Mindful Me Nursery

Daily forest school sessions give Mindful Me Nursery in Glenfield a clear outdoor identity. A baby garden, main garden and purpose-made forest school space provide different settings for outdoor play, while the preschool room connects directly to the garden. That connection makes the outdoor offer more than a separate activity on the timetable.

The nursery accepts children from birth to five at Glenfield House, The Square, Glenfield, LE3 8DQ. At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that staff identified children's next learning needs, including those of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

The important distinction for parents is between the current physical offer and that dated assessment of practice. The outdoor spaces are a present feature; the inspection's examples of relationships, learning and independence describe December 2022.

Rooms and Ages

Four rooms divide the setting into a baby room, two toddler rooms and a large preschool room, with the preschool space opening onto the garden. This gives families a stage-based room structure rather than one shared room spanning the whole age range.

The outdoor layout also separates a baby garden from the main garden. For parents comparing the baby provision with preschool, those different spaces are more useful detail than the nursery's overall size: they show how the physical environment is arranged around different stages.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, that means play and interaction are used to build skills and knowledge, alongside attention to children's care needs.

In December 2022, younger children explored paint using whole-body movements, with adults adding words connected to their actions. A book about a lion became a conversation about facial features, followed by drawing and making animal sounds. These examples show how a single activity could bring together movement, language and creative expression.

In December 2022, the improvement priorities were clearer individual learning intentions during activities and more consistent application of staff training, because some children were not making the progress they could. That qualification matters. An appealing activity needs a clear purpose for the child taking part, and staff development needs to change everyday practice.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily forest school sessions add an outdoor learning approach alongside the early years foundation stage. Here, the concrete addition is a purpose-made space and a daily session, backed by the baby garden and main garden.

In December 2022, community walks combined practical independence with conversation. Children put on outdoor clothing, practised road safety with a song and discussed shadows and their bodies while walking. The value was in using an ordinary outing for several kinds of learning, rather than treating the walk simply as time away from the nursery.

Relationships carried much of the care in December 2022. Children sought comfort from staff and shared things they had made, while adults used praise to encourage them. These are useful examples of how reassurance and encouragement worked together during that period.

Emotional support was also concrete. In December 2022, staff used a persona doll to help children discuss feelings, including the experience of a parent working away. When sharing became difficult, adults helped children consider another child's feelings. The emphasis was on giving children language for an experience and support with handling it.

Independence appeared in small daily tasks. During December 2022, the youngest children were encouraged to feed themselves with a spoon, while children making a kite were prompted to cooperate over cutting and attaching tape. These examples connect care with doing things for oneself, rather than adults taking over each task.

Safety arrangements in December 2022 included checking visitors' identification, supervising doors and assessing risks on outings. Staff understood routes for recording and reporting concerns and worked with other professionals when families needed support. These arrangements belong to the dated inspection assessment, rather than an undated assurance about current practice.

Glenfield House, The Square, Glenfield, LE3 8DQ is the nursery's address. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round opening apart from bank holidays. The opening window gives families a useful boundary for organising work and travel.

Visits can be booked by telephone or email through the Glenfield team. The nursery has capacity for 70 children aged from birth to five; that whole-setting figure should be kept separate from the number of children using any particular room on a particular day.

• Learning intentions and staff development. December 2022 brought two improvement priorities: clearer learning aims for individual children and more consistent use of training. At a visit, ask how staff now connect an activity to a child's next learning step.
• Daily outdoor provision. Forest school runs daily, alongside the baby garden and main garden. This is a strong practical fit for families who want outdoor experiences to form a regular part of the nursery day.
• Room size in practice. The setting has four rooms. Ask how many children normally attend the room your child would use; the whole-setting capacity is a different measure.

Mindful Me Nursery suits families seeking year-round weekday care with a substantial outdoor element. Daily forest school, separate garden spaces and the preschool room's direct garden connection give that offer clear substance.

Its December 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality benchmark, supported by concrete examples of emotional care, language development and independence. The improvement priorities deserve equal attention: families should weigh the attractive environment alongside how clearly staff plan learning for each child.