Clifton Tots Day Nursery

A garden art studio, a play pirate ship and Spanish lessons gave Clifton Tots Day Nursery a recognisable character in June 2024: creative work, physical play and another language sat alongside everyday care. The nursery has capacity for 64 children and accepts ages from 3 to 60 months.

At its 14 June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. Two practical improvements were required: better organisation of preschool activities and more consistent mealtime routines for younger children.

In June 2024, the early years foundation stage shaped the curriculum, connecting children's learning, development and care through activities suited to their interests and next steps. Staff used observations and assessments to plan what children would do next. With younger children, adults repeated words and used clear speech, eye contact and gestures to help them understand.

Spanish lessons gave older children opportunities to greet each other in another language and practise counting. Forest sessions introduced them to trees, plants and how they grow. These experiences took learning beyond indoor activities, with imaginative play also developing through the forest sessions.

The garden art studio was used across the ages for drawing and making marks. Outdoors, older children balanced on beams, climbed the play pirate ship and built with large equipment; younger children practised walking and pulling themselves upright. That gave different stages of physical development their own practical challenges.

In June 2024, a familiar adult helped children separate from their carers. Staff also encouraged children to describe their feelings and use ways of calming themselves, giving them something practical to do when emotions became difficult. Older children took turns and managed disagreements with little adult help.

Communication with parents included updates about development and ideas for extending learning at home. This connected nursery activities with family life rather than leaving progress discussions entirely within the setting.

Mealtimes needed greater consistency. In June 2024, younger children sometimes ate on the floor and sometimes at a table, leaving expectations unclear; staff also needed to give them more encouragement to manage tasks such as pouring drinks themselves.

The address is 8 St. Pauls Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1LT. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and one week at Christmas.

In June 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. This is a dated description of its funding provision.

• Preschool challenge. In June 2024, planned activities sometimes needed clearer organisation to keep older children engaged and sufficiently challenged. Look for how activities now give children a clear purpose.
• Mealtime independence. The June 2024 findings identified inconsistent routines for younger children and too little encouragement to do things themselves. Ask how meals now build those everyday skills.
• Attendance pattern. The weekday opening window spans 7.30am to 6pm. Which booking pattern would fit your family's routine?

Clifton Tots suits families seeking care for babies through to preschool age, with weekday opening hours that accommodate an early start. Its June 2024 experiences combined language learning, garden art and forest exploration. The Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific improvements required in preschool activity organisation and younger children's mealtime independence.