Caterpillas Under 5's

A separate baby unit, a sleep room and gardens shaped for different ages give Caterpillas Under 5's its character. Based within Tidworth Leisure Centre in Tidworth, it takes children from seven months to five years, with smaller spaces for the youngest and open-plan play areas for older children. The layout gives babies their own setting before they move into the busier rooms.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall, with strengths in communication, physical activity and relationships, alongside improvements needed in emotional understanding and large-group learning. Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside Breakfast Club and Afterschool club, giving families several attendance patterns to consider.

Rooms and Ages

The Glow-worms Room is self-contained, with a separate outdoor area containing trikes, a sand pit, mud kitchen and sensory garden, so the youngest children have outdoor experiences scaled to their stage.

For children aged two to three, The 2-3 Year Old Room combines the Dragonflies and Ladybirds key groups with construction, pretend play, creative activities and a cosy corner, plus access to the main garden in any weather.

The Pre-School Room serves children aged three to five, with Grasshoppers, Butterflies and Bees each having a home area for quieter activities within a larger space containing literacy, discovery and construction areas.

These key-group spaces matter within an open-plan layout: children have somewhere familiar for smaller activities rather than spending their whole session in one shared space. The separate baby provision and sleep room also distinguish rest and younger children's care from the older children's play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care; in everyday terms, play, conversation, movement and growing independence belong alongside one another. Caterpillas puts these experiences into spaces for imaginative play, discovery and early literacy.

In September 2025, activities followed children's interests and assessments of their next steps. Toddlers explored lentils, while small-ball activities involved counting and picking things up, with older toddlers using tweezers. These were practical ways to combine early number work with developing hand control. Older children recalled how seeds become pumpkins, connecting discussion with understanding the natural world.

Language support was woven into play and routines in September 2025. Staff added vocabulary to conversations and used signs and visual prompts, including with children learning English as an additional language. The practical value is that communication can happen through more than spoken words while children develop their vocabulary.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play has a clear place in the layout. The main garden extends indoor activities into space for physical play and communication, while the youngest children have their own outdoor area. That offers different ways to be active across the age groups.

In September 2025, babies practised climbing and walking and used push-along bikes; babies who were not yet mobile explored a ball pond. Children also dug in sand and used tools for making marks outdoors. Movement and exploration were part of learning, with experiences adapted to what children could do.

Relationships and Communication

Each key group has two or three key people working with children and their families. Sharing that relationship across a small team provides more than one familiar adult for a child to turn to. The arrangement is especially relevant where parents want continuity within a larger open-plan nursery.

In September 2025, staff used physical comfort and gentle conversation with young children and newcomers, who became familiar with daily routines. Communication with families included daily exchanges and ideas for supporting learning at home. These connections linked the nursery day with children's experiences beyond it.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support successful, with prompt identification, individual plans, work with families and outside professionals, and additional funding supporting staffing, resources and adaptations. This was a judgement about practice at that time.

The current team includes a SENco who supports children and families with additional needs, alongside a designated safeguarding lead and deputies. Baby, toddler and preschool senior roles provide leadership across the age stages. The deputy manager is also a Mental Health First Aider, and the senior team includes staff with first aid and advanced safeguarding training.

A separate sleep room provides a supervised place to rest. In September 2025, staff supplied healthy meals and helped younger children practise using cutlery; handwashing and putting on coats were also part of learning to manage everyday routines.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 5pm. Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am, the Morning session from 9am to noon, the Afternoon session from noon to 3pm, and Afterschool club from 3pm to 5pm. These are separate named options, so a family's choice can centre on a shorter session or care around the main nursery sessions.

The address is Tidworth Leisure Centre, Nadder Road, Tidworth, Wiltshire, SP9 7QN. Enquiries can be made on 01980 847784 or by email to caterpillas@tnbearlyyears.org.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered. The funding arrangements include Universal Entitlement, extended entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, and Two Year Olds Funding. Eligibility conditions apply to the latter schemes; families should distinguish their entitlement from the attendance pattern they choose.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. A deposit is required after accepting a place, with repayment when the child's government funding is received or when four weeks' notice of leaving is given. Those conditions make the deposit part of the joining decision, rather than simply an initial payment. The fees page sets out the deposit terms.

• Emotions and group activities. In September 2025, staff needed to teach children to identify and talk about feelings and handle them independently, while some larger sessions were too lengthy and noisy to sustain interest. On a visit, ask how emotional learning and group activities now work for your child's age.
• Annual calendar. Term-time opening and school-holiday closure sit alongside a September 2025 account of year-round weekday care. Confirm the annual attendance calendar before matching it to your working arrangements.
• The complete quotation. Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside Breakfast Club and Afterschool club. Which sessions can be combined for your child, and how would funded hours apply to that booking? What is the total cost of your chosen booking pattern?
• Familiar adults. Two or three key people support each key group. Ask how your child will get to know that team during settling and how information is shared between them.

Caterpillas suits families considering morning or afternoon nursery sessions, as well as those needing Breakfast Club or Afterschool club around them. Its separate youngest-child spaces, gardens and named key groups give practical substance to the offer. The September 2025 strengths in communication and individual support are encouraging, but emotional learning and the organisation of larger activities deserve attention when deciding whether the day will suit your child.