Everything you need to know about life at The Nest. Explore answers about our settings, daily rhythms, outdoor adventures, and how we nurture your child’s unique journey.
We are based in Winchester, Hampshire. We have two fabulous settings, one in Winchester itself and the other located just 12 minutes outside of the City.
We care for babies and children from 3 months to eight years plus. We offer a school wrap-around service and holiday care for school age children.
Absolutely! It is so important to us to get the children outside every day. The Family Nest in Winchester has a superb, secure and safe back garden, with an own oversized sand pit, terrace and plenty of lawn space. The Pheasant Nest is on a farm and has an outdoor bias. Here the children have over an acre of thoughtfully designed land, enough said… it’s truly wonderful!
Flexibility has been one of our founding principles, we’ve built care that adapts to your changing needs. Across both Nests we are open 7am–7pm Monday to Thursday (and until 6pm on Fridays). You choose the exact hours you need, with our 7 hour minimum, creating a fully tailored booking pattern where you pay for the care you require. For eligible families, we also accept Tax-Free Childcare and Government EYE Funding, making high quality care more affordable.
Yes, both of our Nests have been inspected on the new framework and both received some of the highest grading in Hampshire, with The Pheasant Nest even receiving an ‘Exceptional’ in inclusion, deeming it ‘worthy of National dissemination’. Our lovely Ofsted inspector even left our setting with a tear in their eye, in awe of what we had created for the children! Very proud! Our full reports can be found online:
We are an all-year round setting, open for 48 weeks of the year. We close for 2 weeks over the summer and 2 weeks over the festive period.
Our ideal settling period for babies and children starts around two months before they are due to join The Nest, with the invitation to join our weekly ‘Little Nestlings’ sessions. These ‘introduction and integration’ sessions are for you (or any of your child’s care giver) to stay and play with your ‘Little Nestling’.
There is no typical day, everyday is different at The Nest. Our approach is child-led, reactive and flexible; promoting curiosity, independence, and emotional wellbeing.
We do have what we call ‘rhythms’ of the day, which are usually centred around eating; breakfast is served at 7:30am, the children prepare snack for mid-morning, lunch is at midday and supper around 4:15pm.
Food plays a critical role in our provision. All of our food is home-cooked; a conscious decision to ensure conscious consumption – it is because we cook ‘in-house’ that we know what’s in our food, ensuring it is nutritionally balanced, varied and appropriate for every age group. Mealtimes are treated as an event at The Nest rather than a simply a functional process; children serve themselves and each other, promoting independence; team members sit with the children modelling positive behaviours and above all ensuring a safe environment is maintained.
Communication matters to us, so we make it easy and meaningful. Our front-door time (drop-off and collection) is where we share the important day-to-day details about your child. During the day, we stay connected if needed, through our messaging service within the Ovivio app. You will also receive a daily diary with information, photos and videos of what your little one has been up to! For anything beyond everyday updates, you can reach us through our administration email, ensuring you always have a clear line to the team.
We don’t age segregate children at ‘The Nest’, we use ‘family grouping’ with all ages of babies and children sharing the same spaces, just like a real family home environment and it works beautifully! While our daily rhythm brings everyone together for meals and group play, our teams are knowledgeable to read the needs of all children in our care and they dynamically shape resources to ensure all ages receive the mix of peaceful, sensory stimulation as well as the big physical adventures as and when they require them.