Poppies Daycare Nursery Perham Down

Outdoor play has room to shape the day at Poppies Daycare Nursery Perham Down. Children can move freely into the outdoor space throughout the day, while dedicated age-group rooms give babies, toddlers and preschool children their own base. The rural surroundings add greenery; the practical attraction is access to outdoor play alongside indoor activities.

The nursery has capacity for 50 children aged from birth to four and is based on Perham Down Road, Perham Down, Andover, SP11 9FQ. At its January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest detail beneath that grade concerns everyday independence, language development and care shaped around children's home routines.

School Day and Full Day sessions are offered, with additional early and late sessions. These give families different attendance patterns, although the minimum booking commitment matters as much as the session choice.

Rooms and Ages

Snowdrops is the room for children aged zero to two, Daffodils covers two to three, and Ladybirds carries a three-to-five age band. These are the room labels; the nursery's overall age range is birth to four. The arrangement gives children a base alongside others at a similar stage rather than placing the whole age range in one group.

Free-flow outdoor access is a substantial part of the offer. Children can use the outdoor space during the day, giving movement and exploration a place alongside quieter indoor activities. It is a useful feature for families who want outdoor play woven into nursery life.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: learning through play and everyday routines builds communication, physical skills and increasing independence. Here, the concrete examples are more useful than a curriculum slogan.

In January 2024, toddlers practised using scissors, while preschool children worked their fingers and hands through dough disco, a play-dough activity supporting the movements needed for writing. Mathematics activities introduced recognising small quantities at sight rather than counting each object. Those examples connect early learning to something children can handle and do.

Language work also ran through familiar experiences in January 2024. Children joined in known stories, learnt songs and rhymes, and heard staff introduce vocabulary and model pronunciation. Targeted singing gave additional practice where language development needed attention. This put communication into enjoyable repetition rather than relying solely on a formal group session.

There was a clear limitation. In January 2024, noise sometimes interrupted preschool language activities and made it harder for children to attend to the sounds and words being taught. Managing distractions during adult-led learning was the improvement required. Families weighing the preschool offer should keep that specific issue alongside the positive examples.

Home routines mattered in January 2024. Staff learnt about children before they started and used parents' familiar ways of settling babies to sleep. For a baby adjusting to nursery, continuity in how an adult helps them rest is a meaningful part of care.

Everyday disagreements became opportunities to practise social skills in January 2024. Staff demonstrated asking for a turn and explained sharing, while helping children recognise and express feelings. The emphasis was on showing children what to do next, giving them usable language for the next disagreement.

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support through additional funding and referrals by the coordinator to outside agencies. The important mechanisms are the use of funding for the intended child and access to specialist help when needed.

Independence was also practised in January 2024: toddlers attempted their own coats, and preschool children helped themselves to food and poured drinks. Older children managed toileting, with staff teaching handwashing and hygienic nose wiping. These are small tasks with direct value as children prepare for school routines.

Parents received practical help in January 2024, including toilet-training guidance and meetings about starting school. That joined nursery learning to home life and gave families a way to understand the next stage rather than treating school preparation as a separate lesson.

Sessions and Attendance

School Day runs from 9am to 3pm, while Full Day runs from 9am to 5pm; a Full Week pattern covers Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The minimum commitment is three School Days each week. That is a substantial regular pattern, even for families choosing the shorter day.

Early Early Bird runs from 7.30am to 9am and includes breakfast, Early Bird covers 8am to 9am, and Owl extends attendance from 5pm to 5.30pm. These additions let families extend the core day at either end, with separate session charges.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for Christmas and bank holidays. Enquiries go through the Perham Down contact route by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 30 hours of funded childcare, stretched across each funding term rather than treated as a fixed weekly allocation throughout the year. Funding applies to core sessions only. Additional sessions and private childcare are charged separately, so the total arrangement depends on the attendance booked as well as the funding applied.

Hot lunch carries a separate charge and is freshly cooked at the nursery each day. Consumables are charged separately for funded children, by funded hour; these costs sit alongside the childcare entitlement rather than being included in it.

A place-securing administration payment includes two settling visits and is returned when the child leaves if the nursery's terms and conditions have been met. Withdrawal requires six weeks' notice, and booked sickness or holiday absences remain billable. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Preschool concentration. Noise interfered with some language activities in January 2024. During a visit, ask how staff now arrange adult-led learning so children can hear and participate.
• A regular attendance commitment. The minimum is three School Days weekly, even though both shorter and longer days are offered. Families needing occasional care should weigh that commitment carefully.
• Costs beyond funded childcare. Hot lunch and funded-hour consumables carry separate charges, and sickness or holidays do not reduce booked fees. Compare the complete written quotation with the attendance pattern you intend to use.

Poppies suits families seeking either a School Day pattern or Full Day attendance, with early and late additions for a longer working day. Free-flow outdoor access and age-group rooms give the offer a clear shape. The January 2024 examples of sleep routines, practical independence and language work provide useful substance beneath the Good grade; preschool distraction remains the specific issue to explore. The three-day minimum and separate charges deserve equal weight in the decision.