Alphabet City Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.2 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Basingstoke for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2025. Open since 2007, with 60 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Government funded hours for all eligible children aged over 9 months. 570 or 1140 annual Stretched funding hours: 51 weeks with 22 or 11 hrs, 1 week with 18 or 9 hrs.
What childcare usually costs in Hampshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hampshire from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
RG21 5TGWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 12 May 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The nursery stands out for its warm, welcoming and homely environment. Staff know the children well, which helps them to support their individual needs. Staff create a safe and supportive space where children feel valued and respected. They ensure that all children, regardless of any additional needs or individual challenges, receive the necessary support.
Staff set clear expectations of what children can achieve before they transition through the nursery. They promote positive attitudes by encouraging curiosity, resilience, independence and respect for others. For instance, staff actively find out children's individual celebrations and support these throughout the year. These actions help children to value their different life experiences, understand the wider world and learn about the similarities and differences of others. Children behave well and follow the structure and routines of the day.
Overall, children enjoy a well-balanced curriculum that supports their interests and learning. Babies confidently explore the environment around them. They show delight as they move push-along toys around the outside space. This supports babies' physical development and spatial awareness as they negotiate obstacles in their learning environment. Toddlers and pre-school children use their imagination well and enjoy construction, drawing with a range of mediums and role play. Older children develop good attention and listening skills. Staff provide ongoing commentary, repeating words and phrases that children use. Sign language and pictorial images are used to further enhance communication skills. Children engage and remain intently focussed as staff lead story and singing activities. Children leave the nursery feeling confident, capable and ready for the next stage in their educational journey.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance staff's modelling of language and questioning techniques, to further extend children's thinking and problem-solving skills.
- 12 May 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 15 August 2019Good
- 5 January 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Alphabet City Day Nursery
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.