Phoenix Park Nursery Giltbrook

Sensory storytelling, cooking with the nursery chef and daily outdoor play give Phoenix Park Nursery Giltbrook a practical, hands-on character. Textured books and sound effects bring stories beyond the page, while paint and sensory activities give children ways to explore ideas before they can explain them in words. Familiar adults matter here too: each child has a Key Worker and a buddy.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective, with stronger planning for older children but improvements needed in younger children’s activities, transitions and behaviour support. That distinction matters. Families choosing care for a baby or toddler should give those younger-room routines as much attention as the overall grade.

The nursery cares for children from three months to five years and has 107 places in total, at Smithurst Road in Giltbrook, Nottingham. Babies, Tots, Toddlers and Pre-school provide separate stages as children grow. Full and part-time attendance, half-day sessions and flexible hours give families several ways to organise care.

Rooms and Ages

Babies covers the youngest stage up to 18 months, with a calming room arranged for exploration and relationships that support early milestones. Tots, from 18 months to two years, emphasises trying things independently and building confidence before the move into the next room.

For children aged two to three, Toddlers brings problem-solving and independence together with opportunities to develop friendships and social skills. Pre-school, for ages three to five, combines children’s interests with preparation for school, including thinking through ideas and considering other people’s views.

These are developmental stages rather than a single nursery day repeated for every age. The younger-room emphasis is on becoming confident enough to explore; the older-room emphasis adds independence in learning and relationships. Moving between rooms also gives families a point at which to discuss how their child’s needs are changing.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children build language, physical skills and relationships through play and everyday experiences. At Giltbrook, daily sensory or painting activities sit alongside construction, music and pretend play, so learning can happen through handling materials, making something or talking through an idea.

Books have a physical dimension. Sensory reading uses textured pages and story props, with music and sound effects adding another way into the story. For World Book Day in March 2025, the nursery planned a Sensory Story World, turning rooms into book settings with related sensory experiences. The useful detail is the approach to reading: a child can engage through touch and sound as well as listening.

British Sign Language (BSL) Week in March 2025 brought planned tactile alphabet cards, gesture games and a sensory storytelling session. The nursery also set out an intention to carry BSL elements into daily sensory activities beyond that event. This adds a visual and movement-based route into communication; it should not be read as a claim that children follow a formal language course.

In April 2025, younger children practised understanding words through rhymes and simple signs, while older children answered questions that required them to think through problems. However, some less experienced practitioners struggled to turn younger children’s next learning steps into suitable activities. The difference was in delivery, making staff support an important part of the younger-room picture.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor space is part of the daily pattern, with every child going outside at least once a day and outdoor play continuing through the seasons. The garden also connects with learning indoors: in April 2025, older children planted flowers and explored books about the plants they were growing, while younger children practised moving over small steps and ramps.

Cooking and baking with the nursery chef happens regularly, bringing food preparation into children’s experience rather than keeping it entirely behind the kitchen door. Stories, gardening and practical tasks give children concrete things to discuss. They also connect language with something a child has actually handled or done.

Relationships and Communication

A Key Worker and buddy give each child familiar points of contact, and parents contribute information about interests and experiences at home. That makes communication useful in both directions: staff can explain the nursery day, while families help shape activities around what their child already enjoys.

Settling is approached at the child’s pace, with comfort and reassurance rather than an expectation that every child adjusts immediately. A familiar teddy, blanket or comforter can come from home, and parents are encouraged to share routines and preferences. An app supports updates about daily activities and progress, helping families stay connected between conversations with staff.

In April 2025, younger children sought reassurance from adults they knew, and older children could discuss feelings and ways to help a sad friend. Parents also received ideas for extending learning at home. Those details give substance to the relationship between nursery and family: it reaches beyond a brief account of what a child has eaten or played with.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support through targeted development plans, adapted activities and work with outside agencies. The practical mechanisms matter here, especially for families whose child needs support across more than one service.

Current practice includes considering noise, visual stimulation and the pace of the day, alongside predictable routines and consistent key people. Emotion cards and visual prompts help children communicate feelings when words are difficult. These are specific ways of adapting communication and surroundings, rather than a blanket assurance about every child’s experience.

Sleep arrangements respond to individual needs, using comfortable spaces and calm routines. Meals are cooked from scratch each day by in-house chefs, and dietary, cultural and religious requirements are catered for. Pre-school preparation develops independence, language and social confidence through play, keeping the move to school connected to everyday skills.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at 83-85 Smithurst Rd, Giltbrook, Nottingham, NG16 2UD. It opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm throughout the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. The opening window gives working families scope around the nursery day, while the closures still need to fit the family calendar.

Full and part-time sessions are offered, alongside flexible hours and half-day sessions lasting 5.5 hours. Funded attendance examples use day sessions from 8am to 6pm; these sit within the longer opening window. Term-time and stretched funding options allow families to organise entitlement around either school weeks or a steadier pattern across the year.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, followed by an online application. Once the application has been processed, the nursery contacts families about confirmation, the start date and settling arrangements. This is a sequence for joining, rather than a promise of an immediate start.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours for children aged three and four from the term after their third birthday, and up to 30 hours for eligible working families with children from nine months to four years. Eligibility depends on family circumstances. Funding can be taken term-time or stretched across 51 weeks, and additional childcare beyond funded hours is optional and paid for.

On funded days, a voluntary daily consumables contribution covers food and resources, including cleaning supplies and utilities; families declining it provide a packed lunch in line with the nursery’s healthy packed lunch guidance. Parents supply nappies, wipes and creams their child uses, plus sun cream in warmer weather, so the resource contribution does not replace everything brought from home.

There are no registration or top-up fees for funded hours. Current prices for paid care come in the nursery’s written quotation. The funding and charge arrangements explain how the funded-day contribution and additional attendance fit together.

• Younger-room routines. In April 2025, some younger children waited between activities and became restless, while behaviour expectations were inconsistent. During a visit, ask how those transitions now work and how practitioners keep expectations clear.
• Planning for babies and toddlers. The April 2025 improvement priorities included helping less experienced staff plan activities around children’s next steps. Ask for an example of how a younger child’s interests and development shape the following day’s activities.
• The funded-day choice. The resource contribution is voluntary, with a healthy packed lunch as the alternative, while nappies and personal care supplies come from home. Request a written quotation showing the arrangement you choose and any additional paid hours.

Phoenix Park Nursery Giltbrook suits families looking for either full-day or half-day attendance, with part-time and flexible arrangements also part of the offer. Daily outdoor play, sensory reading and regular cooking provide tangible reasons to consider it, while a Key Worker and buddy give family communication a clear structure.

The April 2025 judgement supports a positive assessment, but the younger-room weaknesses deserve weight in the decision. For preschool families, school preparation and practical learning are central attractions. For babies and toddlers, the strongest decision will turn on how well the current routines and activity planning meet the child’s needs.