Day Nurseries Owned by Hampshire County Council

My daughter has been at Haven Nursery School since she was 9 months old, and the experience has been nothing short of fantastic. Despite my darling girl having a lot of additional needs, the support provided by Haven has been brilliant, making a huge impact on her development. She thrives in their care, and the level of attention she receives is outstanding. The staff are welcoming, supportive, and open to regular communication with parents and guardians. As a result, my daughter has made significant progress during her time at the nursery. I trust their professional insights regarding her therapies and education. Due to my daughter's high needs, I am unable to entrust her to anyone other than immediate family members. However, the staff at Haven manage her exceptionally well, evident in her daily happiness upon leaving the nursery.

This is by far the best nursery. My third child attends, as she has done since she was 2. Haven have not only supported my daughter with her ASD diagnosis, EHCP and PECS, they have also supported me as a mother. This nursery goes above and beyond for all and takes the time to speak with each parent/guardian before and after every visit. The head teacher moves mountains to help all. I have been in her office many times picking her brain about special school and the next steps for my daughter. The Den and Hive teams became members of our family. They listen and support us. They know my daughter with what she likes and what she doesn't like. They allow her to explore and find new interests. The team also update us with photos on the app and this makes me smile on a daily bases. This is also the only nursery that hold parents evenings. This is done with parents and a number of staff to ensure our child is happy and loved.

I would recommend this nursery to any parent with or without a SEN child.

I can't recommend this nursery. A good Ofsted report isn't everything! I made the decision after 11 months to move my child to a different nursery for many reasons. Parents should be aware that the supervision levels in the Hive are extremely poor. My child had several severe injuries, 2 of which were to the face, falling from heights, another involving falling into broken glass, mostly unwitnessed, and with no CCTV, explanations were not always comprehensive. The safety of the children is not a main concern to staff and they allow children to ride bikes with no helmets and wander off to parts of the nursery where they are not in sight or hearing of any staff. Personal possessions are frequently lost, handovers are almost non-existent, if you ask any questions you get told "I don't know". You often have to wait a very long time at collection. I once stood waiting for over 25 minutes. There is a real lack of care over the children's safety and when raised, concerns get dismissed.

My little one was only being offered/given 1 bottle between the hours of 9am and 5pm at just 7 months old. As a result, heavily constipated due to dehydration and woke all through the night to feed. Told they put her under the lights for most of the day as this was the only thing that would keep her quiet. Hello perhaps if you fed her! Once so hungry, I fed her on the floor of the reception area, when they were still being paid to look after her. Came home with a nappy rash. No flexibility on the menu for babies with reflux. If you want to question/clarify anything, don’t bother, the staff are rude and abrupt. Persistent lateness in collecting my child in the mornings sometimes 30mins plus. Many lost items, so I hope you have bottomless pockets. Communication is extremely poor, I could go on. Promised refund for unattended sessions still waiting 3 months later!

My son has additional needs so I chose this nursery for him as I heard good things and I have to give this nursery 10 out of 10! They are brilliant, my son has come so far in such a short time. The staff are lovely and great with the kids. The amount of support and tailored learning is brilliant. I recommend this nursery to everyone. Be sad when he has to go to school next year but at least I know they are going to give him the best start when he goes to school.

Thank you to staff past and present for all their support and commitment and valuable input into our children's development.