Serpentine Nursery School

Volcano experiments, balancing beams and children organising their own turns give Serpentine Nursery School a character built around exploration and independence. These were features of daily life in March 2022, rather than simply activities on a timetable. Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 7 March 2022 inspection.

Based at Waterdell House in Buxton, the nursery has capacity for 57 children aged 3 to 60 months. Its inspection offers a detailed picture of how staff supported learning, from babies practising coordination to preschool children explaining their ideas.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, its March 2022 examples included conversation, physical challenges and learning through play. Babies stacked rings alongside staff, while toddlers practised using paintbrushes and making marks. These activities gave younger children opportunities to concentrate and develop control of their movements.

Preschool children's interest in volcanoes became an experiment with vinegar and bicarbonate of soda in March 2022. Pipettes, bottles and spoons gave them tools to test their ideas and explain what happened. Imaginative play also prompted conversations about pilots and flying, connecting make-believe with speaking and listening.

Physical exploration had its own challenges that month. Children tackled balancing beams at increasing heights, while outdoor games involved running, hiding and moving around large obstacles. Preschool children also talked about swimming outings. The account connects physical activity with learning to judge manageable risks.

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and reported that staff tailored settling to individual children and worked with other professionals to obtain additional funding and health assessments.

In March 2022, key persons gathered information from parents and watched children play to shape their settling sessions and subsequent learning. Staff also worked with other professionals to obtain additional funding and health assessments. Support was built around the individual child.

Dietary care was another concrete part of the March 2022 account: staff respected children's individual requirements and gave parents detailed ingredient information for meals. Everyday independence mattered too. Preschool children used egg timers to organise turns and cleared their snack dishes; toddlers helped tidy activities.

The address is Waterdell House, 3 Burlington Road, Buxton, SK17 9AR. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

In March 2022, session times ran from 8am until 6pm, and the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. That funding information belongs to the inspection period.

• An older inspection picture. The detailed account dates to March 2022. During a visit, explore how settling, individual learning and outdoor challenges work now.
• Planning attendance. The opening window spans 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures. Which booking patterns and funding arrangements would suit your child's attendance?

Serpentine suits families who value child-led exploration, practical independence and support tailored to individual children. Its March 2022 account gives concrete examples of each, rather than relying on broad promises. The weekday opening window also makes it relevant to parents arranging care around a working day. The detailed assessment dates to March 2022.