The Little School by the Lake
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.5 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Petersfield for babies from 9 months up to 5 year olds, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2025. Open since 2023, with 60 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Under 3's eligible for 30 hours a week completely free from September during term time or 22 hours if stretched over the year; Eligible funded children accepted from 9 months from September '24; Over 3's entitled to 15 hours or 11 hours stretched, eligible parents may claim 30 hours during term time or 22 hours stretched.
Worth knowing. No extra charges for under 3's; Over 3's optional supplementary charge of £2 per grant hour; minimum attendance of 22 hours to claim 30 hours offer; if booking only funded hours, right to give quietest sessions.
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
GU31 4EJWhat 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, 9 May 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children eagerly come, and staff support children as they settle quickly into activities. Staff support children's behaviour well. Children are polite, well mannered and behave well overall. Staff teach children independence skills through everyday routines, such as how to change their shoes ready to go outside.
Children learn about the world around them through activities that staff plan, such as raising chicks. Children confidently share that the chicks have come out of the eggs and will get bigger and be chickens. Children show care for the chicks as they gently stroke them. Staff encourage children to think about their hand hygiene as children remember they have to wash their hands afterwards as they might have germs from the chicks on them.
Children learn to work together as they hunt for objects in the garden. Staff skilfully scaffold their learning as children work together to put the objects in the correct number order up to ten. Staff encourage children to be curious and to have a go. For example, babies explore water by pushing boats down water tray pipes and splashing. Staff sing nursery rhymes frequently with children to support their communication development. Children, including the youngest, enjoy joining in with the different rhymes and songs.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- refine routines to better support children's good behaviour at times of transition n strengthen the consistency of staff's support for children's early language and thinking skills during conversations.
- 9 May 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
Still missing for The Little School by the Lake
- What it costs
- 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.