Mindful Me Nursery

A garden divided between younger children and preschool children, weekly forest sessions and practical help with big feelings give Mindful Me Nursery on Liberty Road its character. Outdoor play and emotional development are the clearest threads here. The Leicester setting cares for children from birth to 60 months, with a baby room, toddler room and Preschool.

At the 13 March 2026 inspection, Ofsted awarded Strong standard for achievement, inclusion and children's welfare and wellbeing, and Expected standard for curriculum and teaching, leadership and governance, and behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; safeguarding standards were met. That is a differentiated picture: the strongest judgements concern children's development and care, while teaching consistency, distractions and engagement with parents need further work.

Opening hours are 7am to 6pm on weekdays, with year-round opening apart from bank holidays. For families weighing this nursery, the useful distinction is between its substantial outdoor offer and the improvements needed in how learning is organised.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room and toddler room share one section of the natural garden, while Preschool has the other. This gives the younger and older age groups separate outdoor areas within the same setting.

In March 2026, younger children experimented with food colouring and yogurt, moving paintbrushes over the floor to make marks and combine colours. Staff supplied words and sounds for babies to imitate alongside their physical exploration. Messy play therefore brought movement and early communication together in one activity.

Preparation for changing rooms also featured in March 2026: older babies practised putting on an apron before messy activities. It was a small, concrete step towards managing a familiar routine with greater independence.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, with play providing opportunities to practise communication, physical skills and relationships. In March 2026, the nursery's curriculum placed emphasis on babies' language development, while small-group work addressed taking turns, sharing, size and number. These are recognisable skills children use in everyday play, rather than isolated exercises.

Visitors introduced yoga in March 2026, giving children another way to practise movement. Some children also had individual time with staff to work on managing their emotions. The learning arrangements included both group activities and support directed at a child's particular needs.

There was a limitation alongside this activity. In March 2026, distractions in the surroundings sometimes pulled children away from learning, and staff sometimes interrupted an activity so children could complete another task. Further coaching for less confident practitioners was also needed to make adult interactions more consistent. These points matter because a good activity depends on children having time to stay with it.

Outdoor and Community Life

Weekly forest sessions extend the garden's role beyond free play. In March 2026, children used tools with protective goggles and handled plants carefully, bringing practical exploration into outdoor learning.

Outdoor imaginative play also featured in March 2026. Children developed a pretend car journey into a dinosaur adventure, with adults' questions helping the story move forward. Elsewhere, children connected watering plants with their own need for water. The examples show outdoor time encompassing conversation, imagination and attention to living things.

Relationships and Communication

Mindfulness had a practical form in March 2026. Children could sit beside a familiar adult and explore a mindfulness box, use sound-making resources or listen to stories about feelings similar to their own. Rather than simply naming an emotion, staff gave children something to do while they settled and made sense of it.

Adults also allowed time for cuddles when children needed comfort. A gong signalled that play would soon finish, with visual cues added for children who needed another way to understand the routine. These examples connect reassurance with clear expectations: children received help with both feelings and the next part of the day.

Parents' evenings and play sessions were in place in March 2026, but they did not successfully engage every family. Strengthening that partnership was one of the next steps. For parents who need a more individual way to participate, the suitability of these arrangements deserves attention.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its March 2026 inspection, Ofsted found effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and strong progress, including for children facing barriers to development. Individual support plans, targeted small groups and input from external agencies formed part of that work.

In March 2026, staff brought creative activities down to floor level for babies who could not yet stand. Additional funding bought resources linked to children's learning needs and supported outings. These are concrete examples of adapting participation, rather than expecting every child to join an activity in the same way.

Oral health was another practical strand in March 2026. Staff discussed food choices during meals and provided toothbrushing materials for children whose parents had consented. The permission requirement matters: participation was tied to parental agreement.

Mindful Me Nursery is at 291 Liberty Road, Leicester, LE3 6NP. It opens Monday to Friday from 7am until 6pm and operates throughout the year, closing on bank holidays. That opening window is useful for assessing the nursery against a family's working day.

The Liberty Road team handles enquiries by telephone on 01162 878604, and visits can be booked by telephone or email.

• Time to concentrate. In March 2026, interruptions and environmental distractions affected learning. On a visit, ask how activities are now protected from disruption and how the learning environment has been organised in response.
• Consistent adult interaction. Further support for less confident staff was needed in March 2026. Ask how coaching translates into everyday practice across the rooms.
• A workable parent partnership. Parents' evenings and play sessions did not engage every family in March 2026. Discuss which communication arrangements would let you take part regularly.
• Weekly outdoor learning. Forest sessions and the divided natural garden are substantial reasons to consider Liberty Road. Explore how your child's age group uses these spaces and what a forest session involves for them.

Mindful Me Nursery will suit families who value outdoor exploration and practical support with children's emotions. Its divided garden and weekly forest sessions give that preference a concrete foundation, while the March 2026 examples of mindfulness resources and individual support add substance to the care offer.

The balance is clear. Strong judgements for achievement, inclusion and wellbeing sit alongside improvements needed in teaching consistency, children's concentration and partnership with parents. Families choosing Liberty Road should weigh both parts of that picture, rather than treating the inspection as a single overall grade.