Welcome to our ‘Outstanding’ Nursery Welcome from the Headmaster At Ballard, every child is unique, and from the very beginning of their educational journey, we celebrate their individuality. Our nurturing family environment helps children build confidence, develop independence, and discover a love of learning through play, exploration, and creativity. As an all through school, our youngest pupils benefit from specialist lessons delivered by highly skilled professionals and are able to make use of our facilities and spaces across the campus. From their second birthday, children enjoy a wide range of specialist opportunities, making the most of our stunning 34-acre campus and exceptional facilities. Every experience is carefully designed to inspire curiosity, encourage new discoveries, and help each child achieve their personal best. At the same time, children learn the importance of friendship, kindness, and community, growing together as part of the Ballard family. We invite you to explore all that Ballard Nursery has to offer and look forward to welcoming you and your child. To find out more, please contact Mrs Hunt and our Admissions Team. Mr Turner
Welcome from our Head of Pre-Prep At Ballard Nursery, we support our youngest children to grow and achieve by providing a nurturing environment where they feel safe and secure, allowing them to learn through curiosity. In our welcoming setting, your child will build the emotional confidence to explore both indoors and out. Our Early Years indoor areas are bright, airy, and designed with open spaces that naturally invite exploration. These light-filled rooms give the children plenty of physical freedom to move, choose, and engage in play-based learning. Our caring staff remain close by, ready to follow each child's lead, support their choices, and celebrate their discoveries. We continue to spark their natural imagination across two dedicated outdoor areas designed for continuous, highquality provision. Whether scooping, pouring or mixing mud pies in our mud kitchen, planting in the garden area, or testing their physical limits on the climbing equipment, children learn by doing. From racing on scooters and rolling on giant tyres to enjoying quiet moments under our beautiful old oak tree, our aim is to support every child to develop confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love for learning. Mrs Hunt
Useful Information Term Times and Hours
Ballard’s Nursery & Kindergarten are open 34 weeks a year during term-time. You may find our term dates here. There is no minimum number of sessions required. However, we recommend attending between two and four sessions per week to start with, as this helps children settle into routines, build friendships and make the most of their Nursery or Kindergarten experience. Our sessions are: Day
Afternoon
08.30 – 16.00 – charge for lunch
12.30 – 16.00 – No lunch
Morning 08.30 – 12.00 – No lunch 08.30 – 13.00 – charge for lunch
13.00 – 16.00 – No lunch Additional Sessions 08.00 – 08.30 – Early club 16.00 – 17.00 – Late club
Specialist Lessons
One of the many things that makes our nursery so special is access to an outstanding programme of specialist teaching. From PE and Dance to Music, Forest School, Library and Gymnas�cs, our youngest pupils benefit from expert-led lessons that inspire confidence, crea�vity and a lifelong love of learning. These experiences are so important in the Early Years, helping children to develop balance, strength, coordina�on and fine motor skills, while also nurturing essen�al life skills such as teamwork, listening, communica�on, resilience and independence. By learning from specialist teachers from across the school, children enjoy a rich and varied curriculum that is rarely available at nursery age. Our specialist �metable for 2026/27 is as follows: Monday – PE Tuesday – Dance Wednesday – PE & Forest School; as well as a Library session with the Ballard Librarians Thursday – Music Friday - Gymnas�cs Specialist lessons take place in the morning, apart from Forest School, which takes place in the a�ernoon.
Rest & Quiet Time All children are offered a rest and quiet �me a�er lunch, usually from around 2:00pm. As every child is different, they may choose to nap or enjoy a quiet ac�vity instead. Children who wish to sleep can rest on mats, with a cushion and blanket provided if required, either in the Nursery Room or the Middle Room. We also offer naps at other �mes throughout the day, depending on each child's individual needs and rou�ne, which will be discussed with parents.
