Kids Planet Spondon

Outdoor learning and a preschool base on a shared school site give Kids Planet Spondon its clearest character. Children can pursue learning indoors and outside, with physical activity and exploration continuing whatever the weather. The school connection deserves careful reading: preparation for Reception and entitlement to a Reception place are separate matters.

At its 30 January 2026 inspection, Ofsted recorded Expected standard across achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance, with safeguarding standards met. That is an area-by-area assessment rather than an overall nursery grade. The detail combines close relationships and practical independence with a need for more consistent teaching and better targeted staff development.

The nursery accepts children from three months to five years and has 20 places in total. Its attendance choices include mornings, afternoons, shorter days and full days, giving families several ways to fit care around work and their child's stage.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage brings learning, development and care together: play, conversation, movement and everyday routines all contribute to what children learn. At Spondon, activities follow children's interests, and learning takes place outside as well as indoors. This makes outdoor time part of the educational day rather than simply a break between activities.

In January 2026, building blocks became opportunities to practise counting and balancing, while babies could reach resources arranged on a lower tray. Dough offered another route into learning: children squeezed and pinched it, explored scents and copied ways of using a rolling pin. These examples connect physical skills with language and experimentation, using materials children already wanted to handle.

Stories, singing and dancing also featured that January. Children asked for books again and counted pictures, while balance bicycles, toy trailers and tweezers offered different kinds of physical practice. Independence developed through ordinary tasks, including feeding themselves, removing shoes and washing hands. Learning was woven into care routines as well as planned play.

There was a clear teaching limitation. In January 2026, staff sometimes moved learning forward before children had firmly grasped it, or gave them too little time to answer. Monitoring of practice did not consistently concentrate on the changes needed in teaching. For families, the important distinction is between having appealing activities and allowing enough time for each child to learn from them.

Outdoor and Community Life

Weather does not determine whether the current curriculum moves outdoors. Physical play and exploration are part of Spondon's indoor and outdoor offer, giving children opportunities to move and investigate beyond their indoor activities.

In January 2026, children made regular visits to a local park, and community encounters introduced them to unfamiliar adults and other children. A greenhouse had also been added as part of changes to the outdoor provision. These were concrete ways to extend experience beyond toys and indoor resources; the outings were regular, rather than tied to a stated weekly timetable.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2026, transitions included time with a new key person in both familiar and new surroundings, with information shared to connect care and learning. Parents and carers helped shape the pace of the move. This arrangement matters when a child needs familiarity before adjusting to a different environment or adult.

Sleep routines were also discussed with families that January, and children could use familiar comforters from home. Staff responded to tiredness, named emotions as they arose and used cuddles to help children manage feelings. Nappy changes included seeking children's consent, introducing personal boundaries through an everyday care task.

Famly, the group's parent app, is part of the current Spondon offer and provides updates during the day. It gives parents a connection with nursery experiences while they are elsewhere. In January 2026, staff also shared learning with families for use at home and offered toothbrushing advice and resources.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used additional funding and sensory resources and worked with carers to support individual needs; leaders had also previously worked with outside agencies and professionals, but teaching sometimes advanced too quickly to close developmental gaps consistently and staff development needed more specific direction. This is useful detail for families considering SEND support: there were practical mechanisms in use, alongside an identified need to strengthen how staff applied them.

Freshly prepared snacks and meals are provided, with dietary requirements catered for. In January 2026, a parent's concern about dietary intolerance prompted changes to food arrangements, illustrating how family information could influence care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 38 Chapel Street, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7JP. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm from Monday to Friday across 52 weeks, with bank holidays closed.

The nursery's Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm, while Full Day 2 starts at 9am and also finishes at 6pm; Full Time uses the 7.30am to 6pm window. Morning bookings run from 7.30am to 1pm or, under Morning 2, from 9am to 1pm. Afternoon ends at 6pm after a 1pm start, while Afternoon 2 finishes at 5pm. Short Day runs from 9am to 3pm, and an ad hoc hourly option is also offered.

For children aged three to eleven, before-school care with transport to school runs from 7.30am to 9am; collection from school is followed by care from 3pm to either 6pm or, for the shorter option, 4pm. Holiday Club serves ages five to eleven, with Full Day from 7.30am to 6pm, Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm, Short Day from 9am to 3pm, and a Morning option.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid care are both offered. For private care, meals and snacks are included, together with sun cream, formula, wipes and nappies; this is the group's inclusive fee arrangement carried at Spondon. Sports activities and the parent app also sit within that offer.

On days when early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities carry separate charges. The charge structure distinguishes shorter attendance from longer days, so funded hours and the total cost of attendance need to be considered separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Spondon describes strong links with local schools and a shared school site for preschool. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families seeking a state school place still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Time to respond. In January 2026, staff sometimes moved on before children had answered or consolidated learning. During a tour, discuss how practitioners now pace conversations and revisit skills, especially if communication is a priority for your child.
• Preschool's shared site. The preschool arrangement uses a shared school site. A tour should cover that environment and how children move between stages, while keeping nursery attendance separate from the Reception application.
• The funded-day bill. Meals, consumables and activities are charged separately on days with funding applied. Compare a written quotation for your chosen morning, afternoon or day pattern, rather than treating funded hours as the whole attendance cost.

Kids Planet Spondon suits families who value outdoor learning and want a choice between morning or afternoon sessions and longer days. Its preschool school-site arrangement adds a practical school-preparation element, while inclusive private fees simplify the supplies families need to organise.

The balance is clear: everyday care routines and individual relationships deserve attention alongside the teaching questions identified in January 2026. For a child needing additional language or developmental support, the pace of interactions and the specificity of staff support should weigh heavily in the decision.