Hazebrouck Day Nursery

Four gardens, a sensory room and an outdoor area with a Nature Pond give Hazebrouck Day Nursery a character that goes beyond its indoor rooms. Based at the Community Centre in Arborfield, it combines spaces for different ages with opportunities to climb, balance, explore and play outdoors. The gardens are a substantial part of the offer.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 15 May 2023 inspection. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of care today. The nursery has capacity for 91 children and accepts ages from 3 to 60 months, spanning the earliest months of baby care through to preparation for primary school.

Attendance includes Standard Day and Full Day bookings, alongside shorter funded sessions. That gives families several ways to use the setting, rather than a single attendance pattern.

Rooms and Ages

Bright, spacious rooms and a sensory room sit alongside four gardens arranged for the ages using them. Outdoor equipment includes ride-on toys, a sand pit and opportunities for climbing and balancing. These are different ways to practise movement: travelling across space, handling materials and negotiating physical challenges.

Children move into Pre-School at age three, where number work and phonics sit alongside play and exploration. The emphasis is on introducing these activities while keeping room for children to choose toys and follow their interests. For families approaching school age, this makes the balance between preparation and play an important part of the offer.

In May 2023, babies practised pulling themselves upright with mirrors to look into, toddlers handled keys and key rings during counting, and older children tackled obstacle courses on large outdoor equipment.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: activities help children build skills through play and everyday experiences. It is the shared foundation for early years provision. Hazebrouck also uses the group-wide Development Matters guidance to plan children's next steps, with regular meetings for parents to discuss development.

Boogie Mites is a group-wide addition providing recurring music and movement activities.

In May 2023, everyday independence developed through mealtimes: babies worked towards spoon use, toddlers served themselves and used forks, and older children practised pouring drinks and using cutlery.

Counting also appeared in games such as hide-and-seek during that visit, while role play gave children opportunities to use resources imaginatively.

Outdoor and Community Life

The dedicated Outdoor Experience area includes a Woodland Play House, Mud Kitchens, Bug Mansions and a Nature Pond. These features offer different starting points for outdoor play, from pretend cooking to exploring natural surroundings. They also make the garden more than a space for running around.

The branch identifies this as an Outdoor Experience/Forest School area, giving outdoor exploration a dedicated space. Alongside it, the gardens support sand play, riding, climbing and balance. For a child who enjoys active play, there are several physical experiences to consider when choosing this nursery.

In May 2023, children used the outside spaces daily for riding, running and climbing.

Relationships and Communication

Famly, the group's online communication system, is used to share observations about development and practical information such as meals and sleep. This gives parents both an account of everyday routines and examples of learning. Regular progress meetings add time for discussion beyond the daily updates.

A digital Learning Journey, containing photographs and observations from nursery, is supplied when a child leaves for primary school. It brings those accumulated experiences together at the end of their time here. School preparation also includes the number and phonics activities within Pre-School, rather than resting solely on a leaving record.

The group-wide care approach includes comforting children with cuddles and spending time together over books, conversation and play as they settle. These are concrete ways of building familiarity. For babies, however, the dated settling concern below deserves close attention alongside that approach.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, but identified weaknesses in support for some babies settling in and in the specificity of plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), which sometimes retained the same objectives for too long. Those findings matter differently to different families: a baby starting nursery needs responsive comfort, while a child needing additional support needs clear goals that change as their needs develop.

Nursery cooks make snacks and meals on the premises each day, with menus incorporating fruit, vegetables and dishes from different food traditions. The nursery's dietary approach is to accommodate most allergies and other dietary needs through changes to dishes.

Sessions and Attendance

Hazebrouck operates at the Community Centre, Sheerlands Road, Arborfield, Reading, RG2 9ND. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

Standard Day runs from 8am to 4pm; Full Day runs from 8am to 5.30pm. These core bookings have a choice of three, four or five days each week. Early Start extends attendance from 7.30am and Late Finish extends it to 6pm, with an additional charge for each premium session selected. Families comparing schedules should distinguish the core session from those extensions.

Funded session patterns include 9am to 3pm, 9am to 1pm and 1pm to 4pm. All three funded session patterns run for 38 weeks a year only. These shorter patterns make the attendance offer relevant to families seeking part-day childcare as well as those booking the core days.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and visits can be arranged. For budgeting, current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Payment by Direct Debit is supported, and there is no administration fee; the deposit wording promises no large financial deposit.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 hours and 30 hours of funded entitlement are accommodated, subject to individual entitlement. Funding applies across up to 38 weeks, with a maximum of six funded hours a day between 9am and 3pm. For children eligible for 15 hours, the daily funded allocation is between three and six hours; for those eligible for 30 hours, it is up to six.

Funded hours themselves carry no charge, while a voluntary contribution is requested for lunch and snacks. Paid hours beyond the entitlement are charged as wrap-around care, with catering, activities and consumables included in that cost. Families should therefore distinguish the voluntary food contribution during funded provision from the inclusive charge for paid hours.

There are 14 non-funded weeks, when full session charges apply; during funded weeks, charges cover the paid wrap-around portion. A monthly payment plan averages annual fees over the remaining months, with any overpayment or underpayment reconciled when the plan ends or the child leaves early. That smooths payments while retaining a final adjustment.

• Babies settling in. The May 2023 findings included staff needing stronger skills to support new babies. At a visit, ask how settling is now tailored when a baby finds separation difficult.
• Individual SEND goals. In May 2023, some support plans repeated objectives for lengthy periods. Families needing additional support should ask how goals are chosen, reviewed and updated for their child.
• The whole-year childcare bill. Funding operates across 38 weeks, with full session charges in non-funded weeks and paid extensions outside core sessions. Compare the written quotation against the attendance pattern you need throughout the year.
• Food allergies. The nursery accommodates most dietary needs by adapting dishes. Confirm how your child's particular allergy will be managed, including snacks and any substitutions.

Hazebrouck suits families who value substantial outdoor spaces and want a choice between Standard Day, Full Day and shorter funded sessions. The sensory room and the garden's named features give the setting a recognisable physical offer, while Pre-School combines early number and phonics activities with play.

The May 2023 Good judgement provides a useful quality reference, with baby settling and individual SEND planning the points that deserve closest attention. For families whose requirements fit its attendance patterns, this is a nursery with concrete spaces and activities to weigh against those care priorities.