Padnell Pre-School
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Waterlooville for children from birth to 5, open 08:50 to 14:55, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2025. Open since 2011, with 30 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
PO8 8DSWhat 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, 2 July 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children appear happy and settled at this warm and welcoming pre-school. Staff are friendly and nurturing. They build meaningful relationships with children.
Together, children have conversations about their exciting mornings visiting their new teachers at school. Children demonstrate confidence and independence. They place their belongings away and quickly get involved with exciting activities, such as play dough and painting. Children begin to understand the importance of taking turns. They share shape cutters and scissors as they construct creatively. Children play well alongside one another.
Children have countless opportunities to learn about the natural environment. Staff plan learning experiences that teach them about caring for living things. For example, children excitedly use information books to identify the insects they have found in the garden. Children calmly and intently examine a grasshopper on their hand. Together, children discuss how it is sitting very still and that it is green for camouflage. Furthermore, children demonstrate respect for creatures as they recognise that they need to return them to their 'habitats'. Children gain a wealth of vocabulary as they actively engage in learning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: ensure a member of staff with a full and relevant paediatric first-aid qualification is on the premises and available at all times when children are present. (by 18/07/2025)
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- deliver information about behavioural expectations consistently to children to increase their understanding of why they are in place.
- 2 July 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 3 December 2019Good
- 5 February 2016Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Padnell 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.