The Honey Pots Day Nursery, Burton-on-Trent

A Georgian property, patio doors opening onto outdoor play and a sensory room give Honey Pots in Burton-on-Trent a recognisable character. This is a nursery with different spaces for active play and quieter moments, rather than one room doing everything. The outdoor area adds grow boxes, musical features and talking flowers, giving children practical reasons to explore beyond the building.

The Honey Pots Day Nursery, Burton-on-Trent has capacity for 34 children, with a current early-years age range from birth to five. At its 16 December 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and reported good progress for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Those are dated judgements, rather than a description of a visit today.

Morning, afternoon and school-day bookings sit alongside term-time funded sessions. The important practical distinction is between a paid session that includes meals and funded hours where optional extras are separate.

Rooms and Ages

Tiny Tots, Toddlers and Pre-School are the named rooms, with movement between them guided by children's development and emotional readiness as well as age. That gives room allocation a purpose beyond a birthday: families are involved in deciding which stage suits their child.

Bright rooms and patio access allow children to choose between indoor and outdoor activity. Outside, astro turf and a soft surface sit alongside sheltered seating. Grow boxes offer something to tend, while sensory boxes, talking flowers and musical features provide different ways to investigate and play. The shelter makes the outdoor space useful across the seasons.

A small sensory room provides another change of pace. Its ball pit, tunnel and mats support physical play; mirrors, coloured lighting, wind chimes and music create a different setting for quieter time. The practical benefit is choice: children can use a separate space either to expend energy or to take a calmer break.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play supports language, movement, relationships and early learning. In December 2022, activities were planned around children's interests, with observations helping staff decide what to offer next. Children could also choose resources and direct their own play.

Language and mathematics appeared within ordinary activities in December 2022. Children discussed sticky dough and requested flour to change its texture; pretend parcels and scales prompted counting. These examples show learning attached to something children were already doing, rather than separated into a formal lesson.

Dough disco, a music-led activity involving pinching, rolling and shaping dough, was another December 2022 example. It exercised children's hands while drawing them into a shared activity. Mark-making included stampers and a letter to Santa, connecting early writing with a recognisable purpose. These are examples of the nursery day at that inspection, rather than a fixed activity timetable.

In December 2022, staff listened to parents' information about children's wellbeing and used children's interests when planning activities. Care and learning were connected: knowing what mattered to a child helped shape the experiences offered. This is useful for families whose children need familiar interests to become involved in play.

Self-care was practised through small daily tasks in December 2022. Babies were encouraged to use spoons, while older children attempted their own coats and hats. A handwashing song made a hygiene routine participatory. The emphasis was on giving children opportunities to try, with adults modelling and encouraging the task.

Support for SEND in December 2022 included targeted intervention, coordination by leaders and work with parents and external agencies. That describes a mechanism for responding to individual learning needs, rather than relying on a general statement about inclusion.

There was also a clear limitation. In December 2022, adults sometimes missed children's hesitation about joining group activities, leaving emotional needs insufficiently addressed. Improving awareness of individual participation was the action required. For a child who enjoys watching before joining, this matters as much as the choice of resources: encouragement needs to take account of readiness.

Current physical security arrangements include CCTV inside and outside the building and an optional fingerprint entry system for parents. These are access arrangements; the safeguarding judgement remains the dated inspection finding above.

Sessions and Attendance

The Burton nursery opens from 7.30am to 6pm at 6 Derby Road, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1RU. Its paid term-time morning session runs from 8.30am to 1pm, and the afternoon session from 1pm to 5.30pm. During non-funded weeks, a School Day booking runs from 9am to 4pm. Meals are included in these paid sessions.

Funded bookings follow a different timetable. The 15 Hours Government Funded Sessions are either mornings from 9am to noon or afternoons from 1pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday. The 30 Hours Government Funded Sessions run from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. Funding is term-time only. Care outside funded or session times can be purchased as wraparound hours, which separates the core booking from any additional cover needed.

The nursery takes visit bookings, and the Burton contact number is 01283 539200. A written quotation provides current prices and allows families to compare the complete attendance pattern they need.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded hours exclude optional meals, snacks, consumables and additional services. Meals required during funding or paid wraparound care are charged separately, whereas the paid morning, afternoon and School Day sessions include them. Non-food consumables are also separate optional extras for funded sessions.

Kimbles and trips are named as optional additional services outside the funded offer. The distinction matters when comparing a funded timetable with a paid session: the hours alone do not describe the same package. The Burton fees information sets out those booking categories and exclusions.

• Joining group activities. The December 2022 improvement action concerned adults recognising when children were reluctant to participate. On a visit, ask how staff support a child who wants to observe before joining and how that response is shared with parents.
• Different clocks for different bookings. Paid mornings start at 8.30am, while funded mornings start at 9am; their finishing times also differ. Match the precise session to your working day and include any wraparound care in the quotation.
• Optional funded extras. Funded hours exclude meals, snacks, consumables, Kimbles and trips. Ask what Kimbles involves and how the optional extras you choose will be reflected in your agreement.

Honey Pots suits families considering morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those needing a school-day pattern or term-time funded hours. Its Georgian building, direct outdoor access and separate sensory room give children several settings for play and quieter activity. The December 2022 examples add substance: counting, conversation and self-care were woven into practical experiences.

The balance is clear. There are useful choices of space and attendance pattern, alongside a dated improvement action about recognising children's reluctance in group activities. For families weighing the nursery, the most useful comparison combines the precise booking timetable, the extras selected and the way staff respond to their child's readiness to participate.