Lamb Setts Montessori Nursery, Christchurch

School grounds give Lamb Setts Montessori Nursery, Christchurch its clearest point of difference. Based at Christ Church C of E Primary School in Chesterfield, it combines nursery care with opportunities to become familiar with a school setting. That connection is useful for transition, but it carries no automatic entitlement to a Reception place.

The nursery has capacity for 32 children, with an accepted age range of 24 to 60 months. At its June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that individual attention and additional funding supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Two development priorities temper that positive picture: helping quieter children contribute during group activities and making physical activities more challenging.

Attendance is term-time, with morning and afternoon sessions plus lunchtime care. This is a nursery organised around school terms rather than holiday childcare.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play and practical activities develop language, social confidence, physical skills and early understanding of numbers. The useful detail here is how those areas take shape in children's activities.

In June 2025, the day included a shared greeting and songs that helped children learn one another's names. This gave social learning a concrete purpose: recognising the children alongside them and using their names in play. Small tasks also gave children something to work towards. Opening pegs exercised their fingers, while puzzles invited them to work out how pieces fitted together. Adults acknowledged their efforts and encouraged another attempt when something proved difficult.

Language learning reached beyond everyday instructions. During magnet play in June 2025, children encountered vocabulary about attraction and repulsion, linking new words to something they could test. Number activities included recognising numerals and counting the children taking part in a group. These examples make the learning tangible rather than reducing it to a list of educational aims.

The June 2025 activities also included tidying toys and wiping tables ahead of snacks. Such jobs gave children a useful role in the nursery day. Independence meant contributing to a shared task, as well as completing an activity for themselves.

Outdoor and Physical Play

In June 2025, physical activities included wooden planks to cross and steps leading to slides. The equipment offered opportunities to move, but the tasks were too easy for some children to extend their existing abilities. Families choosing the nursery should weigh the challenge within physical play as well as the presence of equipment. A child who readily completes a task needs a next step.

Relationships and Communication

Settling was gradual in June 2025, with introductory sessions giving children time to become familiar with adults and their surroundings. This matters for children who need several encounters before a new routine feels manageable. It also gives the start of nursery a different pace from the established day.

At that time, staff shared activity photographs with parents and offered ideas for continuing learning at home, including reading stories together. The communication linked nursery experiences with things families could do themselves. It was about the child's learning, rather than simply reporting that an activity had taken place.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The June 2025 inspection found that one-to-one action songs helped children with special educational needs and/or disabilities connect movements with words, while additional funding bought resources such as toy phones to encourage communication. These are concrete examples of adapting an activity or resource to an individual child's needs.

Snack times take place in key-worker groups, and children help prepare food and pour drinks, combining conversation with practical independence. Families provide a healthy packed lunch for children staying at midday; snacks and baking activities carry a separate charge.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Tapton View Road, Chesterfield, S41 7JU, within the grounds of Christ Church C of E Primary School. Opening hours are 8.45am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday during term time.

Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am; afternoons run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Lunchtime care bridges the period from 11.45am to 12.30pm and covers childcare rather than a meal. The distinction matters when planning a day that includes both sessions: the midday arrangement needs to form part of the booking, and lunch comes from home.

The nursery opens for thirty-nine weeks across school terms. Its funded entitlement is offered over 38 weeks, so the opening calendar and funding calendar are separate considerations. Applications use the Chesterfield application form, with enquiries by telephone on 01246 520400 or through the contact message route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare of up to 15 hours is offered during term time for three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds. Additional sessions are paid for privately, with invoices issued monthly for payment in advance. This allows families to distinguish the funded portion of their attendance from extra booked care.

For funded attendance as well as paid sessions, packed lunches come from home and the separate snacks-and-baking charge is payable termly. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page sets out the charge structure.

Moving on to School

The nursery describes a partnership with Christ Church C of E Primary School. In June 2025, staff passed learning information to teachers and took children to use facilities at the host school, giving transition work a practical element. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Confidence in groups. In June 2025, quieter children needed more help to respond during shared activities. Ask how adults now draw these children into discussion while giving them time to think.
• Physical challenge. The June 2025 activities did not consistently extend children's large-muscle skills. During a visit, ask what progression looks like once a child can easily manage the planks and slide steps.
• Term-time planning. Thirty-nine opening weeks sit alongside a 38-week funded entitlement. Match the booking calendar to work and holiday arrangements, including midday care where needed.

Lamb Setts suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon sessions or attendance combining both with lunchtime care during school terms. The school-site connection gives transition a practical setting, while the June 2025 picture includes gradual settling, everyday responsibilities and learning through manageable tasks. The decision turns on whether the current activities give quieter children enough room to contribute and confident movers enough challenge to progress.