a recognisable character. This Farncombe setting combines spaces for active exploration with quieter corners for books and puzzles. The physical offer matters: children have places to move, make things and pause, rather than one room expected to serve every purpose.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 21 April 2022. It has 54 places in total, with a current age range of three months to five years. For the youngest babies, the starting age deserves attention when planning a place, as the nursery’s advertised intake begins at six months.

Outdoor access is a substantial part of the offer. Children can move freely into the garden, and outdoor play continues in different weather conditions. Inside, the baby space and the resources for older children serve different stages of development.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children’s learning and care, covering areas such as communication, physical development and imaginative expression through play. At Godalming, the resources span its seven areas of learning. This is the shared foundation for early-years provision; the useful detail here is how the spaces give children opportunities to explore it.

Babies have a bright room with contrasting black-and-white areas, equipment for children becoming steady on their feet and comfortable places to share books. The emphasis is on physical and cognitive development. For a family choosing baby care, that combination brings movement and quieter interaction into the same account of the day.

Older toddlers and preschool children have space for pretend play, art materials and their own art gallery wall. Books, puzzles and resources for scientific exploration add alternatives to creative activity. The Curiosity Cabin is another space used by toddlers and preschool children for exploration.

In April 2022, children’s pretend play involved ordinary household objects, including vegetables, kitchen utensils and pans. Those familiar materials connected play with everyday life. Creative exploration also included mixing water with cereal, giving children a practical way to investigate materials rather than only watch an adult demonstrate them.

Outdoor and Community Life

Water play, a mud kitchen and an all-weather sandpit give the garden several different uses. Children can pour, mix and dig, with free access between indoors and outdoors supporting changes of activity. This is a useful arrangement for children who enjoy physical exploration as much as quieter indoor play.

Farncombe’s recreation ground is directly opposite the nursery. It extends the opportunities for movement, searching for insects and family events beyond the nursery garden. No fixed outing frequency is needed to appreciate the practical advantage of that nearby space.

In April 2022, outdoor activity included running and balancing, while babies practised climbing and walking both outside and indoors. Fixed furniture also supported babies beginning to move around on their feet. These are dated examples of the day, separate from the current description of the garden and baby room.

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support strong, with outside professionals involved and adaptations made promptly to meet children’s needs. That judgement is useful evidence of practice at the time, rather than an assurance about every child’s experience today.

In April 2022, staff recognised children’s emotional needs and monitored development to identify where additional help might be needed. They also used colour monsters to explore feelings and helped children distinguish between behaviour suitable indoors and activity they could choose outside. The practical emphasis was on understanding feelings and making choices.

Communication now includes Famly, an app bringing together updates about the day, children’s learning journeys and invoice payment. For parents, that keeps everyday information and administration in one place. It offers a way to stay connected with nursery life alongside the conversations families have with staff.

Zebedees prepares and delivers the hot lunch and afternoon tea; children attending a full day also receive breakfast and a morning snack. Meals and snacks are included in private fees, while funded hours carry separate food charges.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Old Gospal Hall, 15 Lower Manor Road, Godalming, GU7 3EG. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The full-day booking runs from 8am to 6pm, with early starts and later finishes possible by request.

The attendance structure includes full-day and half-day sessions, described as ten-hour and five-hour bookings respectively. Childcare is not sold by the hour. The usual minimum is two full days each week, but this rule does not apply to children attending Early Years Education Entitlement sessions only. That exception matters for families considering funded attendance rather than a private booking.

The nursery opens for 51 weeks, closing for a week at Christmas, bank holidays and two inset days. Bank holidays and inset days are chargeable, and booked absences for holidays or sickness do not receive refunds. Families should account for both the attendance pattern and closure arrangements when weighing the overall commitment.

An enquiry form and telephone enquiries route are available, and tours can be booked. A tour booking is confirmed by email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible working families with children aged nine months to four years can use the 30-hour Early Years Education Entitlement. Eligibility begins in the term after the child reaches nine months, and Godalming stretches the entitlement across its 51-week year rather than delivering it only over 38 weeks. Funded hours are allocated to full-day sessions first; additional attendance beyond the entitlement is charged privately.

Private fees include food, formula, nappies, wipes, creams and sun cream, alongside resources, specialist activities and use of Famly. For funded hours, meals and snacks and non-food consumables are charged separately. Parents can follow an opt-out process for those additional charges, with one month’s notice required for the following term and no changes during that term.

A registration charge applies to private bookings, with an exemption for children attending entitlement sessions only. Private booking changes require two months’ written notice, while changes to an entitlement attendance pattern require a term’s written notice; ending the agreement requires two months’ written notice. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the fees page sets out the included items.

• Starting with a young baby. The current age range begins at three months, while the advertised intake starts at six months. For a younger baby, ask which starting age applies to the intended booking.
• Adult involvement in group learning. In April 2022, planned group activities did not consistently make full use of adult interaction, and feedback to staff needed greater precision. On a tour, ask how adults extend children’s learning during group activities and how their practice is reviewed.
• The funded attendance pattern. Funding is stretched across the year and allocated to full days first, with separate charges for food and consumables. Compare the proposed weekly pattern and any opt-out arrangements with the care your family actually needs.
• A continuing financial commitment. Bank holidays and inset days are chargeable, and booked sickness or holiday absences are not refunded. The minimum private booking and written notice periods make the contract an important part of the decision.

Toddletown suits families weighing full-day care or half-day attendance who value outdoor exploration, creative resources and straightforward app communication. The garden and recreation ground give its physical offer substance, while the baby space provides a different starting point from the activities for older children.

The April 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality benchmark, with clear improvement points around group learning and staff feedback. The decision also turns on the booking commitment: stretched funding, separate funded extras and notice terms deserve as much attention as the play spaces.