YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

My twin girls have been attending nursery at YMCA, Whale Island for two years and have absolutely thrived there. The staff put so much effort into fun and engaging activities which my children love. There is a large outdoor area for play and the children regularly get taken on little walks or to watch interesting things that are happening nearby.

Alot of care and attention is taken to develop my girls individually (e.g. regulating emotions, encouraging interest in letters) and I get regular updates through reports and parent evenings.

They are given lunch and tea and the food is varied and balanced. It takes a lot of pressure out of having to make a pack lunch and snack.

The staff are fantastic with my girls and so patient, I will genuinely be upset when we have to leave for School this September.

Our son has been at this nursery for nearly 3 years now and has thrived here. The baby room is caring and does lots of sensory exploring. In the toddler room they have plenty of space indoors but an amazing outdoor space with so much for them to do, they spend a large proportion of each day outdoors. They encourage children to be independent and I feel they have really helped get my son ready for school. My only criticism would be that communication regarding things like closure days should be better and the app isn't great. However overall a very good experience and the staff that look after the children are wonderful.

I can't recommend YMCA Whale Island nursery enough. It is a wonderful place for your child to learn and grow. The location is fantastic and your child will have more opportunity to be around nature and learn about nature than any other nursery around. My daughter has attended this nursery for 5 months and she loves it! She has excelled! The staff are so lovely and friendly and my husband and I trust them wholeheartedly. Thank you YMCA Whale Island Nursery.

I've used YMCA Whale Island nursery for all three of my children now. The staff are fantastic. They're friendly, passionate and my children have all thrived here. My youngest has been with the nursery for a year and absolutely loves it! The facilities are second to none and the outdoor nature of the nursery is its biggest appeal. Can't recommend this nursery enough.

My child has attended the nursery for the last two years, and I have been so pleased to see how much she has grown in that time, thanks to the wonderful staff at Whale Island. It is a smaller setting, but with such wonderful and unique surroundings that the children get to explore. The children are encouraged to learn through involvement and gain so much confidence in their own abilities. I was so happy with the children's involvement in nature learning to grow and harvest their own food in the nature garden. The staff are all so lovely and supportive and encourage the children with their adventures and crazy imaginations. I would thoroughly recommend Whale Island to anyone.

My little boy has attended since he was 11 months old and he’s loved his journey. Amazing staff with so much heart and caring mindset. The teachers really make an effort to engage the kids and develop them in a very individualised way. The management is really committed to providing a safe, fun, and loving environment and we’re very thankful to the whole team at the nursery!

We can see that he's definitely ready to start school in September, but we have to accept this with a heavy heart as he's loved it so much. It's going to be very strange not making the trip over to Whale Island every morning to drop him off.

Overall, would highly recommend it!

It is a bit more expensive than some other nurseries, but it's worth every penny.

My child has been going to the nursery for the last 8 months. It's the best decision I have made. The nursery is so good. My child thrives there. The outside space is amazing, and having the extra room on the island to explore is an added bonus. All the staff there are so friendly, hard-working and amazing people. They keep you updated with things my child has done throughout the week, and the handovers are very detailed. The resources they have inside are great; they get children to think and learn whilst having fun. My child looks forward to going there every day and even wants to go there at weekends, which must say something for the setting.

We viewed a few nurseries for our children aged 1 and 3, and YMCA Nursery, Whale Island, was by far the best. Our children seemed most comfortable there; they were excited and happy to explore whilst we viewed the nursery and chatted to the staff. All staff are caring and compassionate and have made wonderful bonds with our children. They were both quite unhappy when they first joined, but it didn’t take them long to settle; the staff made reasonable adjustments to help our eldest settle in, and now they love it. They both come home sticky and filthy, which is definitely a sign of a good day! The thing we loved most about the nursery would have to be the outside space. All of the children have access to a large outside garden; they quite often go for walks on the naval base grounds, which my children love. They had the opportunity to watch the band practising for the Queen's Jubilee and even joined in with pots and pans. We love YMCA nursery, and most of all my children are happy.

This nursery has been phenomenal in supporting my child. I have used the nursery for a short time due to recently moving to the area, and the staff listened carefully to my concerns and areas my little one needed extra support, and they immediately implemented a plan to support the specific needs. The smaller setting is perfect with unique resources, eg seeing marching bands, helicopters and ships, which allow the dynamic and imaginative staff to embrace the interests of little ones, creating learning opportunities. The nursery is energised, and my little one is excited to attend. All of the staff are engaging and enthusiastic, and my child has thrived and overcome physical and emotional challenges with a new confidence thanks to the dedication and individual attention which wasn’t delivered in the previous larger nursery setting. I wish my child had been able to attend this fabulous nursery for longer, but the staff have already prepared my little one so well for the challenge of school.