Fees Our fees for the whole school may be viewed here. From September 2026, the charge for non-funded hours is £10.24 per hour and the consumable charge for funded hours is £2.12 per funded hour. Our fees include all snacks and drinks during the day, with our delicious hot lunch cos�ng £4.93. All fees are paid a term in advance. Funded Hours For children who are 2 years old, we will accept 30 hours per week offered by Hampshire County Council (HCC) for working parents. Please note that for all Local Authority funding, parents must provide an eligibility code to claim these hours. For children who are aged 3 and 4 years old (term a�er 3rd birthday), we will accept the universal hours of 15 hours per week offered from HCC. We will also accept the extended 15 hours per week for working parents offered from HCC and again we will require an eligibility code for this. Please note that it is the parents, rather than the school, that applies for the addi�onal funding. We recommend that you allow plenty of �me for the process so that you can provide the code in good �me. Further criteria can be found on the Government website when you apply for the funding. Please also note that Ballard School only offer 34 weeks en�tlement out of the maximum 38 weeks. You may access the remainder of the free en�tlement at another approved provider.
Staffing Ra�os Ballard follows government guidelines for Early Years staffing ra�os, although ra�os may be lower at individual session. There is a maximum of one adult to five (1:5) children for 2-year-olds. For 3- and 4-year-olds, the ra�o changes to one adult to eight (1:8) children. When a qualified teacher is working with the 3 and 4-year-old children, the ra�o may increase to a maximum of one adult to thirteen (1:13) children.
The Admissions Process Enquiry & Visit We are always happy to show you and your family around our Nursery and Kindergarten during term-�me. You will be able to view all our facili�es, visit the classrooms, meet the Early Years Prac��oners and find out more about why our parents call us ‘Simply the best school every day.’ Please contact our friendly Admissions team on 01425 626900 or email them – registrar@ballardschool.co.uk. Registra�on and Se�ling in Session We ask that all parents register their children in good �me so that we can help you secure all the sessions that suit you best. The registra�on process is simple and there is a fee of £50 payable at this point. Once registered, we will invite you and your child to a�end a se�ling-in session. The aim of this session is to not only familiarise your child with their new environment but also to find out more about them. It is so important to discuss a number of topics with you at this point to ensure that we can help your child feel secure and happy when they start with us. Useful informa�on includes what their favourite toys are, their sleep pa�erns, and their interests. A�er this conversa�on we will invite you to leave your child with us for half an hour, so that they can explore the learning environments independently. We will arrange this session shortly before your child is due to start in our Nursery or Kindergarten. Please note that we can only offer se�ling in sessions on the day of the child’s second birthday or when they are already two years old.
Starting at Ballard Our experienced staff know how to nurture our children and create posi�ve learning environments for each and every child. We tailor their experience to extend and support their learning to ensure that they have the best possible start to life at Ballard. Communica�on We always work with you to ensure your children are thriving at Ballard. We encourage two-way daily communica�on with our staff at drop off and pick up �mes. In addi�on, we have termly Parent mee�ngs to discuss your child’s progress. In the spring term, you will receive a wri�en report of your child’s progress. We use the Evidence Me app to update you each week with photos and informa�on about the fun ac�vi�es the children have taken part in at School.
Useful Informa�on We believe that a strong partnership between home and school is key to every child's success. That's why we offer a range of informa�ve parent workshops, providing valuable �ps, strategies and resources to help support children's development beyond the classroom. Please find below our guides to suppor�ng early Maths and Communica�on skills at home.
Useful Information We believe that a strong partnership between home and school is key to every child's success. That's why we offer a range of informa�ve parent workshops, providing valuable �ps, strategies and resources to help support children's development beyond the classroom. Please find below our guides to suppor�ng early Maths and Communica�on skills at home.
Suppor�ng Your Child's Maths
Language and Communica�on Handout
Registra�on and Se�ling in Session We ask that all parents register their children in good �me so that we can help you secure all the sessions that suit you best. The registra�on process is simple and there is a fee of £50 payable at this point. Once registered, we will invite you and your child to a�end a se�ling-in session. The aim of this session is to not only familiarise your child with their new environment but also to find out more about them. It is so important to discuss a number of topics with you at this point to ensure that we can help your child feel secure and happy when they start with us. Useful informa�on includes what their favourite toys are, their sleep pa�erns, and their interests. A�er this conversa�on we will invite you to leave your child with us for half an hour, so that they can explore the learning environments independently. We will arrange this session shortly before your child is due to start in our Nursery or Kindergarten. Please note that we can only offer se�ling in sessions on the day of the child’s second birthday or when they are already two years old.