Nursery Rhymes, Knighton

Garden access runs through Nursery Rhymes, Knighton: babies, toddlers and preschool children each have a direct route outdoors from their own area. That gives the setting a clear physical character. Its connected baby spaces, toddler play areas and preschool provision serve children from 3 months to 5 years at 8 Ring Road in Leicester, with capacity for 58 children in total.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support through learning tailored to their needs. There was also a clear improvement priority: staff conversations needed greater consistency so that children's language learning was extended fully.

Signing, French and movement activities feature in the current offer. Full-day bookings run from 8am to 6pm, with funded childcare spread across the year.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Area contains three linked rooms and has direct garden access, giving babies connected spaces to explore; the Toddler Area allows movement between indoor play and the garden, while the Pre-School Area combines opportunities for independent thinking with its own outdoor access. These are separate stages within a nursery accepting children from 3 months to 5 years.

Toddler spaces contain books, puzzles and sensory resources. Painting, pretend play, stories, water and sand support exploration; children choose activities to practise independence.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS framework guides planning around individual needs and child-initiated learning, expressed here through communication, movement and everyday skills. Named activities add experiences alongside that foundation.

Sing and Sign uses songs and gestures to help babies express themselves before speech develops. Its practical value is easy to understand: a baby has another way to communicate with the adults caring for them. For toddlers, daily stories and nursery rhymes sit alongside conversations and group play that involve listening, sharing and taking turns.

The group-wide activities offered at Knighton include French Lessons for preschool children, introducing words and phrases, and Music & Movement for babies through to preschool. The latter combines familiar music with props, lights and energetic movement routines. Exercise / Sports sessions for toddlers and preschool children take place in the rooms and garden, adding opportunities to practise different movements.

In July 2025, children's interest in minibeasts became an activity making caterpillars from paper and water, followed by measuring and comparing their lengths. That is a useful example of an interest becoming mathematical exploration. Books also prompted active engagement: babies investigated lift-up flaps, while preschool children discussed story characters and important parts of the narrative.

Early writing preparation at that time included brushes, pencils and screwdrivers for hand strength, alongside recognising names and letters: practical preparation for using writing tools.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden access connects each stage with outdoor play. Toddlers practise running and climbing, adding whole-body movement to their activities.

In July 2025, outdoor play included climbing equipment, obstacle courses and an outdoor kitchen where children experimented with natural materials. These offered different kinds of activity: physical challenges alongside imaginative exploration. The garden therefore had a role in both movement and play built around children's ideas.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, providing a familiar adult around whom care and communication can be organised. Flexible settling sessions form part of the toddler offer, allowing the introduction to nursery life to respond to the child. The emphasis is on helping families and staff get to know one another before routines become established.

In July 2025, settling sessions were tailored to families, and staff gathered information about children's preferences, languages and home cultures. That information influenced learning plans. Staff also worked with bilingual families on meaningful activities, including familiar words and stories connected with children's home lives, helping those experiences remain part of nursery life.

Famly is the parent communication app used at Knighton. Parents can see daily activity, use learning journals, send messages and contribute observations from home; account history and permissions sit within the same system. This gives families a practical channel for sharing changes and following their child's experiences. The toddler offer also includes updates about meals, activities and progress.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used targeted learning for children with SEND and worked closely with other professionals to address gaps in learning. For a family needing additional support, the useful detail is the combination of individual learning experiences and professional collaboration.

In July 2025, room-specific learning goals helped staff plan children's moves between stages, with transitions handled sensitively. Everyday independence was visible too: toddlers poured drinks, and preschool children took turns serving food. Current toddler activities also encourage self-feeding, handwashing and tidying after play, making care routines opportunities to practise doing things for themselves.

An in-house chef prepares breakfast, fruit, a hot lunch and tea in the nursery kitchen, with a separate baby menu and weekly menus displayed for parents. The nursery's allergy policy restricts food brought from home, while parents supply feeds for bottle-fed babies.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 8 Ring Road, Knighton, Leicester, LE2 3RR. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, and full-day bookings use that same window. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year.

Full-time applications may precede part-time applications, and full-day or year-round bookings may precede part-day or term-time arrangements. Those priorities affect attendance fit.

Contact is through the Knighton enquiry form or by telephone on 0116 2911 642. Personal tours can also be booked.

Funding and Paid Extras

The Funded 15 hours and Funded 30 hours are offered on a stretched basis over 51 weeks, giving 11 and 22 funded hours per week respectively; part-day sessions are excluded for funded children. The universal entitlement applies from the term following a child's third birthday, while eligible working families can access the 30-hour entitlement from the term after their child reaches 9 months, subject to the stretched arrangement and full-day restriction.

Gold Package carries a weekly charge covering meals, non-food consumables and enhanced activities. Basic Care Package is the alternative for parents choosing to leave out those extras. Meals and consumables therefore sit within a separately charged package on funded hours, rather than being covered by the funded entitlement itself. Parents provide bottle feeds.

FEEE-only arrangements are subject to availability, carry no additional charges, use specified attendance hours and are allocated at the start of each term. The registration charge does not apply to these arrangements; it applies to other bookings. That distinction matters when comparing a care package with entitlement-only attendance.

Funding administration uses Funding Loop, the system for collecting parents' information and declarations. A Leicester City Council parental declaration is required for both entitlements, together with the eligibility code where applicable, before funding can be applied. Package charges are reviewed annually, with at least 28 days' notice of changes. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation. The fees and funding information sets out the package structure.

• Conversations during play. The July 2025 improvement priority concerned inconsistent staff interactions and missed opportunities to extend language. During a tour, ask how staff now adapt conversations for children at different stages of communication.
• Funding and attendance fit. Funded hours are stretched across 51 weeks, with part-day sessions excluded, and allocation may favour full-day, year-round bookings. Discuss how your proposed attendance works with Gold Package, Basic Care Package or entitlement-only arrangements, which are subject to availability.
• Food and bottle feeds. The allergy policy restricts food brought from home, while bottle feeds come from parents. Families managing allergies should confirm the current handling arrangements and how these apply to their child's feeds.

Nursery Rhymes, Knighton suits families seeking either full-time attendance or part-time full-day bookings, especially those who value direct garden access and a progression from baby signing to preschool language activities. The July 2025 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with individual SEND support and a specific language-interaction priority to weigh alongside it.

The strongest decision points are tangible: connected baby spaces, outdoor access across the stages, a key person and Famly communication. Funding requires equal attention. Stretched hours, the exclusion of funded part-days and the choice between care packages shape how the nursery fits a family's routine and budget.