Coteswood House Pre-School and Day Nursery

Weekly forest school, regular community outings and an interactive learning journal give Coteswood House Pre-School and Day Nursery a recognisable character. Nature, neighbourhood experiences and parent communication feature prominently in its offer. This Woodthorpe nursery welcomes children from nine months to five years, extending its reach beyond the preschool years.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that personalised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities helped them make good progress. That is a dated assessment, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision. The improvement priority concerned conversations: children needed more thinking time before staff moved to another question.

Current opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays. Daily bookings and separate morning and afternoon sessions give families different ways to organise attendance.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, with play providing opportunities to practise language, movement and social skills. Coteswood adds weekly forest school sessions, exploring nature with a practitioner, and regular outings to shops, the library and a farm. These give children experiences beyond indoor activities and subjects to talk about afterwards.

Coteswood Promises gives everyday behaviour a named framework: children are encouraged to take responsibility, show compassion and kindness, stay positive and believe in themselves. The practical value is a shared vocabulary for discussing how children treat each other. Refurbished rooms are arranged to accommodate different children's needs, rather than being described through a fixed roster of named age-group rooms.

In February 2023, spring play dough brought together making, hand movements and discussion of how caterpillars become butterflies. Children also fashioned painting tools from natural materials. These examples show how a familiar activity can connect physical practice with discovering the world, rather than treating each area of learning as a separate task.

Books were woven into play in February 2023, with themed activities and vocabulary about how books are made. When a storytelling activity lost children's attention, staff changed their delivery, using sensory materials alongside a story told from memory. The important detail is the adjustment: an activity did not have to continue in its original form once interest faded.

Outdoor and Community Life

Weekly forest school provides a recurring opportunity to investigate nature. In February 2023, outdoor play included searching for Monty, a pretend monster, and gathering sticks and mud to make artwork for him. Imagination gave the physical activity a purpose children could understand.

Community experiences also had concrete destinations in February 2023: a pet shop, a florist and the library. Today's regular farm, shop and library outings continue the broader emphasis on exploring beyond the nursery. The frequency stays different: forest school is weekly; those trips are regular.

Relationships and Communication

Famly App combines messages about a child's day with an interactive learning journal that parents can contribute to. This gives families a way to share information as well as receive it. Parents' evenings take place twice yearly, and children receive a report at the year's end, adding scheduled opportunities to discuss development alongside everyday communication.

An open-door policy supports conversations about progress or concerns. The combination matters: a journal can capture an activity, while a discussion allows parents and staff to explore what it means for that individual child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Individual educational plans are tailored to children's needs. Families whose home language differs from English receive support adapted to their circumstances, giving the nursery a stated mechanism for responding to differences rather than expecting identical needs from every child.

In February 2023, staff used The Worry Monster, a story supported by props, to help children discuss difficult feelings. Toddlers practised caring actions by washing dolls, and staff celebrated achievements. These were specific ways of connecting emotional development, independence and play during that inspection period.

Communication was also the improvement point in February 2023. Staff sometimes asked questions too rapidly, leaving too little time for children to formulate an answer. For parents, the distinction is useful: providing vocabulary and conversation opportunities also needs patient listening.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 19 Thackeray’s Lane, Woodthorpe, Nottingham, NG5 4HT. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; the nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas.

Daily booking options run from 8am to 4pm or 9am to 5pm, from 8am to 5pm or 9am to 6pm, and from 8am to 6pm. Separate Morning Session and Afternoon Session bookings run from 9am to noon and 1pm to 4pm respectively. The choice therefore includes both substantial daily attendance and shorter blocks.

Early Bird Session runs from 8am to 9am, Lunch Club from noon to 1pm, After School from 4pm to 5pm and After School Extended from 5pm to 6pm. These separately named blocks matter when comparing a daily booking with a combination of sessions. Visits are offered through the nursery's contact route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for three- and four-year-olds, with two-year-old funding subject to eligibility. The funding information describes up to thirty hours weekly and a fifteen-hour arrangement spread across two, three or five days, subject to session availability; funding for three-year-olds begins in the term after their third birthday. These are attendance options subject to the stated conditions, rather than a guarantee of entitlement for an individual family.

Private daily and session bookings are also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the funding and fees information includes a refundable registration and administration charge, a full term's notice or payment in its place, and no refunds for sickness or holidays.

Uniform is compulsory for children aged three to five. That is a practical part of preparing for attendance, alongside choosing the booking pattern.

• Care for the youngest children. The current age range starts at nine months, while the February 2023 activity examples concern older children. On a visit, ask how sleep, settling and daily care are organised for babies.
• Time to respond. The February 2023 improvement priority was staff interaction, including allowing children longer to answer. A visit offers a useful opportunity to observe the pace of adult-child conversation.
• Uniform expectations. Children aged three to five wear compulsory uniform. Include clothing preparation in your plans for starting.
• Booking commitment. Daily attendance and shorter sessions serve different routines, but the terms require a full term's notice or payment instead. Read the written quotation and notice terms together before committing.

Coteswood suits families seeking either daily childcare or separate morning and afternoon attendance, with weekly nature exploration and regular community trips as part of the offer. Famly App, scheduled parent meetings and individual educational plans provide concrete ways to share information and respond to children's needs. The February 2023 Good judgement gives a clear inspection reference point; its communication improvement priority remains a useful question about practice. For families choosing care from nine months, understanding the youngest children's daily arrangements deserves particular attention.