Woosehill Day Nursery

A private garden for babies and a covered outdoor classroom for older children give Woosehill Day Nursery a clear outdoor character. At Chestnut Park in Wokingham, the setting combines woodland surroundings with spaces designed for different stages of childhood: quieter exploration in The Nest, greater choice and independence in The Woodlands. The physical arrangements matter. Babies have their own outdoor access, while older children can move between activities inside and outside.

Woosehill accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. The nursery is registered for 60 places. Ofsted rated it Good at its 18 November 2021 inspection. The current room arrangements, especially the dedicated area for non-mobile babies and the baby sleep room, give families concrete features to weigh alongside that dated judgement.

Standard Day, Full Day and term-time funded sessions provide different attendance options, with paid early starts and late finishes extending the day.

Rooms and Ages

The Nest accommodates up to 18 babies in its 0–2 age band, combining sensory exploration with a sleep room and direct access to a private garden. Within it, The Little Nest gives non-mobile babies their own space and resources suited to their stage.

Cots support the youngest babies’ rest, with sleep mats used as children grow and become more mobile. Outdoors, a small growing area introduces herbs and vegetables through planting and care.

For children aged 2–5, The Woodlands has capacity for 35 and emphasises choosing resources independently, experimenting in art areas and moving freely between indoor activities and the garden. The covered, decked outdoor classroom gives those outdoor activities shelter; a mud kitchen supports pretend play, and a soft play surface provides another setting for movement. The room’s emphasis is on children making choices and pursuing their interests.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) supplies the required framework for learning, development and care: children’s activities support their next steps, with observations helping staff plan what comes next. Alongside it, the group-wide Development Matters guidance informs activity planning.

Boogie Mites, a group-wide programme of regular music and movement activities, adds a named strand to that day. The group-wide outdoor approach includes bug hunts, tree measuring and tent building, giving children practical ways to explore.

In November 2021, babies practised balance on planks, while older children played with fallen leaves. Staff also joined children’s pretend firefighting, using plastic tubes as imagined hoses. These examples show the learning opportunities offered at that time: physical challenges for babies and adult participation in children’s imaginative play. They are a dated account of the nursery day, rather than a promise of today’s activity timetable.

Animal care also featured in November 2021. Older children fed guinea pigs and discussed their food; younger children handled and bathed a bearded dragon, learning about its need for warmth. That made care for living things a practical experience, with children taking part rather than only looking at pictures.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2021, key persons arranged settling sessions around individual children and their parents, gathering information about preferences, dislikes and food. Parents received newsletters, and children spoke readily to their key persons about the resources they wanted. The emphasis was on building familiarity through a particular adult and through information from home.

There was a limitation to that starting process. In November 2021, parents’ knowledge of what their children could already do was not gathered in enough detail at the outset. Staff also sometimes supplied answers before children had sufficient thinking time. Both points matter to families: understanding a child’s starting point helps shape activities, while leaving room for an answer gives the child a chance to practise language independently.

Today, the group-wide Famly system shares observations and daily information, including meals and sleep, with parents. Regular progress meetings sit alongside those updates. When children leave for primary school, families receive an electronic Learning Journey containing images and observations from their nursery time. This gives parents both everyday information and a longer account of development.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including work with other professionals. Those are dated findings. They should be read alongside the specific care arrangements a family needs for their own child.

Food is prepared daily on the premises by nursery cooks, with menus incorporating vegetables, fruit and recipes from different parts of the world. The group-wide dietary policy allows dishes to be adjusted for most allergies and dietary requirements.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Chestnut Park Pavilion, Ruskin Way, Woosehill, Wokingham, RG41 3BP. Opening hours are 7.30am–6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays, Easter and Christmas.

The Standard Day runs from 8am to 4pm; the Full Day runs from 8am to 5.30pm. Families choose attendance on 3, 4 or 5 days each week. Early Start begins at 7.30am, and Late Finish extends attendance to 6pm, with an additional charge for each selected extension.

Term-time funded sessions are also listed: 9am–3pm, 9am–1pm and 1pm–4pm, each for 38 weeks a year. Their relationship with the guide’s separate funding window needs careful attention when selecting a pattern.

Woosehill has its own car park. Visits can be arranged directly with the nursery, and enquiries can be made by telephone on 0118 979 5306 or by email at woosehill@completechildcare.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible families with 15 hours or 30 hours of entitlement, delivered over 38 weeks rather than stretched across the year. The funding guide limits allocation to 6 hours per day between 9am and 3pm; for eligible 15-hour families, the daily allocation is between 3 and 6 hours. Eligibility and the selected attendance pattern therefore both affect the funded portion of a booking.

Hours beyond the funded allocation are paid wraparound care. Catering, activities and consumables are included in that wraparound charge, with no separate charge for those categories. For funded hours, the entitlement itself carries no charge, while the nursery requests a voluntary contribution towards lunch and snacks.

During the 14 non-funded weeks, full session charges apply. A monthly payment plan averages annual fees across the remaining months, but invoices retain the actual monthly charges and any difference is reconciled when the plan ends or a child leaves early. Smoother payments do not remove that final reconciliation.

There is no administration fee, and payment is by Direct Debit. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Baby-room scale. The Nest can accommodate 18 babies and includes The Little Nest for non-mobile children. On a visit, ask how those areas work together during play and rest, and how a baby’s transition between them is managed.
• Starting points and conversation. The November 2021 improvement points concerned gathering fuller information from parents and giving children more time to answer questions. Ask how the settling process now captures what your child already knows and how staff support unhurried conversation.
• Funded afternoon attendance. The funding guide lists a 1pm–4pm term-time session but also places funded allocation between 9am and 3pm. Ask how funding and any paid time are allocated to that afternoon booking before agreeing a pattern.
• Dietary adjustments. Most allergies and dietary requirements can be accommodated through changes to dishes. Families affected by allergies should confirm current preparation arrangements and the adjustments for their child.

Woosehill suits families seeking either Standard Day or Full Day attendance, as well as those considering its shorter term-time funded sessions. Its clearest attractions are practical: a dedicated area for non-mobile babies, a baby sleep room, direct garden access and a covered outdoor classroom for older children.

The Good judgement dates to November 2021, and the language and starting-assessment improvement points deserve attention. For a family whose priorities are outdoor play, defined baby spaces and regular development updates, Woosehill offers concrete reasons to consider it. The attendance decision needs equal care, especially where an afternoon session combines with funded entitlement.