Apple Tree Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Portsmouth for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2024. Open since 2022, with 45 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
30 hours of free government-funded childcare for children aged 9 months to 4 years with working parents, 15 hours for low income families from term after child turns two, 15 hours for all children aged three and above.
Worth knowing. 30 hours available 51 weeks of the year and provided as 22.5 hours per week. Any additional hours outside of the funding entitlement are at the rates listed above. There is no charge for funded hours.
What childcare usually costs in Portsmouth
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Portsmouth 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
PO2 9SDWhat 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.
- 17 April 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 12 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children happily arrive, eager to start their day. Leaders ensure children receive consistent care practices. Staff have embedded well-organised and consistent routines that help children know what is happening next. For instance, key workers take responsibility for the parent handovers and walk with children to their rooms.
This helps children to form secure attachments and settle quickly.
Children behave well. They demonstrate kind and considerate behaviours, such as inviting others into their play and taking turns. Staff regularly remind children of respectful behaviour, such as using 'please' and 'thank you'. Additionally, staff introduce them to new concepts, such as 'nurture related to nature'. For example, children watch caterpillars grow into butterflies and help release them safely into the wild. This also supports their understanding of life cycles and the world around them.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- focus even more on supporting staff to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high standard across the staff team n develop staff's teaching strategies to further support children's communication and language skills, such as during conversations about new ideas and learning.
- 12 September 2024Good
Still missing for Apple Tree 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.