Children 1st Leicester Nursery School

An open-plan learning space, outdoor exploration and cooking with ingredients give Children 1st Leicester Nursery School a practical, hands-on character. The Tarragon Road setting combines opportunities to talk, make and investigate with care from babyhood through to school age. Its strongest details concern what children actually do, rather than a long list of promises.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, judged safeguarding effective and found exceptional support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Later regulatory action matters alongside that judgement, including repeated problems with dietary checks, discussed below.

The nursery has 123 places in total for children aged two months to five years. Business Days, Nursery days, Mornings and Afternoons give families several attendance patterns, rather than a single day length.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage brings children's learning, development and care together: play, conversation, physical activity and everyday routines all contribute to the day. Cooking provides a concrete addition. Children handle ingredients during cookery sessions and have opportunities to learn about growing them, connecting food preparation with an understanding of where food comes from.

Forest School, an approach to learning outdoors through exploration, sits among the group-wide enrichment activities offered here. Yoga and community trips also form part of that offer. These complement the nursery's outdoor play area, where discovery and creative activity extend beyond the indoor space.

Inside, the open-plan environment supports communication, independence and early number learning. That combination gives families a useful picture of the emphasis: children are encouraged to express themselves, try things and practise skills through activity.

Everyday Learning

In June 2024, babies explored picture books independently while adults added sounds and important words to their interest in the illustrations. Older children experimented with colour mixing and used tools during their investigations. These examples show how familiar materials can become opportunities for language and discovery, rather than simply keeping children occupied.

Outdoor learning also involved persistence. In June 2024, adults demonstrated how to pedal bikes and helped younger children coordinate their movements when they became frustrated. The task was ordinary; the teaching lay in breaking it down and helping children keep trying.

A learning tree in the early years room gave children activity ideas to choose for home in June 2024. It made the connection between nursery and home tangible, with children taking a part in selecting what to do next.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, children had close relationships with their key person, and staff used their knowledge of each child to shape activities and care. For babies, routines responded to individual needs: adults offered comfort when tiredness appeared and used familiar songs to ease changes between activities. The practical value is continuity between emotional care and the rest of the day.

Communication with parents had several forms in June 2024. Meetings discussed children's development, while diaries served the youngest children. Together with the learning tree, these gave families both information about nursery life and ideas they could use at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In June 2024, staff worked with parents and outside professionals to put care and education plans in place for children with SEND. This is a concrete support mechanism, involving a child's family and relevant specialists rather than relying on a general statement about inclusion.

An onsite chef prepares meals, using local ingredients where possible, and menus accommodate different dietary requirements. Food management deserves particular attention here because later action addressed individual dietary checks.

Following a November 2025 regulatory visit, Ofsted required improvements to checking food against children's dietary needs, controlling entry to the premises and keeping laundry cleaning items beyond children's reach. In December 2025, the actions were accepted as met after changes to meal checks, cupboard locks and external-door security; dietary checks had also required corrective action in July 2024. The repeated food issue remains relevant to families managing allergies or other dietary needs, despite the recorded completion of the actions.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Riverview, Tarragon Road, Leicester LE2 7ET. Enquiries can be made directly to the nursery or through its enquiry form.

Business Days run from 8am to 6pm, while Nursery days finish at 5pm after the same 8am start. Mornings run from 8am to 1pm and Afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. The shorter sessions therefore offer a different arrangement from either of the two day patterns.

Attendance operates across the year. Christmas week and two staff training days are closure periods, so those dates need to fit into a family's childcare planning.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children aged nine months and above can use the Government's 15 Hours and 30 Hours funding offer. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, with up to 11.18 funded hours a week for the 15 Hours entitlement or 22.35 for 30 Hours. Up to 10 funded hours can be applied in a day, within the regular attendance patterns.

Private fees include meals, snacks, milk and infant formula, alongside nappies, wipes, nappy cream and sun cream. Enrichment activities are also included in private fees. Funded sessions carry separate food and health-and-hygiene consumables charges, plus an enrichment charge for children over two; additional unfunded hours are paid separately. Families considering alternatives to the integrated offering can discuss their options with the nursery manager.

A non-refundable registration charge applies, and a deposit is credited against the first invoice. Prices come in the nursery's current written quotation. The distinction between included private provision and separately charged funded-session extras is the important point when comparing the total cost of an attendance pattern.

• Dietary checks. Corrective action on food checks occurred in July 2024 and again following the November 2025 visit, with the later actions accepted as met in December 2025. Families with dietary requirements should discuss how meals are checked for their child during a visit.
• Baby care and settling. Individual baby routines and key-person relationships were central to care in June 2024. Ask how settling sessions and the baby's sleep routine would work now, and how continuity with the key person is organised.
• Attendance and funded extras. Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside two day lengths, while funded sessions have separate charges. Compare a written quotation for the actual pattern you need, including food, consumables and any enrichment charge.

Children 1st Leicester suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance as well as those needing a Business Day or the earlier-finishing Nursery day. Cooking, outdoor exploration and an open-plan environment give its offer concrete substance, while the June 2024 judgement provides a strong dated assessment of education and care.

The later regulatory findings deserve equal weight in the decision, especially the repeated dietary-check issue. A visit should connect the attractive learning offer with a clear account of the care arrangements relevant to your child.