Pilgrim Hospital Day Nursery and Pre School

Hospital grounds, hospital-prepared meals and access for families beyond the NHS give Pilgrim Hospital Day Nursery and Pre School a clear identity. This purpose-built Boston setting works with Pilgrim Hospital to provide childcare for NHS Trust staff, while also welcoming the general public. The hospital connection has a practical role in the nursery’s daily operation.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. The setting has capacity for 59 children aged from birth to five; its admissions policy sets the attendance ages more precisely at six weeks to four years and 11 months. That distinction matters for families planning a baby’s start date.

Full-day and half-day bookings sit alongside funded provision. The strongest reasons to consider Pilgrim are its hospital location, its attendance options and the hands-on learning described in April 2022, balanced against an improvement priority around making more of children’s spontaneous play.

Rooms and Ages

The nursery allocates 15 spaces to children under two and 44 to older children; these are age-band allocations across the setting, rather than individual room sizes. For parents of babies, the younger allocation is the more useful starting point when considering the scale of provision.

In April 2022, the baby room had an open, airy layout, with resources positioned at different heights and a tray containing spaghetti and toy dinosaurs for movement and sensory exploration.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, with adults planning experiences around each child’s development. It is the common foundation for early years provision. Here, children’s individual learning journeys shape planning and daily experiences.

In April 2022, children chose resources and helped organise their activities. Real vegetables and knives featured in the play kitchen under close adult supervision, giving children something practical to handle rather than relying entirely on pretend food. This was learning with a tangible task.

Stories also became action. Children used masks to act out a tale about three little pigs, while a song bag let them select objects linked to nursery rhymes. Sofas provided a place to share books, turn pages and talk about pictures. These examples show how a familiar story or song could lead into conversation, movement and imaginative play.

The April 2022 improvement priority concerned the adult contribution to this play: staff sometimes missed chances to develop children’s ideas during unplanned exchanges. Planned activities were only part of the picture. The next step was to recognise more learning opportunities as children played and respond to them more purposefully.

Outdoor and Community Life

In April 2022, visits to a local allotment connected food with growing, harvesting, cooking and tasting. Children also tackled outdoor climbing equipment with adult encouragement. The allotment experience gave healthy-food discussions a concrete reference point, while climbing offered a physical challenge that children could work through.

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, positive attachments through the key-person system and meaningful learning opportunities for children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language. These are dated judgements about care and inclusion.

In April 2022, relationships with parents began before attendance through an organised induction. Daily exchanges, parents’ meetings, information shared during room moves and an online system kept families involved. Staff used information from home when planning experiences, including messy and sensory play with different textures. Communication therefore had a role in shaping the child’s day, as well as explaining it afterwards.

Additional developmental needs were identified promptly in April 2022, with referrals to outside professionals where appropriate. Children’s lunch routines also included serving themselves and talking with others at the table. Everyday care and independence were closely connected.

Before a child starts, parents complete a contract and registration form covering matters such as dietary needs, allergies, collection arrangements, health information and emergency contacts. These details give the nursery a practical basis for organising individual care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Pilgrim Hospital, Sibsey Road, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 9QS. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas week.

Booking options include full-time weekly attendance, full days lasting either ten or eight hours, four-hour half days and hourly care. Hours beyond a session’s allowance are billed at the hourly rate. This makes the length of the booking important: the opening window and the duration purchased are separate things.

The admissions policy gives priority first to looked-after children, followed by children known by the local authority to have SEND whose needs can best be met there, vulnerable children receiving specified support, siblings and children whose parents live locally. A full-time request may take precedence over a part-time request depending on work commitments, occupancy and room availability. The nursery operates a waiting list.

Enquiries can be made through pilgrim@forunderfives.co.uk. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 or 30 hours according to eligibility, for three- and four-year-olds and eligible children from nine months, including two-year-olds. The attendance calendar varies with age and entitlement, so funding should be considered separately from the nursery’s year-round opening.

For children aged nine months up to three years, funding follows the standard 38-week offer. Eligible three- and four-year-olds with a working-family code can take the stretched offer across 47 and a half weeks, delivered from 9am to 3pm each day. Universal 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds follows the standard calendar. Families receive calendars identifying funded and non-funded weeks.

Funded admissions have termly entry, beginning in the term after the child reaches the relevant eligibility age. Bookings can be made a term ahead; allocation follows a first-come order, and the nursery retains discretion to restrict funded session patterns according to its business requirements.

Meals are prepared by the hospital, and the nursery caters for dietary requirements. They are included only in the full-time weekly and ten-hour full-day rates; other booking rates carry separate meal charges, and a booked meal remains payable when a child misses nursery.

• Learning during play. In April 2022, adults sometimes missed opportunities to take children’s spontaneous ideas further. On a visit, ask how staff now develop learning during child-led play, beyond the planned activity.
• Attendance priority. Full-time requests may receive preference depending on work commitments, occupancy and room availability. Families seeking half days should discuss how that policy applies to their intended pattern.
• Funding calendar. The stretched working-family offer for three- and four-year-olds runs from 9am to 3pm, while universal funding follows the standard calendar. Match the funded timetable and non-funded weeks to the care your family needs.
• Meal arrangements. Inclusion depends on the booking rate, and booked meals remain chargeable after an absence. Allergy-affected families should confirm how the hospital-prepared food arrangements meet their child’s current needs.

Pilgrim suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter half-day care, including NHS staff who value childcare within the hospital grounds and local families who want the same setting. Its hospital partnership gives the nursery a recognisable practical identity.

The April 2022 account contains useful examples of independence, storytelling and food-related exploration. The improvement priority is equally relevant: adults needed to make more of learning as it arose during play. For the family decision, the balance turns on the intended booking pattern, the funding calendar and whether meal inclusion fits that arrangement.