We believe that children make the greatest progress when they are fully absorbed and really enjoying what they are doing.  This is why PLAY is at the centre of everything we do!  We encourage our children to explore and find out for themselves the "how" and "why" of the way the world around them works.  At Dragonflies, we use a process called "in the moment planning".  This is where we have a weekly topic, around which we build a general plan for activities to tie in, but then whenever a child has an idea, or an interest in a particular subject, we note it down and adjust the activities to suit the children's own plans.  This leads to some wonderful "child led" activities, where the staff often learn as much as the children!

Our children's learning is firmly grounded in the Early Years Statutory Framework, which promotes all areas of learning in a child's formative years.  We make all of our activities and resources accessible to all of our children, from the youngest toddlers to our big school leavers, tweaking things as necessary to make them age and stage appropriate.

At Dragonflies, we LOVE being outside!  We have our own large outdoor area with a beautiful play house, a fun water wall, a fantastic mud kitchen, a HUGE sandpit and lots of  loose parts for us to build our own obstacle courses! We also have plans for a cosy reading teepee, and outdoor classroom, a digging and planting bed and a sensory walk, among other wonderful resources.

We also regularly go out exploring our local area and particularly love to visit the woods and the balancing ponds, to see what creatures and mini beasts we can find!

Nobody knows a child better than their parents or carers, which is why we go above and beyond to form a friendly, open and mutually respectful relationship with our families.  We are always available to discuss all aspects of your child's care and believe that working in partnership with parents is the best way to give each child a secure grounding and the best start to their education. We use an online learning journal system called Famly to keep you up to date with your child's progress and record special moments for you. When your child starts at Dragonflies, you will be provided with a login to your Famly account, then whenever we add a new observation for your child you will receive a notification so you can access the secure system and see what your child has been doing that day.  You can also add your own photos and stories to create a beautiful record of your child's early years.

We encourage all parents to follow our Facebook page which keeps you up to date on topics, news, photos and all the fun the children are having!  We also post any "newsflashes" here, so it's well worth following our page.

Our friendly staff are always available for one on one chats with parents, if you need extra time to discuss any needs or concerns then please ask and we can arrange a convenient time for you to come in for a more in depth conversation.

Dragonflies Day Nursery and Out of School Club is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.  All staff are fully DBS checked and undertake regular training to keep their skills and knowledge up to date.

We are registered by OFSTED and are approved registered providers of Early Years Education Funding from Hampshire County Council. Please see the "Prices & Funding" page for more information about this, or give us a ring if you'd like a chat to find out more.