The Firs Day Nursery

A slide and fireman’s pole upstairs, a growing-roof hobbit house outdoors and woodland sessions beyond the nursery give The Firs Day Nursery a recognisable character. This converted Victorian house in Burton-on-Trent combines rooms for different stages of childhood with substantial opportunities for physical play. The spaces matter: younger children have ground-floor rooms, while preschool children can tackle movement and imaginative play within their own upstairs base.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. There are 96 places in total, and the nursery accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. This is whole-nursery capacity, not an individual room size.

Outdoor provision is a substantial part of the offer. Three play areas include sheltered space, a sandpit with water runs and a sensory garden, alongside access to local woodland for Forest School sessions, an approach centred on exploring and learning outdoors. Full-day and half-day bookings give families two attendance patterns to consider.

Rooms and Ages

Safari room (0-2 years) occupies the ground floor and combines exploratory activities with a separate sleeping area inside the room and nappy-changing facilities, giving babies a place to rest alongside their play space.

Rain Forest and Sea-Shore room (2– 3 years) is also downstairs, divided into two areas and direct access to outdoor play, including covered space, so movement and exploration need not depend entirely on indoor activities.

Wise Owls pre-school (3-4 years) uses an open-plan upstairs room, where a more structured day encourages children to persist, choose and make decisions, while a built-in slide and fireman’s pole provide opportunities for physical play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care, with play-based experiences helping them build skills and understanding. It is the common foundation for nursery education. The Firs adds in the moment planning: practitioners respond to children’s interests and use opportunities within their play to extend learning, rather than making the activity itself the sole priority.

In September 2024, babies investigated cooked noodles through touch, toddlers experimented with pouring during tea-party play, and preschool children collaborated on a cardboard bouncy castle. These were different experiences for different stages: sensory exploration for babies, handling containers for toddlers, and shared construction for older children. They provide concrete examples of how everyday materials can support purposeful play.

Books also became activities in September 2024. Babies shared books while sitting close to adults, toddlers retold a story using textured resources, and preschool children built a bridge linked to a story. Reading was connected with touch, movement and construction rather than confined to listening. Weekly French lessons and weekly preschool forest school sessions at a local school were also part of the programme at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play has practical protection: the freeflow area’s waterproof shelter supports use in wet weather, and a rear sail shade provides sun cover. Wellingtons, waterproofs and umbrellas support outdoor exploration; digging and investigation centre on the purpose-built front sandpit with its water runs.

Quieter choices include music or books in the growing-roof hobbit house, reading or pretend play in the wooden cottage, and stories on seats carved from tree trunks. Children can also fill bird feeders and explore the sensory garden’s mint, lavender, thyme and sage through touch, sight and smell.

Beyond the grounds, the nursery has access to local woodland for Forest School sessions. In September 2024, children also travelled by public transport to nature parks. Within the nursery’s outdoor space that month, bamboo concealed toy dinosaurs and a role-play kitchen supported pretend cooking. Outdoor learning therefore included both exploration of living surroundings and imaginative use of the play areas.

Safari room’s separate sleep area sits inside the baby room, making the relationship between rest and active play a practical consideration.

In September 2024, children who were new or needed help settling received individual attention from adults. Staff spent time getting to know children and shaped activities around their needs. The practical strength of that arrangement was its attention to the individual child: extra support was used to help children feel secure enough to take part.

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities combined individual plans, early targeted help, one-to-one sessions and collaboration with other professionals, enabling excellent progress. This is more informative than a broad inclusion promise because it identifies the mechanisms used to support learning.

Communication also had a definite rhythm in September 2024: parents received a learning-progress report every six months. Staff maintained relationships with families alongside that reporting. Written updates offered a point at which parents could consider their child’s development, rather than relying solely on individual conversations.

Emotional learning was tangible that month. Children used mirrors to discuss feelings and made faces from play dough while talking about sadness and helping each other. Adults connected emotions with their effects on other people. These examples show how feelings were made understandable through conversation and play.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at 45 Rosliston Road, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE15 9RQ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with operation across the year. Full-day and half-day sessions are offered; the opening window should be considered separately from the choice of booking pattern.

Christmas, New Year and public bank holidays are closure periods, and no charge is made for those closures. That matters when comparing an attendance plan with work commitments across the year. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form.

A holiday club serves children up to 11 during Staffordshire school holidays, and a collection service operates from Riverview Primary. These sit alongside the nursery-age offer; the school collection service is a transport arrangement rather than a claim about Reception admissions.

Getting There

Parents have use of a large car park, and an undercover pushchair park provides somewhere to leave a pushchair. Both are useful practical features for families choosing between travelling by car and bringing a younger child in a pushchair.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare options extend to eligible children from nine months. The nursery also offers Think 2 funded sessions from the term after the second birthday, subject to eligibility and availability. Funding for three- and four-year-olds includes 15 hours from the term after the third birthday, with 30-hour funding subject to criteria. Funding is an option within the offer, rather than a guarantee that a particular family or booking will qualify.

Dinner and tea are included in the full-day rate. This inclusion applies specifically to that booking pattern. Tax-free childcare payments are accepted, and a first-sibling discount is offered.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. The fees page sets out the full-day meal inclusion, half-day option and closure charging position, helping families distinguish the attendance pattern from the items included in it.

• Baby sleep within the room. Safari room has its sleeping area inside the baby room. On a visit, ask how staff manage rest while other babies are playing and how your child’s usual sleep routine would fit.
• Upstairs preschool. Wise Owls pre-school occupies the upper floor and includes a slide and fireman’s pole. Consider that physical layout when discussing your child’s movement and support needs.
• The funded booking package. Funded options begin from nine months subject to eligibility, while dinner and tea are included specifically in the full-day rate. Ask for one written breakdown covering attendance, funded hours, food and non-food consumables.
• Holiday planning. Christmas, New Year and public bank holidays are closures with no charge. Families needing care during those periods will need to plan around that calendar.

The Firs suits families considering either full-day or half-day nursery care who value outdoor exploration and rooms with clearly different purposes. Baby sleep space, direct toddler access to outdoor play and active upstairs preschool provision give the choice substance. The September 2024 Outstanding judgement supports the overall picture, while the house’s layout and the details of a funded booking deserve careful consideration for each child and family.