Round and Round the Gardens Childcare

Five gardens give Round and Round the Gardens Childcare its character. A trim trail, a summer house, chickens and a garden for muddy play give children at this Pyrford nursery different settings for movement, investigation and quieter activities.

The nursery accepts children from 12 months to five years and has 46 places in total. At its 8 February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children made good progress relative to their abilities. The strengths were practical: staff understood children's learning, encouraged persistence and took an active part in outdoor discoveries.

Three classrooms organise the age groups, while gardening, drama and outdoor activities add shape to the week. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings serve different attendance needs across the year. Two improvement priorities from February 2024 also matter to families: teaching children more about personal hygiene and reducing lengthy waits between activities.

Rooms and Ages

BUMBLEBEES takes children from 12 months to two years, LADYBIRDS serves two- to three-year-olds, and DRAGONFLIES accommodates children aged three and above in a bright, spacious classroom with an adjoining outside classroom. The age divisions give families a clear picture of where their child begins and the next stage within the nursery.

Child-sized furnishings and reachable resources support independent choices. Building, pretend play, puzzles and sorting sit alongside exploration with paint, clay, sand and water. Children work independently, alongside others or with adult support, practising cooperation as well as following their interests.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support children's language, movement, relationships and early understanding of the world. Here, children also explore projects, make decisions and practise sharing, with activities taking place inside and outside.

Pyjama Drama runs on Wednesday mornings, using drama to develop everyday life skills rather than preparing children for performance careers. Let's Get Active gives children a physical activity club within their nursery sessions. Both sit alongside the ordinary classroom day, so movement and imaginative participation have their own planned opportunities.

Gardening involves choosing plants and helping with watering, pruning and weeding. Groups from the classrooms rotate through these sessions, giving children a practical role in looking after the grounds. The activity connects the nursery's outdoor emphasis with responsibility: children help care for the spaces they use.

Wild Wednesday! involves small groups in campfire cooking, den-making and testing little rafts on water, alongside exploring natural sounds, insects and flowers. Making and observing give children practical opportunities to experiment outdoors.

Creative sessions follow children's interests and staff discussions about where additional support would help. Storytelling, puppetry, movement and making marks are among the activities. Each year, children contribute group artwork to the Pyrford & Wisley Flower Show, giving their creative work a shared project and a connection beyond the nursery.

Outdoor and Community Life

Playground has a trim trail; Outside Classroom has a sandpit; Secret Garden contains a summer house; Wild Garden combines a mud kitchen with chickens; Paddock adds paths and bridges. Grassy and playground surfaces support climbing, balancing and exploration.

DRAGONFLIES has direct access to its outside classroom, and the summer house in Secret Garden provides another classroom setting for moving between indoor and outdoor activity. These arrangements make learning outside part of the nursery's physical layout.

In February 2024, outdoor exploration continued in different weather conditions. Moving rainwater with containers and a wheelbarrow involved handling equipment and persistence, with staff joining in and encouraging children's efforts.

Children's interests and individual pace shape individual work, small groups and shared projects. Communication with parents helps practitioners understand each child's needs and connects care at home with nursery life.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found parent partnership effective and identified useful support for children learning English as an additional language, including adapting activities and using words supplied by families in their home languages. This was a practical way of supporting participation rather than expecting every child to approach an activity through English alone.

Staff roles include a SENDCo and a SEND Assistant, alongside designated safeguarding responsibilities. The team also undertakes further training. These arrangements give families identifiable areas of responsibility when discussing additional needs, care or development, while the quality judgements remain those of the dated inspection.

In February 2024, staff helped children talk about emotions, set understandable behavioural expectations and recognised their achievements. Children were comfortable with staff and settled readily. The same visit identified a gap in teaching self-care: children needed more consistent help to understand practices such as covering coughs and cleaning their noses, rather than simply following some familiar routines.

The day includes a sleep and quiet period from 12.30pm to 2pm, making space for rest as well as activity. Families supply a lunchbox; breakfast and snacks are provided, and an on-site cook prepares a substantial tea each day. Lunch therefore remains a home responsibility, even within a full-day booking.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Jack Temple Building, Pyrford Road, Pyrford, Woking, Surrey GU22 8UQ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with closures for bank holidays and one week at Christmas.

Families can book mornings from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, or full days from 8am to 6pm, choosing shorter attendance or the complete nursery day.

Attendance runs across the year; term-time-only places are not offered. A waiting list operates for every classroom. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by calling 01932 355322, and a video tour can be requested through the enquiry route. The nursery asks families enquiring about a place to include their child's date of birth and intended starting date.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes universal funding for three- and four-year-olds from the term after they turn three, additional funding for eligible working parents, the Working Parents Entitlement for eligible two-year-olds from the term after they turn two, and FEET funding for eligible two-year-olds. These are separate offers with eligibility conditions, rather than a promise that every family receives the same allocation.

Universal funding and the additional working-parent funding are stretched over 51 weeks. Each contributes 11 hours a week under the nursery's arrangement, giving eligible families using both a stated total of 22 hours. The two-year-old Working Parents Entitlement is also offered across 51 weeks, up to 11 hours weekly; FEET is offered as 10 hours weekly, using a full day or two five-hour sessions.

Funded hours are allocated within longer booked sessions, so additional paid time remains part of the arrangement. Monthly invoicing spreads weekly charges across the year, with an annual January review. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Families can review the attendance and funding structure on the fees and funding page.

Clubs are included within the session charge. Parents provide lunch in a lunchbox, while the nursery supplies the other meals and snacks described above; the home-provided lunch applies to the nursery day rather than being replaced by funding.

• Year-round attendance. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions are offered, but term-time-only attendance is excluded. During a visit discussion, explore how the chosen session would fit your child's rest and outdoor routines.
• Funding within longer sessions. Funded hours sit inside bookings that extend beyond them, creating additional paid time. Match the written quotation to the particular entitlement and attendance pattern your family would use.
• Self-care teaching. February 2024 brought an improvement priority around explaining hygiene and developing children's independence. Ask how staff now teach coughing, nose-wiping and other everyday care habits.
• Waiting between activities. In February 2024, lengthy transitions sometimes left children distracted or frustrated. A useful visit question is how staff organise changes between activities and routines now.

Outdoor learning gives this nursery a clear identity: five different garden areas, practical gardening and Wild Wednesday! provide substance behind that emphasis. Pyjama Drama and the annual Pyrford & Wisley Flower Show add imaginative and creative opportunities alongside the classrooms.

It suits families seeking year-round morning sessions, afternoon sessions or full days, especially those who value frequent use of outdoor spaces. The Good judgement from February 2024 is encouraging, while the self-care and transition priorities deserve attention. For funded attendance, the decisive practical detail is how the entitlement fits within the longer paid booking.