Seesaw Nursery

Space for up to six babies on their own floor, with a playroom and a separate sleep room: Seesaw Nursery’s youngest children have a clearly defined base within its end-terrace house near Trowbridge town centre. Community visits give older children a different perspective beyond the house and garden.

At its May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found effective safeguarding, strong support for communication and individual plans to help children with SEND participate and progress. The important qualification concerned space and movement: children needed better access to learning opportunities indoors and outdoors, and more chances for energetic physical activity.

The nursery has capacity for 30 children aged one to five years. Full-time and part-time attendance are offered, alongside morning, afternoon and full-day sessions. This is the Eastbourne Road branch, also known as Seesaw 2, rather than the nursery on Wingfield Road.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Unit accommodates up to six babies each day on the first floor, combining a playroom and sleep room with sand, water, paint, construction toys and soft play; children begin spending short periods downstairs as their mobility and confidence grow. That gradual introduction matters: a room move starts with familiarity rather than a sudden change of surroundings. Most make the transition before their second birthday.

Tiny Tots takes children from just under two to around three, with an emphasis on movement, eating independently, toileting and communicating, supported by garden access in different weather. Pre School puts more emphasis on child-led exploration and outdoor learning, using activities that encourage children to investigate materials, persevere and develop their own ideas.

The baby staffing ratio is one adult to three babies. That meets the statutory minimum rather than representing additional staffing. Tiny Tots includes children just under two, so families considering this transition should discuss how staffing follows each child’s age.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning through play, including language, physical development, early literacy, mathematics and understanding the world. Development Matters, guidance used to plan for individual development, helps shape the preschool programme. The practical emphasis is on what children explore and attempt, with learning journals connecting those experiences to their progress.

Planned summer-term activities gave that framework concrete expression. The youngest group was to explore minibeasts and bug hotels in the garden and local park. Plans for Tiny Tots included making life-cycle bottles, threading pasta caterpillars and watching caterpillars become butterflies. Preschool children were to plant beans, compare their growth and take responsibility for caring for them. These are recognisable tasks with room for observation, conversation and increasingly independent decisions.

In May 2022, younger children explored pattern and colour through sorting, while older children investigated whether objects floated or sank. Stories continued beyond listening, with props supporting children’s retelling. Those examples show how everyday materials can carry several kinds of learning, rather than confining counting or language to a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

Goodson’s Lodge visits were planned for the summer-term preschool programme, including flag-making and bee-themed painting. A Wessex water visit was scheduled to discuss where water comes from and how people use it. The planned Stowford Manor farm outing included animals, watching cows being milked, a picnic and paddling in the river. These plans connected learning with people, places and practical questions.

Garden activities planned for the summer programme included searching for insects and water play. Its use deserves attention alongside its contents. In May 2022, babies had inconsistent access to outdoor and sensory experiences, children could not always reach the role-play area freely, and the outdoor layout restricted energetic riding and physical games. The improvement priorities concerned both access and room to move.

Relationships and Communication

Getting to Know You is the starting-point questionnaire for a child’s development and preferences. For babies, the initial history helps staff understand the move from home into nursery care. A key person system, spoken updates and learning journals then provide the ongoing connection with parents. Journals include photographs and examples of children’s work, and parents can add their own contributions.

The separate sleep room gives babies a dedicated place for rest alongside their play space. Families supply their baby’s milk and nappies, and can also provide food.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The branch has designated safeguarding and SEND lead roles, alongside a manager and deputy. A senior manager with an early-years degree supports and mentors staff, with small-group work part of the preschool arrangements.

In May 2022, staff helped children discuss feelings through stories and conversation, and encouraged practical independence such as pouring drinks and clearing away after eating. Plans for the summer-term preschool programme also included recognising emotions, practising names and letters, and changing for physical activities. Children were asked to have a separate kit bag for this work, making self-care part of preparation for their next stage.

Transition arrangements include passing children’s records to their next school. That gives the receiving setting information about development and support needs; it is preparation for a move, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 1 Eastbourne Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 7HW. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates for 50 weeks, closing for a week at Christmas and another at Easter. Enquiries go to the Eastbourne Road team by telephone or email.

Morning sessions run from 9am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 5pm, and full-day sessions from 9am to 3pm or 9am to 5pm, alongside full-time and part-time care. The age-dependent windows for using funded hours are separate, so these session times do not mean every hour is funded. There is also breakfast and after-school care involving school collection or taking children to school.

School-holiday attendance is optional. Holidays taken during term time are charged, so families whose time off falls outside school holidays need to account for that distinction. A waiting list can be used for requests to increase a child’s hours further in advance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15-hour and 30-hour entitlement. For eligible working parents, the 30-hour offer is term-time only and requires eligibility renewal every three months. Funded hours can be used between 8am and 6pm for under-threes and between 9am and 3pm for over-threes; additional attendance outside the applicable funded hours is paid privately.

Lunches and teas are cooked on the premises; children can bring a packed lunch instead.

Funded sessions have a voluntary consumables contribution. Parents provide babies’ nappies and milk, so consumables involve both a voluntary contribution and supplies from home. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Space for active play. The May 2022 improvement priorities concerned access to indoor and outdoor activities and opportunities for energetic movement. On a visit, ask how babies use the garden and how older children get room for riding and physical games.
• The move into Tiny Tots. This group includes children just under two as well as older toddlers, and its stated ratio is one adult to five children. Ask how deployment is adjusted for children who have not yet turned two and how the gradual transition works for your child.
• Funded hours and holiday care. The term-time funding offer has different usable hours for younger and older children, while holiday attendance is optional and privately paid. Families needing afternoon care beyond the older children’s funded window should include it in their cost planning.

Seesaw Nursery suits families looking for a small house-based setting with a capped baby unit, a separate sleep room and a gradual move into toddler care. It serves both morning or afternoon attendance and full-day patterns, with optional school-holiday care adding another choice. Learning journals and practical independence give parents clear points of connection with the nursery day.

Community visits and hands-on projects add substance to the offer. The balance is the dated concern about access and physical activity: families should weigh the room arrangements and garden use alongside the attractive activities, especially for babies and energetic toddlers.