Happy Mindz Day Nursery And Pre-School

Den building, a shaded spot for stories and rooms arranged around different stages of childhood give Happy Mindz its character. Based at The Old Chapel on Fareham Road, this nursery has capacity for 36 children from birth to five years. Its outdoor space supports more than energetic play: children can experiment with water, make marks and find somewhere quieter to read.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 14 February 2022 inspection. That judgement provides a useful starting point, but the detail matters too: stories, independence and responsive teaching featured alongside improvements needed in the organisation of routines and the language used with younger children. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance sit alongside flexible funded bookings.

Rooms and Ages

Discovers' Room provides a bright, open-plan setting for babies, with its age description starting at three months and allowing for a variable move onwards. Creative and sensory play follows their changing interests, so the emphasis is on responding to the baby rather than expecting everyone to do the same activity. The nursery accepts children from birth overall; the room description gives families a more specific starting point for discussing the baby-room arrangement.

Explorers and Inventors serve children aged two to five, combining space for messy creativity, pretend domestic play, books and freely chosen activities with accessible washing and toilet facilities. These are practical ingredients for growing independence. Children can choose an activity, use resources and begin managing parts of their own day, alongside preparation for primary school.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning, development and care, with children learning through play and everyday experiences. Happy Mindz builds its approach around children's interests: practitioners observe what catches their attention and use it to shape opportunities to learn. An interest in a snail can become exploration of nature; building a den can involve working together and solving problems.

A Curriculum of Wonder is the nursery's name for this interest-led approach, connecting questions, stories and practical discovery. The useful detail is the role of the adult: watching and listening before extending the activity. It gives families something concrete to look for in the nursery day, rather than simply a curriculum label.

In February 2022, familiar stories helped children explore sequence, while older children worked with letters and their sounds. Mathematical play included dominoes used to explore adding and taking away. These examples connect early literacy and number work to materials children can handle and stories they want to revisit.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed outdoor area accommodates construction, water and sand play, with a shaded space for picnics or reading. Convex mirrors and opportunities to make marks add exploration beyond running and climbing. Babies and preschool children have access to the garden, making outdoor learning part of the offer across ages.

In February 2022, babies used wooden planks for climbing and pulled themselves upright to look towards the river beside the nursery. Older children devised active games outdoors. The same period also exposed a practical weakness: some children waited too long between activities, and babies became unsettled while waiting to go outside. Access to the garden and the organisation of getting there are separate matters for families to weigh.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2022, children sought reassurance from familiar adults and comforted one another, while parents valued feedback tailored to their child's day. Staff also used simple signs to help children communicate their needs. These details describe relationships and communication at that time, rather than a promise about every child's experience today.

Language needed greater consistency. In February 2022, some communication with babies did not make routine expectations clear enough, leaving younger children unsure what to do. For a family choosing care for a child with emerging speech, the practical question is how staff combine clear words, signs and time to respond during ordinary routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities supported to make good progress, with staff discussing developmental delays and arranging early intervention. That is a dated judgement about practice, rather than a general assurance of current care.

Safe Sleep Policy and Procedures, First Aid Policy and Administration of Medicine Policy form part of the nursery's care arrangements. Their practical relevance is how an individual child's sleep, treatment and daily needs are managed, especially when those needs change.

Food is prepared on site each day, and the nursery's allergy policy uses an Allergies Chart updated when circumstances change to guide meals that accommodate dietary needs and preferences. For children who need adaptations, the aim is a meal resembling the main menu rather than an entirely separate experience.

School preparation also featured in February 2022: children walked to a local school and discussed their next stage, while accessible drinking water, tissues and handwashing facilities encouraged them to manage personal needs. These were preparation activities, rather than an admissions route.

Sessions and Attendance

Happy Mindz is based at The Old Chapel, Fareham Road, Fareham, PO17 5DE. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round operation and closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form.

Morning sessions run from 7.30am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 6.30pm; full-day attendance runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm. Flexible bookings for the 15-hour term-time or 11-hour stretched funded arrangements require agreed start and finish times. Each session must last at least two hours and 30 minutes, with bookings beginning and ending on the hour or half-hour.

The 30-hour term-time arrangements include three 8am-to-6pm days or five sessions using the 7.30am-to-1.30pm, 8am-to-2pm, 9am-to-3pm or 12.30pm-to-6.30pm windows. Stretched arrangements include two 7.30am-to-5.30pm days with spare funded hours, five shorter sessions from 8.30am to 1pm or 1pm to 5.30pm, or four sessions from 7.30am to 1pm or 1pm to 6.30pm. These alternatives make the exact chosen funding pattern important to the booking.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered on both term-time and stretched arrangements, including 15 hours a week in term time or 11 hours across the year, and the nursery's 30-hour offer for eligible three- and four-year-olds. Its standard arrangement uses 30 hours over 38 weeks; the stretched arrangement uses 22 hours over 51 weeks. Eligibility is assessed through the online application process, with the resulting reference supplied to the nursery.

Additional care outside the selected funded sessions is charged privately. Fees are paid monthly in advance by direct debit, on the first working day, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Holiday charges receive a discount to retain the child's place; bank holidays are also chargeable at a discount, except Christmas Day. The fees and sessions information sets out the payment and flexible-booking arrangements.

• Baby-room routines. February 2022 findings identified unclear language with younger children and delays before activities. During a visit, ask how staff explain transitions and organise access to the garden for babies.
• The funded timetable. Term-time and stretched funding use different session windows, with additional hours charged privately. Agree the exact weekly pattern and request a written quotation covering meals and non-food consumables as well as care.
• Dietary needs. On-site cooking and an updated Allergies Chart support meal adaptations. Families managing an allergy should confirm current practice for their child's meals before joining.

Happy Mindz suits families considering morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with further flexibility through funded bookings. Its clearest practical strengths are the interest-led curriculum, outdoor construction and exploration, and rooms that give older children opportunities to practise independence.

The February 2022 Good judgement needs to be read alongside the specific improvements requested in baby-room communication and daily routines. For parents, the decision turns on the chosen attendance pattern and how those everyday transitions work for their child. The garden and curriculum provide useful opportunities; clear organisation makes them accessible.