YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth PO2 8ER
Submit a Review
8 Reviews
  • YMCA Nursery, Whale Island, Portsmouth
Other Nurseries you may be interested in:

Care Provided by YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

  • Type of Service
  • Day Nursery – Voluntary / Not for Profit Owned
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Sarah Henderson (Nursery Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 15
  • Registered Charity Number
  • 1090981
  • Total Places for Children
  • 58
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 4 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays & 1 week at Christmas

Funding & Fees Guide for YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

  • Full Day Care (Includes mid-morning snack, hot lunch, afternoon snack & consumables) 8am to 6pm £69.95
    Morning Session (Includes mid-morning snack, hot lunch & consumables) 8am to 1pm £41.40
    Afternoon Session (Includes afternoon snack & consumables) 1pm to 6pm £39.05


  • Please contact our team if you have any enquiries


YMCA Nursery, Whale Island Reviews (8)

Over all time YMCA Nursery, Whale Island has 8 reviews.

Overall Experience

  • 8
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Date Published

8
0
0
0
8
Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

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.

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this review. We are very proud of our nature garden and all the learning it provides for the children. We are glad to hear that your child enjoyed the nature garden.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

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!

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this review. We are very committed to children's individual interests, which helps with their enthusiasm to learn. Good luck in your next journey.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our youngest son is just about to finish his time at Whale Island. He originally attended another nursery pre-Covid and was then transferred to Whale Island as we were no longer commuting to work.
We have seen how much he's developed over the last 23 months, from his confidence, his vocabulary and
articulation, to being able to ride a bike without stabilisers! Following his progress on the app has been great too.
Being one of the bigger kids this year has meant he had to be more of a role model for his younger friends, and hearing how he looks after the smaller children are great.
He has had an amazing time attending the nursery, and he is already saying how much he's going to miss his friends and "his grown-ups".
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.

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

Thank you for taking the time to write this review. It is always a great pleasure for us to watch the children grow in confidence and enjoy their time at their nursery.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am writing a review of my child’s overall experience whilst being at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island.
The staff here have always gone above and beyond me to make me and my child feel welcome and safe.
The meals provided are always healthy, and routines are set in place for all children.
Overall, would
highly recommend it!

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

Thank you for taking the time to write this review. It is always nice to hear that children and their families feel welcome and safe as this is very important to us.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I can't say enough nice things about YMCA Nursery, Whale Island.
The staff are so lovely and creative with their ideas for games and activities. There is nowhere else in the area with such a nice garden. The other week the children got to watch caterpillars hatching as well as a splash pool built by
one member of staff.
Three particular members of staff should have a medal for their dedication to the kids. My boys love them to bits.
It is a bit more expensive than some other nurseries, but it's worth every penny.

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

Thank you for taking the time to write this amazing review. It is always nice to hear feedback from parents. The caterpillars and splash pool were a huge success, and it was lovely to see the children engaging and having lots of fun.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

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.

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

Thank you for taking the time to write this lovely review. It is always nice to hear how happy the children are in our setting, and it is a great pleasure for us to watch them thrive and grow.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

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.

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

We are very grateful to you for taking the time to write this review. It is always a pleasure watching children grow and thrive in the setting, and we are very happy that they are enjoying their time at nursery.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

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.

Reply from Sarah Henderson, Nursery Manager at YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

Thank you for taking the time to write this review. We are very happy to have met your child's needs and that they have enjoyed being at our nursery.


Facilities / Outside Space

Learning

Resources / Equipment / ICT

Care

Activities

Staff

Food / Nutrition

Management

Cleanliness

Safeguarding

Value for Money

Overview of Review Score

Child Vacancies

Please Contact Us for Latest Vacancies

Awards / Recognitions (0)

Loading...

Loading

Loading
Loading

Loading

Loading

Loading

Loading

Loading events

Loading

Meet the Team (0)

There are no Team Members posted yet

Frequently Asked Questions about YMCA Nursery, Whale Island

What is the Age Range of Children that YMCA Nursery, Whale Island accepts?

YMCA Nursery, Whale Island accepts Children aged from 0 years 4 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is YMCA Nursery, Whale Island Open?

YMCA Nursery, Whale Island is open: Monday 07:30-18:00, Tuesday 07:30-18:00, Wednesday 07:30-18:00, Thursday 07:30-18:00, Friday 07:30-18:00.

How many Children does YMCA Nursery, Whale Island have capacity for?

YMCA Nursery, Whale Island has capacity for a total of 58 Children.

How far is YMCA Nursery, Whale Island to the centre of Portsmouth?

1.7 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.