Roundhill Day Nursery

Six babies in a first-floor Baby Room, a garden story corner with a wooden tipi, and learning journeys that parents can contribute to: Roundhill has concrete detail behind its family-facing offer. Based at The School House in Stourport-on-Severn, it has capacity for 35 children aged three months to five years. The youngest room's stated size is a useful starting point for parents comparing baby care.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Roundhill Good overall and found effective safeguarding, an emphasis on emotional security and prompt support for children with additional needs. Those findings give families a clear quality benchmark, while the teaching improvements identified at the same visit deserve attention alongside the strengths.

Morning, afternoon, school-day and full-day bookings give families several ways to fit nursery around their week. The room arrangements also make the progression through nursery tangible: sensory exploration for babies, growing independence for toddlers and practical preparation for school in the older rooms.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room accommodates six babies upstairs, with sensory resources, natural materials and separate carpeted and washable areas supporting both quiet rest and messy exploration. Musical instruments, shape sorters and books give babies different ways to investigate sounds, objects and textures. Rest and active play have their own surfaces within the room, a practical distinction for children whose needs change throughout the day.

Toddlers, described for two- to three-year-olds, combines messy play and opportunities to recognise their own names with toilets, a changing area and a door directly into the garden. Having these facilities attached to the room brings outdoor choice and toilet learning into its everyday arrangements. Children also have individual pegs, supporting the habit of finding and looking after their belongings.

Pre-School emphasises early writing, phonics, numbers and problem-solving, with resources labelled at children's height so they can choose activities themselves. The Garden room shares the practical school-readiness emphasis on dressing, using the toilet and serving food and drinks independently. This preparation reaches beyond letters and numbers: it includes the everyday tasks children will increasingly manage for themselves.

Learning and Activities

EYFS, the Early Years Foundation Stage, sets out children's learning, development and care; at Roundhill, learning through play follows children's interests and their stage of development. The key person adapts experiences to the individual child rather than treating the room's age band as a single learning schedule. Observations feed into a learning journey, linking what a child does with what staff plan next.

In September 2025, babies explored board books alongside adults, toddlers heard stories during quieter periods and older children retold familiar stories with friends. Water play included filling and emptying pipettes into small jugs, while block building offered another practical encounter with quantity and shape. These were everyday activities with opportunities for conversation and discovery, rather than a separate lesson timetable.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff understood children's next steps, but asked for more mathematical vocabulary during play and more consistent modelling, explanation, questioning and challenge to extend learning. For parents, the distinction matters: providing an engaging activity and making the most of its teaching possibilities are separate tasks. Both improvement points concern how adults develop a child's thinking during an activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

A mud kitchen, planting area and construction space give the garden several different uses, while the story corner has a wooden tipi and logs or seating, providing a place for storytelling outdoors. Children are encouraged to use the garden across different weather conditions. Outdoor time is therefore part of the nursery's daily learning arrangements, rather than reserved for fine days.

In September 2025, children could choose between indoor and outdoor play, and toddlers explored a garden water tray. Staff gave advance notice of changes in the routine, helping children decide how to spend their time before the next part of the day began. That combination of choice and predictable routines is a useful detail for families whose children need time to move between activities.

Relationships and Communication

Settling involves introductions to a key person and exchanges about the child's routines and needs. The Child Detail Pack and Learning Journey Packs give those conversations a structure, helping staff gather information about the child as well as explain nursery life to parents. An initial settling period is also part of the move between rooms, with the familiar key person supporting the change.

Babies move towards the toddler room when developmentally ready after reaching 20–24 months. For toddlers moving on again, staff try to arrange the change alongside at least one friend. These arrangements recognise that a room move changes both the child's surroundings and their relationships; familiarity is deliberately carried into the next stage.

Tapestry is the online option for recording children's learning journeys, with a paper version also offered. Records can include photographs, observations, examples of work and contributions from parents, other settings and professionals. Families can therefore add their own knowledge of the child, rather than only receive updates about nursery activities. Transition Booklets form part of the records too, connecting documentation with the child's next stage.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In September 2025, support for additional needs included individual adult help and contact with other professionals. Older children used a feelings board to identify how they were feeling, while babies sought comfort from their key person. These examples show the practical forms that support took at that time: direct help, familiar relationships and a simple way to express emotions.

A designated safeguarding lead and deputy roles provide a route for raising concerns. Recruitment includes background checks and an induction, and trainees work with support from qualified colleagues. These are arrangements families can understand and discuss; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the quality assessment.

Meals are cooked on site using a four-week rotating menu, and dietary requirements are discussed during settling so the menu can be adapted. Water and milk are the usual drinks, with parent-supplied squash possible on request if a child will not drink the water provided.

Sessions and Attendance

Roundhill opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 7.30am to 12.30pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, full days from 7.30am to 6pm and School Day bookings from 8.30am to 3.30pm. Full-time attendance is also offered across Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm.

The range allows a family to choose between a shorter part-day pattern, a day shaped around school hours and coverage across the full opening window. Term-time attendance is also catered for through the billing arrangements. The nursery operates across the year, with bank-holiday closures and a week closed at Christmas.

The address is The School House, Kingsway, Stourport-on-Severn, DY13 8NH. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01299 488989 or by email at info@roundhilldaynursery.com. Enrolment involves a signed registration form that also serves as the nursery contract, together with a registration charge.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds, universal 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds, and an additional 15 hours for eligible parents of three- and four-year-olds. Private childcare is offered alongside funded attendance. These entitlements have different eligibility conditions, so the relevant category matters when planning a child's booking.

Paid session prices include the food listed for that session, while parents supply nappies, wipes and formula milk. Funded sessions have an optional consumables charge; parents who provide food and do not exceed ten hours on a funded day have no additional charges for that day. On funded days exceeding ten hours, the extra half-hour from 5.30pm to 6pm is charged separately.

Weekly fees are spread into equal monthly invoices, payable in advance on the first of the month. Fee increases are notified in writing a month ahead. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their chosen attendance pattern, funding and any additional charges before committing to the contract.

• The upstairs baby room. The Baby Room accommodates six babies on the first floor. During a visit, ask how outdoor access and rest are organised for this group, and how the move downstairs is introduced as children become ready.
• Teaching during play. The September 2025 improvement points concerned mathematical language and consistent adult explanation, modelling and challenge. Ask for examples of how practitioners now extend water play, construction and storytelling.
• Funded-day boundaries. The food arrangement and the ten-hour condition affect additional charges on funded days. Compare the optional charge with supplying food, and have the chosen arrangement included in the written quotation.
• Dietary needs. Requirements are discussed during settling and menus can be adapted. Families managing allergies should confirm current preparation and serving practice, alongside the menu changes their child needs.

Roundhill suits families considering morning or afternoon sessions as well as School Day or full-day attendance, and parents who value an individual learning record they can contribute to. The six-baby room, direct garden access for toddlers and practical independence work in the older rooms give useful substance to the offer.

The September 2025 Good judgement provides a positive benchmark, balanced by specific teaching improvements rather than a blanket endorsement. For a family choosing this nursery, the strongest decision points are the youngest room's arrangements, the quality of adult interaction during play and how funded attendance works within the chosen timetable.