Burton & South Derbyshire College Nursery

Books, conversation and outdoor movement shaped this college nursery's May 2022 inspection picture. At its May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Burton & South Derbyshire College Nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective, with children settled and comfortable with familiar adults. The strongest examples were everyday ones: babies responding to staff, toddlers exploring stories and older children joining familiar songs.

Based at Burton College on Lichfield Street in Burton-on-Trent, the nursery has 57 places in total and accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. That whole-setting capacity is distinct from the number of children sharing any particular activity. Its term-time calendar is an important practical consideration for families whose work continues through school holidays.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that brings play, communication, physical development and everyday care into the same nursery day.

In May 2022, activities combined children's own choices with experiences guided by adults. An interest in dolls became a way to explore feelings, relationships and hygiene. This made familiar play useful for learning, rather than treating it as time between planned activities. Assessments helped staff decide what children should try next and shape activities around their developing abilities.

Conversation ran through the day in May 2022. Adults adjusted their language to children's stages, demonstrated how words sounded and encouraged children to try them during play. Books added another route into communication: toddlers explored pictures and handled pages, while older children contributed recurring lines from stories they knew. Pictures and familiar story phrases gave children different ways to join in.

The limits mattered too. In May 2022, less experienced practitioners sometimes let chances to deepen learning pass. Staff mentoring was therefore an improvement priority, alongside making more educational use of mealtimes. Families should weigh the concrete strengths alongside these specific weaknesses.

Outdoor and Community Life

In May 2022, low climbing equipment gave children opportunities to practise balance and coordination with adult help. Babies also had outdoor space to move and develop their physical abilities. This gave movement a place in the experience of the youngest children as well as older ones.

Water and sand supplied sensory exploration in May 2022. Tower building held toddlers' attention, while songs encouraged older children to take part together. These were accessible activities with different demands: investigating materials, sustaining concentration and participating in a group.

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator understood children who might need additional help and arranged adaptations to their learning, with staff involving parents and other professionals. The useful mechanism was individual adjustment, rather than expecting every child to approach an activity in the same way.

In May 2022, staff gathered information about children's care and learning when families first joined. Familiar adults offered babies comfort and responded to their individual needs. For a family choosing care for a very young child, this attention to familiarity and personal routines is a meaningful part of the inspection picture.

Communication extended beyond collecting initial information. In May 2022, practitioners discussed children's development with parents and explained ways to support their next steps at home. This connected nursery activities with what families could do themselves.

Daily routines also supported social behaviour in May 2022. Adults helped children share and take turns, and a song signalled handwashing. However, opportunities for children to practise doing things independently were sometimes missed at meals. That is a practical weakness: routine care can also be a chance for children to build everyday skills.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Burton College, Lichfield Street, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 3RL. Opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; the nursery closes for school holidays. Families need to match that calendar, as well as the daily opening window, to their childcare needs.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2022, the nursery received early education funding for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated participation fact, rather than a promise of an individual funded place.

For parents studying at the college, childcare support has a separate application process. Under Care to Learn, a scheme supporting childcare costs, applicants aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 at the start of the academic year should apply through that route, with help from Learner Services. College discretionary childcare funding is limited and allocated in application order, so an award cannot be assumed.

Where college childcare support is awarded, it covers childcare during timetabled college sessions plus an agreed allowance for travel time; support outside college term time requires prior written agreement. This ties the assistance to study attendance rather than providing unrestricted childcare cover.

• Teaching and everyday independence. The May 2022 improvement priorities concerned staff mentoring and learning during meals. During a visit, ask how practitioners now extend children's play and involve them in mealtime tasks.
• The holiday calendar. The nursery closes during school holidays. Its term-time pattern needs to fit the family's working or studying year.
• Study-linked childcare support. College discretionary awards depend on limited funds, and holiday support requires prior written agreement. Families relying on this assistance should make the funding decision part of their childcare planning.
• Planning a baby's start. In May 2022, staff used information from parents to understand individual care needs. Ask how settling visits, sleep and feeding routines would be arranged for your child, and request a written quotation covering attendance, meals and consumables.

This nursery suits families seeking term-time childcare in Burton-on-Trent, including parents whose college study makes the location useful. The May 2022 picture combines attentive relationships, language-rich play and outdoor movement with clear improvement priorities around teaching and independence. The calendar is decisive. Families whose childcare needs follow term time have a more natural practical fit than those needing continuous holiday cover.