Children 1st Toton Nursery School

Cookery, outdoor space and the Forever Stars charity partnership give Children 1st Toton Nursery School its character. Cookery brings ingredients into children's hands, while support for Forever Stars connects family fundraising with a cause close to this nursery community. These are useful points of difference for parents who want everyday learning to reach beyond toys and table activities.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, while identifying interruptions during larger adult-led activities as an area requiring better organisation. That judgement belongs to an earlier period, so it offers a dated assessment rather than a description of every aspect of today's care.

The nursery has 120 places in total, accepting children from two months old up to five years. Attendance choices include mornings, afternoons and several day lengths, giving families more than one way to fit nursery around work and home life.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in practical terms, play, communication and everyday experiences form part of their education. Toton's additional activities include cookery and Forest School, an approach centred on learning outdoors through exploration. These sit alongside that framework rather than replacing it.

Cookery sessions involve handling ingredients and learning about growing food. That gives children something concrete to investigate, with food becoming an activity as well as something served at mealtimes. The outdoor spaces also provide room for movement, play and contact with nature.

In March 2022, familiar stories shaped themed activities each week. Children explored butterfly development, arranged story pictures into a sequence and used a display of fruit as the starting point for painting. One theme could therefore connect conversation, ordering and creative work, rather than keeping these experiences separate.

During that same month, children chose fruit and vegetables for their own caterpillar creations, used knives with care and photographed the results. Their choices mattered to the activity. Alongside making something, they discussed exercise, food and fresh air, linking practical participation with ideas about health.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forever Stars supports families affected by baby loss and is Toton's chosen charity partner. Fundraising through the year includes dressing up, sponsored challenges and bake sales. For families who enjoy taking part in nursery community life, this gives those events a shared purpose beyond the occasion itself.

The connection is local and personal: baby loss has affected both families and team members within the nursery community. Participation offers a way for parents to support that cause together, while kindness and giving become part of the setting's wider life.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2022, babies shared familiar books with adults, pointing to pictures, making sounds and turning pages themselves. Older children helped friends with coats and painting aprons. These examples show how care and social learning operated through small interactions, rather than only through organised activities.

Settling arrangements in March 2022 were tailored with parents, beginning with shorter attendance before building towards longer days. Parents also discussed children's care and learning with staff and received information about their progress. For a family starting nursery, the important principle is a gradual introduction shaped around the child, rather than treating the first full day as the whole settling process.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and recognised targeted communication support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through work with other professionals. These findings provide a dated assessment of the arrangements and support in place then.

Current community links include work with the area SENCO and local schools on support and transition. This gives families a concrete point of contact around additional needs and the move towards school, without implying any admissions advantage.

An on-site chef cooks meals, using local ingredients where possible, and menus accommodate dietary requirements. For children, this connects the food served during the day with the ingredient exploration undertaken in cookery sessions.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 5 Banks Road, Toton, NG9 6HE. Business Days run from 8am to 6pm, Nursery days from 8am to 5pm, and School days from 9am to 3pm. Mornings cover 8am to 1pm; Afternoons cover 1pm to 6pm. School days describes a shorter booking pattern here, rather than a promise of term-time-only attendance.

Toton operates across the year, with Christmas week and two staff training days forming its stated closures. This matters when comparing a working year's childcare with a shorter daily booking: the length of the session and the weeks attended are separate decisions.

Families can make an enquiry using the nursery's online form, telephone or email. Nursery tours are offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, allowing the chosen days, funding and charges to be considered together.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children aged nine months and above can access the 15 Hours or 30 Hours funding offer. Toton stretches entitlement across 51 weeks, providing up to 11.18 or 22.35 funded hours weekly respectively, and permits up to 10 funded hours in a day. Funded hours sit within its regular sessions, so the booking length still matters when planning additional paid care.

Private fees include meals and snacks, milk and infant formula, together with nappies, wipes, nappy cream and sun cream. Activities are included too. Funded sessions have separate food and consumables charges; activity charges apply to over-twos only, with no activity charge for under-twos. Additional hours are charged separately, and alternative arrangements to the integrated offering can be discussed with the manager.

A non-refundable registration charge applies, and the deposit is credited to the first invoice. These serve different purposes, so they belong alongside the attendance pattern and funding in the overall joining decision.

• Group activity organisation. In March 2022, interruptions sometimes left children waiting during larger adult-led activities. During a tour, ask how staff now organise these sessions and respond when individual children need attention.
• The youngest children's day. Babies shared books closely with adults in March 2022, and settling began with shorter attendance. Ask how your baby's introduction, sleep routine and move to longer sessions would work now.
• Funding and session length. The stretched offer provides up to 11.18 or 22.35 hours weekly, while meals and consumables carry separate funded-session charges. Consider the complete written quotation for your chosen pattern, including any alternative arrangements.
• Dietary requirements. Menus accommodate dietary needs and food is cooked on site. Families affected by allergies should confirm current preparation and mealtime procedures for their child.

Children 1st Toton suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as shorter or longer nursery days across the year. Cookery, outdoor exploration and the Forever Stars partnership give it practical activity and community purpose. The March 2022 assessment was positive overall, with a specific weakness in group activity organisation that deserves a focused conversation. The strongest fit is for parents who value flexible daily patterns and want to understand the complete cost of combining stretched funding with their chosen care.