Roberts Centre Nursery
The Roberts Day Nursery is a safe and stimulating environment for children from birth to 5 years. We are open 51 weeks of the year from 8am to 6pm.
The Roberts Day Nursery is a warm and welcoming full-day care nursery, located in Fratton Community Centre. We care for up to 41 children, from birth to five years old, and we’re open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year.
We believe every child deserves to feel safe, loved, and supported. Our nursery is a caring space where children can learn, grow, and have fun. We value our children, their families, and our amazing staff who work hard to make each day special.
Our team follows a unique, child-led curriculum. This means we build our activities around what your child is interested in. We encourage curiosity, creativity, and independence by letting children explore in ways that feel natural and fun to them.
Children can enjoy stories and research topics using books or our large touch screen computer. They can play and discover nature in our secure garden or get creative in our art and design areas.
If you’re looking for a nursery that feels like a second home, we’re here for you. We believe that young children thrive when they feel safe and listened to. We work closely with parents to share progress, milestones, and all the little moments that matter most.
“I was so happy to see his learning journey, showing he can play alongside others and the ongoing support from the team is incredible.” Nursery parent
Our Environment
Our setting offers thoughtfully designed individual play spaces tailored to the unique developmental needs of babies, toddlers, and pre-school children, ensuring a nurturing and stimulating environment for every stage of early learning. Pre-school children benefit from a shared garden space that encourages free flow play and exploration, supporting both physical development and creativity.
We are proud to support the mental well-being of our pre-schoolers through the My Happy Mind programme, promoting resilience, emotional literacy, and a positive mindset. Additionally, our Early Talk Boost speech and language programme is specifically implemented for school leavers, helping to enhance communication skills and ensure a confident start to school life.
Our bespoke curriculum is designed to inspire curiosity, foster independence, and meet the individual interests and abilities of each child. It covers all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), ensuring a well-rounded approach to learning and development that supports children to become confident, capable, and enthusiastic learners.
Supporting all children to thrive, we have two Level 3 qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) who work closely with staff and families to ensure inclusive and responsive care.
Our Vision and Mission
To meet the needs of each individual child.
To provide a secure, positive, safe and stimulating environment.
To ensure outcomes for our children.
Case study
My daughter Lucy started at Roberts Day Nursery in April 2024, during a very challenging time in our lives. I had recently regained full-time care of my children, and finding a supportive nursery felt like a daunting task. From the beginning, Roberts Day Nursery offered not only a place for Lucy to grow but also a space where I felt supported as a parent. Lucy began to thrive almost immediately. The staff guided us through important milestones—helping her with toilet training and reducing her dummy use. Their encouragement, patience, and communication made a real difference in her development and confidence. But the nursery’s impact reached far beyond Lucy’s progress. Personally, I was learning to be a mum again, and it wasn’t easy. The relationships I built with the staff were rooted in kindness and trust. I felt safe to speak openly about my struggles and received genuine support and understanding in return. This was crucial to my recovery and helped me to become the best version of myself for my children. Roberts Day Nursery has been more than just childcare—it has been a lifeline for our family. The thought of Lucy leaving for school is bittersweet because it means saying goodbye to a place that has played such a vital role in our lives. I truly believe we wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of this incredible team. They have changed our lives, and I will always be grateful.
Mini Minds Matter
At Roberts Day Nursery, we care deeply about how children feel, not just what they learn. Mini Minds Matter is our dedicated wellbeing approach for children, created to nurture happy hearts, growing confidence and strong emotional foundations.
The early years are full of big feelings in very small bodies. Through Mini Minds Matter, we gently support children to understand those feelings, talk about them, and find healthy ways to manage them. We create spaces where children feel safe, valued and truly seen.
Learning about feelings in playful ways
Through the myHappymind programme, children begin to understand how their brains work and how emotions affect them. Everything is delivered in simple, age-appropriate ways that feel like fun, not lessons. Alongside this, our Boogie Mites wellbeing sessions use music and movement to spark joy, connection and self-expression.
Calm spaces for big feelings
Each room includes a thoughtfully created calm area with soft furnishings and gentle sensory lighting. These spaces give children the opportunity to pause, reset and learn how to regulate with the support of a caring adult.
What this looks like in practice
Why it matters
When children feel secure and understood, they flourish. They are more confident to explore, more willing to try new things and better equipped to build friendships.
Mini Minds Matter is woven into everyday life at our nursery. It is our commitment to helping every child build strong emotional roots that will support them long after they leave us.
Funded by -
Yoga for calm and confidence
Our gentle yoga sessions give children the chance to slow down, stretch, breathe and reconnect with their bodies. Through simple poses, storytelling and breathing exercises, children learn practical tools to manage busy minds and wiggly energy. Yoga supports balance, coordination and focus, while also building self-awareness and inner calm in a way that feels playful and accessible.
