Roundabout Nursery

Our nursery in Whitehawk is for children under 5 years old. We welcome children from any part of the city and parents who want to use their free childcare hours.

Places are available now. Contact us to arrange a visit

About Roundabout Nursery

Watch a short video to find out about Roundabout Nursery.

At Roundabout Nursery, our aim is to be creative, passionate and inclusive in everything we do.

Working in partnership with parents and carers, we aim to provide an inclusive, stimulating, challenging environment which is a warm, friendly extension of their home.

Children and adults can be creative, have fun together and develop as happy, confident, independent individuals within our community. We welcome children from all parts of the city.

We have specific expertise in supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

We provide high-quality care and learning for babies and children aged from 3 months to 5 years. 

Our environment

Indoors

We provide enabling environments for all age groups. Children enjoy creative and sensory activities, where adults follow their lead and intervene sensitively.

We have 3 rooms for 3 age groups:

  • under 2s - explorers
  • 2 to 3s - adventurers
  • 3 to 5s - investigators

Each room is spacious and fully equipped to support the children’s learning through play and exploration.

Outdoors

We have fantastic gardens for children to explore, come rain or shine. Children are able to access the gardens for the whole of their sessions, and we have wonderful structures and self-selecting resources for them to explore.

We grow fruit and are re-developing our allotment area to grow vegetables as well. Children can pick and eat the things we grow and love helping to tend the allotment.

Our staff

All staff are qualified or working towards their qualification and have a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with children.

We support the council’s apprenticeship scheme, training in-house apprentices who often become staff members when they finish their training. 

Key person

We operate a robust ‘key-person’ approach where each child and family has a dedicated worker supporting them with all aspects of their settling, their development and their transitions.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

We cater for children with a wide variety of additional needs and differing abilities. We're inclusive and passionate about all children we care for.

We have a fully qualified Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator and a SEND Lead Practitioner, who work closely together. Many of our staff are experienced in caring for children with additional needs and some hold SEND qualifications.

We have a specially equipped Sensory Room and a room dedicated for use with children with SEND, where they have small group interventions and one-to-one support.

Inclusion

We are a Nursery of Sanctuary, as part of Brighton & Hove City Council’s City of Sanctuary award.

We were commended for our work with EAL (English as an Additional Language) families and with refugees and asylum seekers.

We have support from the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) and bilingual support for some of our children. We have 19 different languages spoken in our nursery. 

Food

We provide breakfast for our early starters. Our lunches and teas are sourced and cooked locally and delivered fresh to us on a twice-daily basis.

We can cater for dietary requirements for diagnosed allergies/intolerances and offer a vegetarian option.

Our menu runs on a 3-week rolling basis and supports healthy choices for children.

Breakfasts are included in the below fees. Lunches and teas are charged as part of the relevant sessions. 

Flexible, emergency and occasional childcare

Ad-hoc sessions may be booked subject to availability for children already attending the nursery.

We'll consider each request for occasional or emergency childcare on an individual basis, subject to availability.

Transport options

Local bus routes 1 and 1a run every 7 minutes.

We're next door to Whitehawk Family Hub.

There's plenty of parking for dropping off and collecting children.

Opening times

We're open for 51 weeks of the year.

We're open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Funded places, session times and fees 

There are now more ways than ever to reduce your childcare costs. You can benefit from a wide range of funding options depending on your circumstances and the age of your children. To find out more visit Childcare Choices.

We welcome children with funded places including all Early Years Free Entitlement (EYFE) for 9 to 23 months olds, 2 year olds and 3 and 4 year olds.

2 year olds with parents in receipt of eligible benefits or tax credits are entitled to 15 hours funding, find out if you're eligible and apply online.

Universal 15 hours Funding for Three and four-year-olds.

9 to 23 month olds and 2 year olds whose parents work can get 15 hours of funded childcare and 3 and  4 year olds whose parents work can get 30 hours of funded childcare, check your eligibility. 

Nursery fees from 1 April 2023

Children under 3 years old - Explorers and Adventurers

£67.58 - for full day, 8am to 6pm, includes breakfast, lunch and tea

£33.79 - for a morning session, 8am to 1pm, includes breakfast and lunch

£33.79 - for an afternoon session, 1pm to 6pm, includes tea

£6.21 - hourly rate

Children age 3 to 5 years - Investigators

£67.58 - for long full day, 8am to 6pm, includes breakfast, lunch and tea

£50.87 - for short day, 8am to 3:45pm, includes breakfast and lunch

£18.63 - for a morning only, 9:15am to 12:15pm

£26.39 - for a morning session, 8am to 12:15pm, includes breakfast

£18.63 - for an afternoon only, 12:45pm to 3:45pm

£35.34 - for an afternoon session, 12:45pm to 6pm, includes tea

£6.21 - hourly rate

Included in the prices above are the lunches and teas at a cost of £2.74 per meal.

Nappies and wipes are not included in the costs and should be provided by the parent or guardian. 

Funded Sessions

If you want your child to have their EYFE-funded hours only these stand-alone sessions can be taken as follows:

EYFE funding for 9 months to 3 years old (working parents)

11.17 hours per week are deducted from your booked sessions, the additional hours will be charged at the hourly rate. 

Sessions are 8am to 1pm or 1pm to 6pm, 51 weeks per year.  

EYFE funding for 2 year olds (funded only sessions)

15 hours may be taken as 3 morning or afternoon sessions (5 hours per session) during school term time, 38 weeks per year

EYFE funding for 2 year olds (working families)

15 hours may be taken as 3 mornings or 3 afternoons, term time only, or 11.17 hours stretched across 51 weeks. Additional hours will be charged at the hourly rate.

EYFE for 3 or 4 years olds 

Universal offer - 15 hours. May be taken as 5 mornings or 5 afternoons (3 hours per session) during school term time, 38 weeks per year

Extended offer - 30 hours. May be taken in various ways term time only, for example, 3 full days per week (10 hours per day). There's some capacity to stretch the funding across 51 weeks, contact us for details 

More information about session times and fees

All fees must be paid whether or not your child attends their booked sessions.

We need a minimum of 2 weeks' notice for holiday bookings.

There is a minimum requirement of 2 sessions a week.

Ending your place

If you wish to end your place here at Roundabout, we require one month's notice in writing to withdraw a child from their place.

Ofsted

Ofsted URN: EY334821

Latest inspection: 23 January 2024 (Early Years Register) Inspection Judgement: Good. 

Registration date: 28 July 2006.

Contact Roundabout Nursery

We're located at:

Roundabout Nursery
178 Whitehawk Road
Brighton
BN2 5FL

To contact us:

Find out about other Family Hub nurseries.