Pelican Place Nursery

An astroturf garden, bikes and scooters give Pelican Place Nursery a practical outdoor dimension in central Witham. Inside, its curriculum centres on communication, independence and friendships: useful priorities for children learning to express themselves, manage small tasks and enjoy playing together.

At its 20 August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding. The detail behind that judgement gives the grade substance, from children experimenting with flowers and tubes to staff helping families continue learning at home.

Pelican Place accepts children aged 6 to 60 months and has capacity for 138 children in total. That whole-setting figure is worth keeping separate from the experience within an individual room. The purpose-built setting uses smaller rooms, allowing children to spend their day within a more contained space rather than treating the nursery as one large group.

Full-day bookings and funded hours, used alone or alongside paid care, form the attendance offer. The booking conditions deserve attention before families build a weekly routine around it.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care through play. Here, the nursery's own curriculum gives particular emphasis to talking confidently, doing things independently and forming friendships. Development Matters, guidance used alongside children's individual next steps, helps staff plan activities around each child's stage of development.

The group-wide commitments include Confident Communicators, which supports children in expressing themselves, and Explorers of Our World, which connects learning with outdoor experiences. These sit alongside the branch's practical curriculum priorities. For parents, the useful distinction is between broad aims and what a child actually gets to practise during the day.

In August 2024, language work was woven into play: younger children practised short phrases, while older children sustained more extended exchanges. Storytelling involved character voices and objects that helped hold children's attention. These examples show how conversation and listening can develop through shared activity rather than relying on a separate lesson.

Independence also had a concrete form in August 2024. Children helped themselves to dinner, managed handwashing and joined in putting resources away. These were small, repeatable tasks with a purpose. They gave children opportunities to participate in their own care and contribute to the room's routine.

Outdoor and Community Life

The astroturf garden supports outdoor exploration across different weather conditions, with nature zones alongside scooters and bikes. For a town-centre setting, this creates space for active play within the nursery itself. Riding and exploring offer different ways to use that space, rather than making outdoor time depend on a single activity.

In August 2024, children investigated flowers through scent and potion-making, and experimented with moving balls through tubes. Pressing sticks into clay provided another physical task, linked to developing strength for early writing. The materials were simple; the opportunities to investigate and persevere were substantial.

A dentist had also visited by August 2024, giving children an opportunity to question someone about their work. This is a useful example of learning about people beyond the nursery, rather than evidence of a fixed visitor timetable.

Relationships and Communication

Daily information about routines helps families maintain a connection with their child's nursery day. That matters when care is shared between home and the setting: parents have something concrete to discuss and respond to, rather than just an account of activities.

In August 2024, families could borrow books, learning bags and other resources chosen around their children's learning needs. A home activity involved parents and children making bug hotels together. This made parent involvement practical, with resources and shared tasks extending learning beyond nursery hours.

Moves between rooms and onwards to school were planned with parents in August 2024. The value lies in preparing the child and sharing knowledge about their needs. It is transition support, with families involved in the process.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, made excellent progress and that safeguarding arrangements were effective. These are dated judgements about practice at that visit.

In August 2024, staff researched children's cultures and supported the use of home languages during play. Adults also helped children work through disagreements calmly, paying attention to what each child was trying to communicate. Together, these examples give parents a clearer picture of individual attention than a general promise of inclusion would.

Meals are cooked on site each day with seasonal ingredients. Eating is therefore part of the nursery's daily provision as well as a practical consideration when comparing funded and privately paid attendance.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 14-16 Collingwood Road, Witham, CM8 2DZ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and Full Day bookings use the same times. Full Week attendance runs Monday to Friday within that window.

The standard minimum booking is two full days each week, including either Monday or Friday. Pelican Place opens for 51 weeks, closing for public holidays and a week at Christmas. This makes the offer relevant to families needing care through much of the year, while the weekday condition can affect how nursery fits around work or care elsewhere.

Funded hours can be taken on their own or combined with extra paid attendance. They can be used within the 8am to 6pm day, subject to availability. An enquiry form provides a route to the nursery team.

Onsite parking and a buggy store support the practicalities of bringing a young child and their belongings. The buggy store allows a pushchair to remain at nursery during the day.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, each based on 38 weeks, and accepts 2 Help funding. Its standard delivery stretches entitlement across its operating weeks, spreading funded care through the year rather than concentrating it into term time.

Privately paid fees are inclusive except for nappies. During funded hours, food and non-food consumables are charged separately through the optional Essentials Package; its consumables cover cream, wipes, suncream and nappy bags. Nappies sit outside the inclusive private fee, so families should distinguish that item from the other supplies covered.

The Essentials Package also includes separately charged enrichment during funded hours. Its Enrichment Programme may involve gardening, cooking, celebration activities and visits, rather than a guaranteed timetable of particular sessions. Parents can opt out by contacting the manager before term begins; suitable alternatives or arrangements for disposing of consumables may then be required under nursery policy.

A registration charge and a deposit apply, both waived for fully funded places; the deposit is refundable against the final invoice. Permanent session changes or cancellations require one calendar month's notice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which should distinguish extra attendance from funded-hour extras.

• The weekday booking condition. The standard minimum is two full days, including Monday or Friday. Families whose work is concentrated in the middle of the week need to weigh that requirement against their actual care pattern.
• Funded-hour extras. The optional Essentials Package separates food, consumables and enrichment from entitlement. Compare the package with the opt-out arrangements before deciding how funded care will work for your family.
• The room your child will use. Pelican Place has 138 places overall and uses smaller rooms. On a tour, ask how the room intended for your child is organised and how settling is planned there.

Pelican Place suits families seeking full-day attendance across the year, as well as those using funded hours alone or combining entitlement with paid care. Communication, independence and friendships give its curriculum a clear direction, while the garden provides a practical setting for active exploration.

The August 2024 Outstanding judgement adds weight to that picture. The main decisions for families are how the minimum booking fits their week and how they want to handle funded-hour extras. Both have concrete terms to consider before committing.