Humberstone Day Nursery

Toddlers pouring their own milk, outdoor powder-paint patterns and children learning why teeth need brushing: Humberstone Day Nursery's November 2022 day combined practical independence with playful learning. Those small experiences give families a more useful picture than a curriculum label alone. This is a nursery where everyday routines have a place alongside planned activities.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 15 November 2022, although teaching needed clearer learning aims and more responsive adaptation when children struggled to understand an activity. Humberstone has capacity for 45 children, accepting children from three months, with an upper age of five years. Its address is 11-13 St Marys Avenue, Humberstone, Leicester LE5 1JA. Families can choose an across-year contract or term-time attendance.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Unit and Pre-Toddler Unit are two of the nursery's four base rooms; the others are the Toddler Unit and Pre-School Unit. Changing facilities are in the bathrooms, with a kitchen and staff room elsewhere in the premises. Separating the stages gives the nursery a physical structure that follows children from infancy towards school age; the whole-setting capacity should not be read as the size of an individual room.

The Outdoor Play Area provides a substantial space for active play and exploration. Indoor and outdoor experiences both form part of learning, so the day is not confined to activities around a table.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop language, movement and social skills alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding of the world. It is the shared early-years foundation, rather than a special programme unique to Humberstone. Activities are planned around children's interests and needs, with play, investigation and persistence forming part of how they learn.

In November 2022, younger children explored books and practised turning pages, while toddlers helped themselves to breakfast and poured milk from jugs. These are modest tasks with a clear purpose: children practise doing things for themselves rather than having every step completed by an adult. Older children's body-themed play included words such as pelvis and ribcage, giving conversation a more precise vocabulary.

Counting and comparison were also part of the November 2022 activities. A ball game introduced the idea of adding another object, while discussion about bones brought in differences in length. Outdoors, children used powder paint to create floor patterns. They also enjoyed playing in the rain with staff. Together, these examples show how language, number and experimentation could sit within ordinary play rather than being reserved for separate lessons.

Relationships and Communication

Short settling-in periods are part of joining Humberstone, allowing a child to become familiar with the nursery before moving into their agreed care pattern. Parents have daily contact with staff, regular parents' evenings and informal coffee mornings with management. Each route serves a different purpose: everyday exchanges cover the immediate day, while meetings with the key person allow a fuller discussion of development and needs.

Stay and Play lets parents join their child's nursery learning, making the activity itself part of the conversation between home and nursery. A parent support group also contributes to reviewing policies and practice. This gives families a role beyond receiving updates, with opportunities to participate and raise practical ideas.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A special educational needs co-ordinator works with practitioners and parents on children's educational or health needs. Planned activities can be adjusted, and early discussion with families forms part of identifying additional support. The mechanism matters: parents have a defined role to approach rather than relying solely on an informal conversation with whichever practitioner is present.

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described support for children with SEND through outside agencies, visual aids and shared approaches between home and nursery. In November 2022, staff also comforted unsettled children promptly, and toothbrushing was part of the routine, with children able to explain why it mattered.

Meals are prepared by the nursery chef, with menus including vegetables, fruit, fish and dishes from different cultures. Staff sit with small groups of children at mealtimes, and preschool children are encouraged to serve their own food and drinks, extending independence into mealtimes.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and a full nursery day uses that same window. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, with a choice between a 51-week contract and a 38-week term-time contract. That distinction matters as much as the daily hours: the two arrangements serve different annual childcare needs.

Bank holidays are closures, as is the Christmas period from Christmas Eve until January 2nd. Enquiries can be made through the nursery's enquiry form, by telephone on 0116 220 2143 or by email at info@humberstonedaynursery.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare covers the disadvantaged two-year-old entitlement, the universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, and working-parent entitlements for eligible children aged nine months to four years. Eligibility remains a condition of the relevant entitlement. The funding information describes support over 38 term-time weeks, separately from the nursery's across-year operation.

Private childcare is charged through a fixed monthly payment in advance. Fees continue during sickness and holidays, and a sibling discount applies when two or more children attend. Families receive the costs of chargeable extras before registration; current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation. The charges and funding information explains the contract choices and payment structure.

• Teaching that responds to the child. In November 2022, some activities had unclear learning aims, and staff did not consistently change their approach when younger children struggled. During a visit, ask how practitioners now adapt an activity and decide what an individual child should gain from it.
• The annual contract matters. The choice is between 51-week and 38-week attendance, while sickness and holidays remain chargeable under the fee terms. Compare the contract with your family's actual childcare calendar before committing.
• Settling and the youngest room. Short introductory periods support the start of care, and babies have their own base room. Use a visit to discuss the Baby Unit's usual group size, sleep arrangements and how settling is tailored to your child.
• The full cost of attendance. Extra charges are explained before registration. Request a written breakdown covering meals, non-food consumables and additional hours for your intended funded or private arrangement.

Humberstone suits families choosing either across-year full-day care or a term-time contract, especially those who value opportunities to take part through Stay and Play and regular conversations with a key person. Its November 2022 daily life offered concrete examples of independence, from breakfast serving to toothbrushing, rather than learning confined to planned tasks.

The balance is important. A Good judgement sits alongside specific weaknesses in teaching aims and adaptation, making the nursery's response to those points a useful part of a visit. The strongest reason to consider Humberstone is the combination of practical learning, separate base rooms and several routes for parents to participate.