Kamelia Kids Day Nursery & Beach School

A beach hut on Goring seafront, gardens for growing food and an interactive floor that children control themselves give Kamelia Kids a recognisable character. This charitable nursery in Goring by Sea combines outdoor exploration with spaces designed for sensory play and quieter moments. The physical detail matters: children have several ways to take part, rather than one busy room serving every purpose.

Kamelia Kids has capacity for 107 children, with a current age range of three months to five years. At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged it Good overall, found safeguarding effective and recognised successful adaptations and good progress for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). There were also shortcomings in supervision and the organisation of younger children's group activities, which deserve attention alongside that judgement.

Morning, afternoon, Short Day and Full Day bookings serve different family routines. The setting's strongest appeal, though, is the combination of coastal learning, practical gardening and a detailed system for identifying and supporting additional needs.

Rooms and Ages

Daisy Room serves babies up to two, combining sensory exploration with natural light, a sensory light room and a separate place for sleep; its garden adds a mud kitchen, sand pit and water play. These arrangements give babies opportunities for active exploration as well as somewhere to rest. Active play and a separate sleep space accommodate different parts of a baby's daily rhythm.

For two- to three-year-olds, Poppy Room encourages open-ended play beneath wooden beams and skylights, with adjoining spaces for creative work, sensory experiences and shared meals. Its south-facing garden contains outdoor classrooms, a sandpit and low climbing equipment. Daisy and Poppy children also use this outdoor space flexibly together, creating opportunities to learn alongside children at another stage of development.

Bluebell Room and Snowdrop Room serve preschool children aged three to five, with defined learning areas, access to the quiet Primrose room and a garden offering a climbing wall, outdoor classroom and bespoke climbing frame. The preschool environment gives children scope to move between energetic physical play and calmer activities. The Wildlife and Beach Garden adds a boat, beach hut and sandpit to that choice.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the common framework for children's learning and care: here, learning through play includes communication, relationships, movement and growing independence. Practitioners use their observations and information from parents to decide what experiences should come next. That makes a child's interests and stage of development relevant to planning, rather than treating age alone as the guide.

Practical experiences add substance to the curriculum. Children can grow produce in the Community Garden and use a miniature kitchen to cook with the nursery chef. Spanish introduces preschool children to words for animals, colours and numbers, alongside words used during snack-time routines. These are concrete additions to everyday play, with language linked to things children are doing.

Early Talk Boost is a targeted language programme for eligible three- and four-year-olds, delivered termly in a small group with activities continued at home. It works on listening, attention and vocabulary, giving families a defined intervention rather than a general promise of language support. Primrose provides a quieter setting for sessions of this kind.

Outdoor and Community Life

Beach School gives preschool children regular coastal trips led by a trained team. Children explore the changing natural environment, with the nursery's own equipped beach hut on Goring seafront providing shelter and a base. The approach follows children's curiosity while including learning about safety near the sea and care for the natural world. Regular means regular: families should judge the practical arrangements rather than assume a weekly timetable.

Back at nursery, the Community Garden includes fruit and vegetables for snacks, herbs and plants that attract bees and butterflies. An apple tree, silver birch and Bugingham Palace add specific points of interest. The Sensory and Wellbeing Garden offers tactile and fragrant planting, while sheltered outdoor areas help extend the use of gardens beyond fine-weather play.

Visits from the West Sussex Libraries Book Bus bring another kind of exploration. Small groups hear a story from library staff, browse together and select books to borrow for the nursery. Local outings also include walks and journeys in the buggy bus, connecting children's experiences with the surrounding community.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person and a buddy, giving parents identifiable contacts for settling and everyday communication. Settling arrangements are agreed with families around the child's needs. The key person observes play, exchanges information with parents and helps children build relationships with other staff and children. This makes familiarity part of the care arrangement, rather than leaving parents to establish a new contact each day.

Daily conversations and meetings with the key person provide opportunities to discuss development and concerns. Parents contribute to progress checks and the summary prepared for moving to school. The nursery is graduate-led and has room managers, a pedagogical management role and a SEND team; these roles give its care and learning arrangements a defined structure.

