The Pines Private Day Nursery

Mud kitchens, signs to support speech and a converted Victorian house give The Pines a recognisable character. Play has room to be noisy, messy or quiet here, with separate spaces for making things, imaginative activity, books and meals. At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective.

The nursery has capacity for 83 children, with an age range from birth to five, at 88 Stanton Road in Ilkeston. The building spans three storeys. Its organisation into Babies, 2-3's and Pre-School units gives families a useful starting point for understanding how the day changes as children grow.

Language and movement have named programmes behind them: Every Child a Talker supports language through everyday experiences, while Every Child a Mover addresses opportunities for physical development indoors and outside. Full days and morning or afternoon sessions provide different attendance options. The strongest practical distinction is the combination of those choices with a day built around children deciding where and how to play.

Rooms and Ages

Each unit contains a Creative Room, Play Room, Quiet Room and Dining Room. These are different kinds of space rather than one room expected to do everything: children can explore materials, develop pretend play, find a calmer activity or eat separately from their play.

The Creative Room uses materials such as jelly, foam and shredded paper for sensory exploration; the Play Room includes a Home Corner, dressing-up and loose parts; the Quiet Room combines books and colouring with comfortable seating. These details make the free-flow arrangement concrete. Children choose between spaces, with both active and quieter possibilities within their unit.

Pre-School children practise serving their own food and pouring drinks. That makes independence part of an ordinary meal rather than a separate exercise in preparing for school. Monthly topics provide another thread through the units, bringing new ideas into activities while retaining familiar places to play.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the required framework for children's learning, development and care, so play supports communication, physical development and relationships as well as early learning. The Pines adds its own emphasis on open-ended activity: children decide what to make, which objects to use and how their play develops.

Loose parts and blocks give this approach substance. An object can become something else in a child's story, while a construction gives a physical form to an idea. Adults do not have to decide the finished product first. That leaves scope for children to explain their choices, change their plans and work alongside one another.

Every Child a Talker (ECAT) uses children's interests and everyday experiences to encourage experimentation with language and extend vocabulary. Every Child a Mover (ECAM) brings attention to the indoor and outdoor opportunities children have to move. These programmes add a stated emphasis to the nursery day; they sit alongside the required framework.

Makaton, a communication programme combining signs and symbols with spoken language, is used during play throughout the day. Support also extends to parents and carers. For a family interested in how communication works beyond spoken words, this is a concrete practice to discuss rather than simply a claim that language matters.

In March 2024, older children made dough together, babies sent toy cars through drain pipes and younger children practised turn-taking with cards. Other activities linked pretend play with early writing: children made an attendance list while acting as a teacher. These examples connect practical actions with emerging skills, from handling small objects to making marks for a purpose.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play happens at least twice daily, including in wet weather. Mud kitchens are permanent activities, supplemented by changing messy-play ideas indoors and outside. Water trays, gloop and painting on foil provide different textures and ways to experiment. Families need clothes and footwear suited to that kind of day.

The outdoor space also offered physical challenges in March 2024. Children climbed a sloping bank before using the slide, and younger children practised balance along a beam as part of an obstacle activity. Story play brought movement into familiar tales too: Little Red Riding Hood prompted stretching like trees, while Dear Zoo led babies to explore which animals fitted different boxes. Physical activity and stories were connected through things children could do, rather than only things they could hear.

Personal information collected at induction forms the basis of the nursery's relationship with families. Home routines matter in that exchange. In March 2024, staff used information about children's routines to plan their care, and settling sessions were tailored to the child. For parents managing the first separation from home, continuity in everyday habits is a useful starting point.

Communication also has a practical channel. Parentzone carries important notices and diary dates, alongside the nursery noticeboard. This gives families a place to keep track of messages that affect attendance and the nursery calendar, rather than relying entirely on conversation at the end of a busy day.

In March 2024, staff helped parents extend learning at home by lending books and proposing activities linked to children's interests, such as a seasonal walk. Children also practised sharing painting materials and inviting friends to help prepare vegetables. These are small, concrete examples of how cooperation and learning could continue through ordinary activities.

Food is prepared from scratch each day by the nursery cook, using a menu that repeats over three weeks; breakfast, lunch and a lighter evening meal are offered, with a morning snack for children who want one. Specialist dietary needs can be catered for, and each unit has its own dining space, keeping meals distinct from the activity rooms.

Sessions and Attendance

A full-day session runs from 7.30am to 6pm. Morning sessions cover 7.30am to 12.30pm, while afternoon sessions run from 1pm to 6pm. The half-day offer therefore gives families a choice between the earlier and later parts of the day, rather than a single short-session window.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates for 51 weeks of the year, closing on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas. That calendar makes the holiday closures relevant even for families using a regular year-round pattern.

Getting There

The address is 88 Stanton Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 5FY. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 0115 930 5550 or by email at caniplay@pinesnursery.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including funding for working parents and two-year-old funding. The funding information also covers the 15 hours free childcare and 30 hours free childcare entitlements for three- and four-year-olds. Eligibility conditions apply to the additional entitlement, so the attendance pattern and the funded entitlement are separate decisions.

Taxfree Childcare is accepted too. Fee enquiries go through the office; families should obtain a current written quotation for their chosen sessions. The useful comparison is the complete arrangement for the child, including any private hours alongside funding, rather than the session label alone.

Monthly payments require attention. Invoices are not routinely sent, and parents are expected to keep track of what they owe and pay each month. Payment can be made by card in the office or by bank transfer, with standing orders encouraged. Parents receiving 30-hour funding are also reminded to reconfirm their eligibility details and codes.

• Language and activity planning. In March 2024, staff needed greater clarity about what particular activities should teach, and communication training needed to become more consistent in everyday interactions. On a visit, ask how ECAT and Makaton now shape conversations and how staff choose the next steps for a child.
• The complete funding quotation. The nursery offers both funded childcare and privately paid sessions. What attendance pattern can your entitlement cover, and how does the written quotation treat meals, non-food consumables and additional hours?
• Clothes for active play. Outdoor play takes place at least twice daily and continues in all weather. Families are asked to provide suitable footwear and clothes that can get messy.
• Monthly administration. Routine invoices are not sent, and parents using 30-hour funding need to reconfirm their codes. Families who prefer an invoice-led payment routine should agree how they will keep track of their monthly balance.

The Pines suits families seeking full-day care as well as those choosing morning or afternoon sessions, with messy play, outdoor movement and communication programmes woven into its offer. The separate activity and dining spaces give its play-led approach a tangible shape. Children have choices about where to play, and preschool independence extends to serving food and pouring drinks.

The March 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with clear development points around staff planning and language interactions. Those points deserve attention alongside the appeal of ECAT, ECAM and Makaton. For families comfortable with an active, sometimes muddy day and the nursery's monthly payment arrangements, there is a coherent combination of practical session choices and child-directed activity.