St Bernards Day Nursery

A living willow tunnel, a garden carpentry bench and a quiet room linked to the youngest children's space give St Bernards Day Nursery a character beyond its town-centre setting. This Hinckley nursery combines three age-related rooms with places to explore, make things and rest. The contrast matters: active play and quieter moments each have a physical space of their own.

At its 4 March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The strengths included practical learning and relationships with staff, while the improvement priorities concerned preschool group discussions: drawing quieter children into activities and helping children listen rather than talk over one another.

The nursery has capacity for 30 children, with care extending from birth towards school age. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions give families different attendance patterns; the detail belongs alongside the opening hours below.

Rooms and Ages

The Little Wrigglers accommodates children from birth to 20/24 months, with sensory activities and play zones for both mobile and immobile babies, plus a direct connection to a quiet room for sleep and rest. That adjoining space is a useful practical detail for families weighing how daytime sleep fits around play.

The Little Explorers serves the toddler stage, with opportunities for mark making, construction and pretend play alongside creative activities and sand and water exploration. Here, the emphasis moves towards trying things out and expressing ideas through materials, rather than relying on spoken language alone.

The Little Learners takes children from 36 months to school age, with spaces for books, mathematics, construction, ICT and role play, plus a cosy pod for relaxation. Adult-guided experiences sit alongside activities children choose themselves, allowing their interests to shape part of the day.

Across these rooms, the EYFS provides the framework for learning, development and care: children learn through play, conversation and practical experiences. The rooms give that framework different expressions as children grow. A baby's sensory exploration develops into toddler experimentation and, later, more independent choices about what to make or investigate.

Learning and Activities

In March 2024, babies practised scooping sand and tipping it into containers, while toddlers used tweezers to lift pom-poms. These were small, purposeful tasks that exercised hand control. Language also ran through the activities: babies heard words repeated, and preschool children encountered new vocabulary while handling and smelling herbs.

Children's interests could change the resources staff offered. In March 2024, an interest in making drinks led to a pretend drinks machine in the preschool room, giving children another way to develop their imaginative play. The same dated account showed children using chalk drawings to explore differences in people's hair colours. Learning was connected to things children could handle, notice and talk about.

Outdoor and Community Life

The rear garden extends the indoor learning spaces into a more physical setting. A water pump table and large sand pit support hands-on exploration; the carpentry bench introduces making, while tyres provide opportunities for balancing. A growing area, willow tunnel and dome give children living materials to investigate, and the under cover mud kitchen adds another setting for pretend play.

Quieter outdoor experiences have their place too, including a story area and opportunities to observe the bug hotel and nursery pet corner. In March 2024, children helped care for the tortoises Effy and Hugo, learning how to feed and handle them kindly. Animal care made consideration for another living creature something children could practise.

Settling began beyond the nursery in March 2024: staff visited children at home before they started, allowing them to meet a familiar adult in their own surroundings. The daily relationships described at that time were equally concrete, from babies enjoying peekaboo to toddlers receiving verbal help with sharing toys. Familiarity was built through ordinary interactions.

Key workers in The Little Explorers maintain relationships with children and their parents and support children's learning. In March 2024, staff also shared information about development with families and offered workshops on first aid and preparing healthy meals. Those workshops connected nursery care with practical matters at home, rather than making parent communication solely about what happened that day.

At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator understood how to support children with SEND, including through social communication groups, but identified weaker interaction with some less confident preschool children during planned group activities. That is an important distinction for parents: a support mechanism existed, while participation in everyday group learning still needed attention.

Rest has several settings. The Sleep Room provides cots or mattresses and individual linen, toddlers have a quiet resting area, and the first-floor Sensory Room combines soft play with sensory equipment for small groups. In March 2024, staff monitored sleeping children regularly and checked room temperature. The physical provision and the dated care routines address different parts of the same need.

Preparation for school was practical in March 2024. Preschool children practised dressing for physical activities and serving their own lunch. These experiences gave them opportunities to manage everyday tasks themselves, rather than treating school preparation only as learning new words or numbers.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 6 Clarendon Road, Hinckley, LE10 0PL. Opening hours are 7.15am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round operation and closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

Booking patterns include morning sessions, afternoon sessions and full days; full-time attendance consists of five full days. This gives families a choice between part-day attendance and a working-week pattern. Before and after school care includes an escorted transfer service, and a holiday club operates outside term time.

Applications use a completed application form, submitted through the contact form or by email. A separate enquiry form lets families indicate their preferred weekdays. These are clear routes for starting the application process, without implying a place has been reserved.

Funding and Paid Extras

In March 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. That dated participation should be kept separate from the private attendance patterns described above. For paid care, the full-day and five-full-day patterns include meals, snacks and drinks in the fee; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Food is prepared each day from fresh produce, with weekly menus displayed for families and drinking water accessible throughout the day. Special diets are accommodated on request, making the individual dietary discussion important for children who need it.

• Quieter preschool children. In March 2024, some less confident children received fewer interactions during small-group activities. At a visit, ask how staff now bring those children into discussions and support listening and conversational turn-taking.
• The baby-room transition. The Little Wrigglers covers birth to 20/24 months and has an adjoining quiet room. Ask how a move to The Little Explorers is timed around a child's development and sleep routine.
• The complete funded-care quotation. Funded early education was provided in March 2024, while meals are included in the paid full-day patterns. Request written terms covering the current funded entitlement, its attendance pattern and food charges.
• Individual diets. Special dietary requirements are accommodated on request. Families managing allergies should discuss current preparation and serving arrangements before booking.

St Bernards suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance as well as full-day care, with a progression from sensory baby play to toddler exploration and preschool independence. The garden is a substantial part of its appeal: water play, making, growing and quieter storytelling all have their own resources.

The March 2024 judgement provides a positive assessment, with a specific reservation about preschool participation and listening. For a family with a quieter child, the response to that issue deserves close attention. For babies, the adjoining rest space and the timing of room transitions are the more immediate decision points. This is a nursery whose practical spaces carry much of its character.