Lily Pad In The Park

Grass, a Mud Kitchen and a pavilion setting give Lily Pad In The Park its character. Based at Hoe Road Recreation Ground in Bishops Waltham, it has capacity for 20 children in total. The outdoor space gives children opportunities to explore nature and get involved in messy play, alongside activities indoors.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its inspection on 25 May 2021. That is a dated judgement, and should be read alongside the practical offer: morning and afternoon sessions, funded childcare and a named key person for each child.

The strongest reason to consider this setting is the combination of outdoor choice and individual planning. Children can move between inside and outside, while their interests help shape activities. For parents, that means the environment and the approach to learning belong in the same decision.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the educational framework: children develop language, movement and relationships through play, alongside early mathematics, literacy, creativity and understanding of the world. This is the foundation for nursery learning, rather than an extra programme unique to Lilypad.

Across both Lilypad settings, planning combines activities initiated by adults with opportunities for children to choose and adapt what they do. Their interests provide the starting point. A child can therefore pursue an idea of their own as well as join an activity a practitioner has prepared; the balance matters for families who want both guidance and independence.

Resources are arranged around areas of learning, indoors and outdoors. Children can reach activities themselves, giving them a practical role in deciding what to use. The emphasis is on making choices and developing independence, rather than simply moving through an adult timetable.

Outdoor and Community Life

At the Park branch, the grassed outdoor area includes the Mud Kitchen, where messy play sits alongside opportunities to investigate nature. Activities and resources from the classroom also extend outdoors. Free movement between the two spaces gives children scope to continue their learning outside rather than treating outdoor time as a separate break.

Hoe Road gained a wooden arch for its reading corner through fundraising described in the spring 2026 newsletter. It is a useful indoor counterpart to the grass and messy play: a physical feature attached to a space for books. The setting offers families reasons to look closely at both parts of the environment.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person responsible for their care and learning. Observation and planning sit within that relationship, so responsibility for understanding the child has a clear home. Settling is adjusted to individual needs, rather than treated as one fixed process for every newcomer.

Communication can be verbal, written or translated according to families' needs. This gives parents different ways to receive information about their child's development and the setting's activities. The inclusion policy also provides for meetings that allow families to contribute their views where possible.

The behaviour policy takes a similar individual approach. Children help shape age-appropriate rules, and staff respond to disagreements with explanations, comfort and redirection. Parents are informed when their child has been upset or has behaved unkindly, giving home and nursery a basis for discussing the same incident.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The Park branch has SENCO and speech and language coordinator roles. Its SEND arrangements include individual education plans, discussions with parents and reviews of the support being used. Where further expertise is needed, the process includes consulting external professionals and sharing relevant assessments.

Support also extends to moving on. Staff meet the next school or care setting to discuss a child's needs and exchange information. This is continuity of care: it helps the next team understand the support already in place.

Safeguarding arrangements include a designated lead role, induction training and procedures for recording and referring concerns. These are organisational arrangements, rather than a fresh judgement on their effectiveness. The policy also requires parents to report sickness on the day and notify the setting about planned absences, helping staff account for children's attendance.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; afternoon sessions run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. These are separate booking patterns, so parents can consider which part of the day fits their routine.

An early start, later finish or lunch stay can be requested, with a charge discussed when the request is made. Those additions need to be considered alongside the standard sessions when budgeting for attendance. Enquiries can be made by email to preschoollilypad@gmail.com or by calling the Hoe Road number, 01489 896699; a waiting-list request form is also part of the joining process.

Getting There

The address is Hoe Road Pavilion, Hoe Road, Bishops Waltham, SO32 1DU, within Hoe Road Recreation Ground. This is the Park branch, with its own session times and outdoor space.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts 2-Year-Old Funding, 3-Year-Old Funding (15 Hours per week) and 30 Hour Funding, alongside paid sessions. It also accepts Tax Free Childcare. Funding participation does not itself establish a particular family's entitlement.

Lunch attendance is charged separately when a child is not doing a full day. A voluntary sundries charge applies per session to funded and non-funded children, except those receiving 2 Year Old Funding; additional required sessions include sundries in their charge. These conditions matter when comparing a funded booking with extra paid attendance.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The session and funding information provides the charge structure, including the distinction between standard sessions and requested additions.

• Outdoor choice. The grassed area and Mud Kitchen are central to the Park branch's offer. During a visit, discuss how your child would use the indoor and outdoor spaces and what clothing they need for messy play.
• Session boundaries. Morning and afternoon bookings have separate times, while lunch stays and extensions carry their own charges. Consider whether a standard session or a session with additions best matches your routine.
• Funding and sundries. The voluntary sundries charge has an exemption for children receiving 2 Year Old Funding. Ask what sundries cover and how the terms apply to your proposed booking.

Lily Pad In The Park suits families seeking either morning or afternoon attendance, with outdoor exploration and child-led choices featuring in the day. Its grassed space, Mud Kitchen and individual planning give that offer substance. The Good judgement dates to May 2021, while the practical decision rests on whether the session pattern, requested additions and approach to settling fit your child and family.