Skilled and nurturing practitioners
Our team are training to Level 3 in Child Psychology, allowing them to tune into children’s emotional needs with confidence and care. Every interaction matters, and our staff are supported to respond with empathy, warmth and understanding.
What is myHappymind?
We are proud to be a part of the myHappymind Family!
As a whole nursery programme grounded in science and dedicated to building positive mental wellbeing, myHappymind helps children understand how their brains work and creates a culture that helps to build children's resilience, confidence, and self-esteem. myHappymind also teaches the children how to self-regulate and manage their emotions in stressful times, allowing them to be their very best selves!
Learn more here: https://myhappymind.org/
myHappymind module descriptions:
Meet Your Brain: Understanding how your brain works and how to ensure we look after it so that we can manage our emotions and be at our best. Growth mindset is a key part of this too.
Celebrate: Understanding your unique Character Strengths and learning to celebrate them. This is a fantastic module for building self-esteem.
Appreciate: Understanding why gratitude matters and how you can develop gratitude as a habit. Gratitude is key to well-being and resilience and we're all about making it a lifelong strategy!
Relate: Understanding why positive relationships matter and how to build them. We're focussed on the building blocks of good relationships and friendships.
Engage: Understanding how to set meaningful goals that matter and how to stay resilient in times of challenge. This module is all about building self-esteem and resilience too.
myHappymind is focused on developing children’s confidence, resilience and mental wellbeing and fits perfectly with the Statutory PSED Educational Programme.
It is highly aligned with the PSED statements from Development matters and ELG’s.
The programme also gives children the skills to be effective learners and fits with the 3 Characteristics of Effective Learning.
Parent App Video link: https://myhappymind.lpages.co/myhappymind-parent-app-introduction/
We are proud to announce that we are a myHappymind Bronze Accredited setting!
This means that as a setting, we consider the mental health and wellbeing of our children as one of our top priorities. We have created a whole setting culture that helps build our children's resilience, confidence and self-esteem as well as teaching them how to self-regulate in those stressful times.
This accreditation badge has been awarded thanks to all the effort our staff, children, and parents have put in to bring myHappymind to life all around our setting!
Meet the Team
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Emma Gibb Nursery Manager
My name is Emma Gibb and I have over 10 years' experience within early years. I hold a Level 3 qualification and was lucky enough to further my understanding through studying in Italy where I gained more knowledge around child-led learning. I am passionate about children exploring the world around them and guiding their learning with our brilliant practitioners.
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Caroline Mathieson Deputy Nursery Manager & SENCO
My name is Caroline Mathieson and I am the Deputy Nursery Manager. I have a level 3 Diploma in Childcare and my expertise is within Special Educational Needs. I lead the Nursery Practitioners and deliver programmes to get the best outcomes for children with special needs.
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Emma Bachelor Nursery Practitioner
My name is Emma Bachelor and I am a Qualified Nursery Practitioner. I enjoy joining in with the children dancing and singing especially at Boogie Mites sessions. I love seeing them interact with their older friends.
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Sarah Mainwaring Nursery Practitioner.
My name is Sarah Mainwaring and I am a Nursery Practitioner. I have a level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education. I have nearly 15 years’ experience working with young children. My passion is child led education and I enjoy following the children’s interests as they navigate the world around them.
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Hollie Stockwell Nursery Apprentice
Hi my name is Hollie and I am currently studying my Level 3 in childcare after recently completing my Level 2.
I love working with children and being able to watch them as they learn and grow.
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Floss Bassett
Hi my name is Floss, and I have been working in childcare for nearly 15 years.
I am passionate about creating strong relationships with the children and their families so together we can support the children to achieve their full potential.
Opening Times and Fees
The Nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am – 6pm. We operate fifty-one weeks during the year. We only close for one week between Christmas and New Year and for all bank holidays.
Nursery fees:
Birth to 3 years
£30 per session (8am to 1pm, or 1pm to 6pm)
Daily rate £60
£6.75 per additional hour
Weekly rate £293
3 years and over
£26 per session (8am to 1pm, or 1pm to 6pm)
Daily rate £52
£5.95 per additional hour
Weekly rate £253
*From April 1st 2025
All sessions are invoiced weekly and please note that there is a minimum requirement of 2 sessions per week.
We are pleased to offer the 30 hours funded childcare, two years old funding and 15 hours for funding for all the eligible families. We also accept a range of voucher schemes , please ask for details.
Payment
Nursery Education Grant and education sessions for parents of 2, 3 and 4-year-olds.
Accreditation
The Nursery is Ofsted Registered.
Interested?
For more information contact:
Info@robertscentre.org.uk
Telephone: 023 9229 6919
Storage supported by Big Yellow Self Storage Company
Important Information
Safeguarding Children's Policy
SEND Policy & example IEP/SEN support plan
To see any of our other policies please ask a member of staff or email info@robertscentre.org.uk
For full details regarding Starting Nursery And Key Worker Information, Curriculum, Healthy Eating, Parental Involvement, Security, Physical Play and Visits please click the button below.
