Leicester College Day Nursery

A garden hill gave younger children something substantial to tackle at Leicester College Day Nursery in June 2022: some crawled upwards, others needed a hand descending, and more confident children ran down independently. That small example captures the practical, everyday learning in this campus nursery's inspection account. Physical challenges sat alongside guitar-led songs, family photographs and stories brought to life with toys.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support for their development. Two improvements were required: better hygiene during baby-room snacks and more consistent teaching about potential dangers at home. Those findings deserve attention alongside the positive judgement.

Based at Freemen's Park Campus in Leicester, the nursery has 28 places in total and accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. Full days, mornings and afternoons serve different attendance needs, with an earlier finish on Fridays. Its college connection also matters practically: students and employees have priority when places are allocated.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the day through play, with children developing language, physical skills, relationships and early understanding of subjects such as mathematics and literacy. Across Leicester College's nurseries, adults organise purposeful activities while also allowing children to choose their own play. This gives children opportunities both to follow an idea introduced by a practitioner and to pursue something that interests them.

Messy activities, stories and outdoor play are part of that shared offer. Children can choose an activity and stay with it until they finish, giving independence a practical expression. Protective clothing is supplied for messy play; suitable clothes for outdoor activities come from home, because outdoor learning continues in different weather conditions.

In June 2022, music and conversation were concrete parts of this branch's day. Practitioners used a guitar for songs and rhymes, then questions encouraged children to formulate answers. Storytelling included toys linked to the story and changes in the adult's voice, helping children follow the narrative and join in familiar phrases. These were opportunities to practise listening and speaking, rather than simply sit through an activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2022, the garden hill allowed staff to adjust their help to a child's confidence: staying nearby, offering a hand or allowing independent movement. Scooters bought using additional funding gave children another way to practise coordination and balance. The physical environment mattered because it gave those skills a real task.

Family images also connected nursery experiences with life at home during June 2022. Babies showed staff albums containing photographs of relatives and pets; younger children talked about their homes using photographs of their houses. Familiar subjects gave children something personal to communicate, including those still building the confidence to speak in a group.

Relationships and Communication

A Key Person is allocated to each child under the college nurseries' shared settling arrangements. This practitioner handles the family's induction and helps the child settle. Parents initially stay alongside their child, then spend progressively longer periods away as the child becomes ready. The pace follows the child, rather than a fixed sequence of separations.

Tapestry, the secure online learning journal used across the college nurseries, connects families with photographs, videos and observations from the day. Parents can add their own photographs and comments, giving the key worker material from home to use in assessments. Email alerts flag new entries. Parent Open Days also provide an opportunity to view the journal for families who cannot access it on a device.

In June 2022, staff collected information about children's interests, abilities and care requirements when they started. They also gathered home-language information and used words in both English and the child's home language. Communication with parents included information about learning and advice on sleep routines at home, linking nursery care with family routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Applications involving additional needs are considered individually, with reasonable adjustments made where possible. In June 2022, pictures of the day's activities helped children with additional needs anticipate changes in routine. That is a concrete support mechanism: showing what comes next can make a change easier to understand.

Each college nursery has its own caterer, and families can discuss dietary requirements with that person and the child's Key Person; the shared food arrangements address religious diets, vegetarian and vegan preferences, and specific allergies. Meals are included when parents pay full nursery fees, while funded attendance carries a voluntary meal contribution and the option of bringing suitable food from home.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Freemen's Park Campus, 145 Welford Road, Leicester LE2 7LW. Full-day sessions run from 8am to 5.15pm, morning sessions from 8am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 5.15pm. Friday closing is 5pm throughout the year, so afternoon and full-day bookings finish earlier that day.

Attendance can be requested for the whole year or for term time. During college holidays, opening days and hours can change according to demand; Christmas and bank holidays are closure periods. Staff and external users pay by direct debit. Under the staff terms, each session must be booked and paid for, and sessions cannot be swapped.

The nursery enquiry form allows families to select Freemen's Park Campus and their preferred days and times. The selected nursery's manager then contacts the family about enrolment. Applications go directly to the nursery and are dated on receipt; the waiting list follows application dates, with priority for college students and employees. Applicants must keep their contact details current.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15-hour entitlement and 30-hour arrangements for eligible families. The 15-hour offer runs during term time across 38 weeks; 30 hours may be taken during term time or stretched into holidays, depending on sessions, opening hours and parents' working hours. External families using funded entitlement alone are offered the 15-hour term-time arrangement, subject to the nursery's allocation rules.

Parents complete a declaration each term for funding claims. College employees must use funded hours in complete sessions, and their allocation may be limited to the hours they work for the college. Additional attendance beyond funded hours is charged separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

For funded hours, nursery meals attract a voluntary contribution, with packed lunches and snacks offered as an alternative under the nurseries' lunchbox rules. Students receiving childcare support through the College Learner Support Fund may have meal contributions covered by that fund. Parents provide nappies and wipes for their children.

• Baby-room snacks. In June 2022, some babies put food on the floor while handling their drinks, and snack hygiene required improvement. During a visit, ask how snacks are organised now and where babies sit to eat.
• Recognising risks at home. In June 2022, teaching about dangers beyond stranger awareness was inconsistent, including risks connected with internet use at home. Ask how current activities help children understand these situations.
• College-linked attendance. Students and employees receive allocation priority, Fridays finish at 5pm, and holiday hours can vary with demand. Match the proposed attendance pattern to your work or study commitments before accepting it.
• Dietary needs. The caterer and Key Person discuss individual requirements, and packed food is subject to lunchbox rules. Families managing allergies should confirm current food handling and the arrangements for food brought from home.

Leicester College Day Nursery suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full days, especially those studying or working at the college. Its shared Key Person arrangements and Tapestry journal give parents practical ways to connect home and nursery life. The June 2022 examples add substance: music, personal photographs, storytelling and physical challenges all had a place in children's learning.

The decision needs to account for the earlier Friday finish, variable holiday opening and college allocation priorities. The two June 2022 improvement points also make baby snack arrangements and teaching about home risks useful subjects for a visit. This is a nursery to assess through both its attendance fit and those specific care practices.