Bracken Place Day Nursery
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Southampton for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2000, with 96 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
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
SO16 3NGWhat 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.
- 27 September 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 20 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Positive improvements have been made since the last inspection to ensure the registration requirements are being met. The key-person approach is securely embedded. Staff work hard to foster good relationships with all children to help them settle swiftly. Consequently, children are happy and settled and confidently seek out staff for reassurance and support when needed. Staff have a robust understanding of the unique needs of each child. This allows staff to plan educational programmes that continuously build on children's existing knowledge and skills. There is a particular emphasis on ensuring that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs met well.
Staff expose children to rich and varied opportunities to develop their communication skills and extend their growing vocabulary. For example, very young children show curiosity in selecting props from a song bag to join in group singing.
Furthermore, older children delight in engaging in ice play where staff model new words and their explanations, such as 'freezing', 'melting' and 'droplets'. This helps children make connections between their play as they learn new words and their meanings.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- continue to build on the curriculum offer to ensure it is fully embedded and precisely meets the needs of all children n strengthen outdoor experiences to ensure these offer purposeful and wellplanned learning opportunities to support the youngest children.
- 20 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 28 August 2024Inadequate
- 31 January 2020Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Bracken Place Day Nursery
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? 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.