Bushy Tails Pre-School
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Waterlooville for children from birth to 5, open 08:30 to 15:15, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 1997, with 26 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
PO7 8EDWhat 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, 30 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thoroughly enjoy their time at pre-school and the opportunities they have to build friendships. Staff role model kindness and care well, including through their relationships with each other. For example, they check their colleagues regularly and bring each other cups of water. Children re-enact this behaviour as they share tools while working with the play dough and check that their friends are okay after a bump. This helps provide them with the skills they will need to build and maintain future friendships.
Staff provide children with regular opportunities to learn new concepts such as mathematics. This provides children with a good foundation of knowledge to support their future learning. For instance, children develop an understanding of shape and measure as they match the outline of everyday items with the corresponding object. Children name the shapes and compare their properties.
Staff encourage children to practise their counting skills as they count the number of circles they can find. Children compare sizes and use language such as 'big' and
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: - strengthen the opportunities children have to develop their independence skills in preparation for their next stage in learning n strengthen the organisation of activities to ensure children have the space they need to fully engage in their play.
- 30 January 2024Good
- 4 May 2018Good
- 9 December 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Bushy Tails Pre-School
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.