Storybook Sunningdale

An outdoor classroom, food prepared in-house and daily updates through Ovivio give Storybook Sunningdale a clear practical identity. On Church Road, opposite Holy Trinity Church, this nursery combines hands-on learning with ways for parents to stay involved in their child's day. Its current age range runs from birth to 60 months, with capacity for 30 children in total.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 11 July 2024, with an improvement action concerning how managers identify and tackle weaknesses in staff practice. That judgement belongs to the provision inspected at that time: the nursery became Storybook Sunningdale in September 2025, and its current manager took up the role in April 2025. The present offer includes daily outdoor play, specialist referral support and a weekly family newsletter.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, exploration and interaction with other children and adults. Storybook Sunningdale combines it with Montessori-inspired principles, with an emphasis on independence and children exploring at their own pace. This is an approach alongside the EYFS, rather than a replacement for it. Indoor and outdoor learning spaces support practical discovery, imaginative play and group activities.

In July 2024, children's interest in flowers prompted activities that followed sunflowers from planting and tending seeds to painting and examining their parts. The example gives a useful picture of how one interest could connect practical work, observation and creative activity. Music and movement also formed part of the day. These are examples of the provision at that date, rather than a current timetable of sessions.

The same July 2024 account exposed a weakness worth weighing alongside those activities. Some questioning gave older children little to think about because answers were already familiar, and monitoring did not consistently identify where practitioners needed support. The issue was the depth of learning within an activity, rather than simply how many activities children encountered.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor opportunities are part of the current curriculum. The outdoor classroom gives nature exploration and physical play a place within learning, rather than confining these experiences to an occasional outing. For a child who enjoys moving, investigating and imaginative play, that is a useful part of the nursery's character.

In July 2024, children collaborated on a den using sheets, clips and branches, trying ideas together before adults offered help. Visits to an allotment introduced growing food, while yoga connected movement with deliberate breathing. Those examples connect practical problem-solving, learning about food and awareness of the body.

Relationships and Communication

Ovivio is the secure parent app used to share photographs, daily updates and children's development through the EYFS. Parents can also add information about routines and interests, making communication useful in both directions. Invoices and receipts sit within the same app, keeping learning updates and administration together.

A weekly newsletter covers nursery life, community news, events and reminders. Family involvement extends beyond digital updates: People Who Help Us week is an opportunity for families to join a themed event, while coffee mornings and visits to a child's next classroom offer other points of contact. Classroom visits during transitions give parents a connection with the next stage of their child's nursery experience.

In July 2024, practitioners used affection and reassurance to help children settle, and children showed familiarity with everyday routines. Families received suggestions for continuing learning at home, alongside a weekly account of forthcoming activities. That dated example complements the current app and newsletter arrangements, but does not establish today's settling programme.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged that children, including those with SEND, made good progress from their starting points. Current support mechanisms include SENCOs working with families and helping with referrals to speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and education or healthcare services. This gives families a route into specialist involvement when support needs extend beyond everyday nursery practice.

The group-wide Storybook safeguarding arrangements include a designated lead and deputy cover, with safeguarding training on joining and refreshers at least annually. These are arrangements for handling concerns, rather than a new inspection judgement about their effectiveness.

Breakfast, lunch and snacks are prepared by an in-house chef, and the Early Start Nutrition Team reviews the menus. The nursery's dietary policy provides for allergies, cultural preferences and other dietary needs; families affected by allergies should discuss how that policy applies to their child.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year. Closures include public bank holidays, a week in August and a week over Christmas. Families planning care around work need to build both seasonal closures into their arrangements.

The nursery is at Village Hall, Church Road, Sunningdale, SL5 0NJ. Enquiries begin through an online form, followed by a tour booking; a prospectus containing fee information is supplied after the visit. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

Holy Trinity Church is opposite the nursery, and free parking is on surrounding streets. On-street parking means finding a suitable space in the surrounding roads.

Sunningdale Train Station is approximately a 15-minute walk from Storybook Sunningdale Nursery. White Bus serves Church Road, with bus stops located within a 5-minute walk of the nursery.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 hours of funded childcare. The funding information covers working-parent entitlement from the term after a child reaches 9 months, subject to eligibility, and 15 hours for three-year-olds from the term after their third birthday unless they already receive working-parent funding. The fees and funding page also covers Tax-Free Childcare, which cannot pay registration fees or refundable deposits.

• Depth of learning. The July 2024 improvement action concerned monitoring practitioners' work, including questioning that did too little to extend older children's thinking. At a visit, ask how managers now identify and support this aspect of practice.
• Your child's care plan. SENCO support and specialist referrals provide a starting point for additional needs, while menus are planned around dietary requirements. Discuss settling, daily care routines and any allergy arrangements for your child during the tour.
• Attendance and total cost. The opening window spans 8am to 6pm, with August and Christmas closures. Use the written quotation to establish your booking pattern, how funded hours fit it, and the treatment of meals and consumables.

Storybook Sunningdale suits families who value daily outdoor learning, food prepared in-house and regular communication through an app as well as direct contact. SENCO involvement and referral support add practical mechanisms for children needing extra help. The July 2024 judgement provides a dated quality reference, with the monitoring of staff practice a specific point to pursue. Its current character is clearest in the outdoor classroom, family involvement and day-to-day communication.