Highwood Nursery
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Brockenhurst for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:45 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £7.20 an hour for 3 months – 2 years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2025. Open since 2014, with 71 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
50 weeks a year, minimum 2 days a week, price list dated 1 April 2026.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months – 2 years3m to 2y | £7.10College staff and self-paying students £7.203 months – 2 years | |
| 2 years – 3 years2y to 3y | £7.05College staff and self-paying students £7.152 years – 3 years | |
| 3 years plus3y to 5y | £7.00College staff and self-paying students £7.103 years plus |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £1.65 Breakfast
- £2.65 Tea
- £3.65 Lunch
- £5.00 to £7.50 per 15 minutes Late collectionevery five minutes beyond the scheduled collection time
Funded hours
Early Years Education Funding for all children aged 9 months and over (starting the term after they turn 9 months).
Worth knowing. Any additional hours or meals over and above the free entitlement will be charged at the normal rate.
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
SO42 7ZEWhat 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, 3 September 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily and separate from their parents with ease. Staff help children to settle and place a strong focus on their happiness and well-being. They know the children well and respond to their needs and interests with enthusiasm.
Staff spend time talking to parents to find out how the children are. As a result, children feel safe and secure.
Staff plan a broad curriculum based on children's developmental needs and interests. They use information from settling-in visits and observations as a baseline. This helps staff plan an effective programme for the children. Staff provide many opportunities for children to develop their fine motor skills. For example, younger children enjoy squeezing pipettes during water play. Older children enjoy sensory experiences linked to their favourite story, 'The Gruffalo'.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to consistently provide children with opportunities to freely express their own creative ideas.
- 3 September 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 7 January 2020Good
- 27 July 2016Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Highwood Nursery
- 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.
- Is £7.20 an hour still the rate? 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.