Dots & Tots Nursery Petworth

In January 2025, puppets, pretend building and stories gave Petworth's nursery day its character: play became a reason to talk, solve problems and try again. Dots & Tots Nursery Petworth serves the Western Park area of Leicester, with capacity for 34 children aged four months to five years. At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective.

Children's interests shape activities here. Open-ended resources allow them to choose how to play, while staff add ideas that take an interest further. The practical choice is between morning, afternoon and full-day bookings, rather than a single attendance pattern.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning and care: children develop language, physical skills and understanding through play and everyday routines. Alongside that framework, the group-wide Child-initiated Learning approach uses toys and materials with different possible uses, taking children's interests as a starting point. This gives children scope to make choices rather than simply complete an adult's activity.

Sensory play, movement and making are part of the current nursery day. Children work with colour, texture and shape, and practise sorting, matching and putting things in order. These are concrete ways to explore how things relate to one another, with room for children to express their own ideas.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found communication and language teaching effective overall, but identified a need for better strategies to support children learning English as an additional language. The useful distinction is between the everyday language opportunities children encountered and the extra help some children needed to understand them.

In January 2025, younger children handed puppets to staff, who sang about them; older children used finger puppets to sing independently. Familiar stories also fed imaginative play: children used foam to join toy bricks into houses, then brought a wolf into the story. Books became something to act out, rather than only something to listen to.

Other examples from January 2025 show how staff extended play. An interest in cars led to building a road, with children working to connect track pieces; inset puzzles gave staff opportunities to offer hints when children struggled. Both examples put persistence into an ordinary activity. The adult contribution was an idea or suggestion, leaving the child something to work out.

Rooms and Ages

Three rooms provide the current indoor arrangement. In January 2025, older children used an upstairs playroom with technological devices intended to support preparation for school.

Everyday independence was visible in January 2025. Younger children practised pouring cereal using both hands, while older children selected lunch and carried their bowls to the table. Small tasks gave children responsibility they could manage themselves.

Communication with families also had practical detail in January 2025: staff sent activity photographs and information about children's food. Parents could connect the nursery day with home life, including reading the books used for the nursery's weekly story emphasis. This made the communication useful beyond a general account of how the day went.

Behaviour support needed greater consistency in January 2025. Older children practised listening, following instructions and waiting to wash their hands, but staff did not consistently help other children understand expectations or the effects of their actions. The improvement point concerned explaining behaviour, rather than simply expecting children to comply.

The cook and staff supplied nutritious meals and snacks in January 2025, and food featured in conversations about health. Rest, eating and movement are incorporated into the current daily routine, giving the day pauses as well as activity.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings run Monday to Friday. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, so the attendance choices sit within a longer operating window. The nursery operates across the year, closing for Christmas and bank holidays.

Getting There

The address is 5 Petworth Drive, Leicester, LE3 9RF. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 0116 254 0944 or by email at info@dotsandtots-nursery.co.uk; tour booking is also offered.

Funding and Paid Extras

In January 2025, the nursery provided funded early education for children from nine months upwards. That dated position is separate from the current morning, afternoon and full-day booking choices.

• Behaviour guidance. January 2025 findings called for clearer help with expectations and the consequences of children's actions. This matters if your child needs consistent explanations during shared play.
• Home-language support. In January 2025, staff were not collecting or using key words from children's home languages. Families bringing up a child with more than one language should give this improvement point weight.
• Choosing an attendance pattern. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings offer different ways to use the nursery. At a visit, what would your chosen pattern involve in session times, funded hours and charges for meals or consumables?

Petworth suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with play built around children's interests. Its January 2025 examples of stories, construction and manageable everyday tasks give that approach substance. The balance is clear: engaging play and practical independence sit alongside specific improvement needs in behaviour guidance and support for children learning English.