Sleep has dedicated spaces. Sunflower is used for babies, with Rose serving young children, and the nursery's sleep arrangements specify an adult in the room throughout sleep plus checks every five minutes. Parents' wishes are accommodated provided the child's welfare is protected. For a baby whose nursery day includes substantial sleep, the location and supervision of rest are important practical details.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Accessibility is built into the premises: the building occupies one level, doorways accommodate mobility equipment and rooms have panels to reduce noise. Visual supports and Makaton are used to support communication. Lavender's Magic Carpet projects images and games onto the floor for children to interact with, while Rose offers babies sensory resources including bubble tubes and fibre optics. These features provide different routes into play and communication.

Two SENCOs coordinate additional support. An assessment six weeks after joining establishes a starting point, followed by termly tracking and speech and language monitoring. Where concerns arise, an Action Plan for Inclusion is developed with parents through assessment, planning, action and review. Medical needs can be addressed through an individual Health Care Plan and Risk Plan, with relevant training organised for staff.

For children with identified or emerging SEND, school transition includes discussions between the family, nursery and school about needs and strategies. A Specialist Advisory Teacher referral can be made when needed. This is preparation for a change of setting, with support information carried forward.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted recorded a supervision breach, but leaders acted promptly and effectively, no child's safety or wellbeing was affected, and the inspection outcome was unchanged. In September 2025, some younger children also became restless during poorly organised group activities and disengaged from learning; improving those group times was the required next step.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Wellesley Avenue, Goring by Sea, Worthing, BN12 4PN. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, across 51 weeks, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Enquiries can be made by telephone or the contact form.

Morning runs from 8am to 1.30pm, while Afternoon runs from 1.30pm to 6pm. Short Day covers 8am to 4.30pm and Full Day covers 8am to 6pm; Early Breakfast adds the 7.30am to 8am period. The different finishing times matter for parents balancing work with a shorter nursery day. Permanent session changes require four weeks' notice and management agreement, and withdrawal requires four weeks' written notice with fees due throughout that period.

Kool Kids Breakfast & After School Club also serves Reception and Year 1 children, with school transport on foot to and from West Park School. Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am, and afternoon bookings run from 3pm to either 4.30pm or 6pm. This is a separate service for school-age children, with a defined collection arrangement.

Getting There

Durrington by Sea Station is nearby, and local bus routes serve the area. On-road parking is identified, with a dedicated disabled space in the nursery car park for blue badge holders.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes working-family entitlement from nine months, Local Authority funding for eligible two-year-olds and universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds. Ordinary funded attendance is stretched across 51 weeks, with up to 22 hours weekly for working-family entitlement and up to 11 for the other two routes. Funded Only attendance can be term-time over 38 weeks or stretched across 51, subject to the agreed arrangement and availability.

Paid sessions combine funded hours with additional private hours where applicable. Funded Only sessions include consumables; lunch can be purchased or replaced with a healthy packed lunch. The treatment of afternoon tea needs clarification before choosing that arrangement. A non-refundable registration charge applies except to funded-only children, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and session terms explain the booking structure.

Zebedees supplies hot lunches, cold afternoon teas and baby purees, included in the ordinary fee structure. The nursery's food policy excludes nuts and sesame, including products carrying trace warnings.

• Supervision and younger children's group times. September 2025 brought a supervision breach that was addressed promptly without harm, alongside an improvement requirement for younger children's group activities. During a visit, discuss how supervision is organised and how staff respond when younger children lose interest.
• Funded Only afternoon tea. The funding terms describe these sessions as inclusive except for lunch, while the meal terms place afternoon tea among the separately purchased items. Establish the agreed meal arrangement in writing, alongside any allergy or dietary requirements and current practice.
• Individual support and coastal outings. Beach School is offered to preschool children of all abilities, and SEND support is planned with families. A visit should explore how your child's communication, mobility or medical needs would be accommodated both indoors and on beach trips.

Kamelia Kids suits families considering morning or afternoon sessions as well as those needing a Short Day or Full Day, with term-time and stretched arrangements for Funded Only attendance. Its appeal is tangible: coastal trips, productive gardens, sensory spaces and a structured process for additional support.

The September 2025 shortcomings give families specific questions to pursue. For parents who value outdoor exploration and want to discuss individual care in detail, this is a nursery with substantial practical provision to assess.