The City Nursery

A rooftop garden and an indoor climbing frame give The City Nursery an unusually physical character for a Leicester city-centre setting. Outdoor play takes place throughout the year, while the indoor physical area adds space for movement during the nursery day. For children who enjoy climbing, games and active play, these are substantial parts of the offer.

At its 28 October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with targeted support helping children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make good progress. In October 2024, two areas needed attention: drawing quieter children into conversations and allowing children to complete more everyday tasks themselves. Those findings matter when judging how well the activities work for an individual child.

The nursery has capacity for 160 children, with an age range from birth to five in its current provider details, but it is currently not accepting children younger than two. That restriction is the practical starting point for families. Full-day care and separate morning and afternoon sessions provide different attendance options, alongside term-time funded patterns.

Rooms and Ages

Frogs caters for children aged two to three, with choosing activities and practising independence forming part of the preparation for preschool. Potty training is supported, and families bring spare clothing so that changes can be made into familiar clothes. This gives everyday care a clear connection with the skills children are developing.

Preschool takes children from three until school age, combining circle time, show-and-tell and opportunities to choose their own play, with learning observed by a key person.

Uniform is part of the preschool routine, linked to practising dressing and preparing for school. A uniform is also offered during the toddler stage, with a welcome T-shirt included. For families, this makes clothing part of the learning routine as well as something to organise before attendance.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS shapes learning through play, children's interests and observation of their development. Here, staff use planning and observation to extend the activities that interest each child, while preschool progress is followed by the key person.

In October 2024, children experimented with mixing paint colours, while adults used questions to encourage them to think about the result. Story sessions invited children to supply missing endings, and older children acted out familiar stories and rhymes. These examples show different routes into communication: describing a discovery, remembering language and taking part in a shared story.

Named visitors add regular movement sessions. Kits Academy provides football skills each week, giving children a recurring opportunity to practise a sport. Bounce to the Beat brings preschool dance classes described as bi-weekly, using songs and nursery rhymes alongside movement. Its sessions are for children aged three to four, so this is an age-specific addition rather than an activity to assume every room receives.

Weekly preschool Yoga sessions introduce breathing, movement and awareness of the body. Children are also invited to talk about how the session made them feel. That connects a physical activity with recognising emotions, rather than leaving it as exercise alone.

Outdoor and Community Life

The rooftop play area is used daily across the year. Indoors, the climbing frame sits within a physical area used for games including tennis, football and basketball. Having both spaces gives movement more than one place in the timetable and makes the physical offer relevant beyond organised visitor sessions.

In October 2024, children practised pedalling tricycles and moving through obstacle courses. Play dough and rolling pins provided smaller hand movements, alongside creative construction activities. The contrast is useful: physical development included both whole-body movement and the hand control needed for increasingly precise tasks.

Graduation is an annual celebration for preschool children leaving for school. Families are invited to watch performances, and children wear caps and gowns before receiving certificates and a graduation pack. It gives the end of nursery a shared occasion, while the everyday preparation remains the work on communication, choices and independence.

Relationships and Communication

A key person observes and records preschool learning, giving parents a consistent point of reference for their child's development. In October 2024, staff discussed progress and next steps with families; parents also had meetings each term and opportunities to join their children for stay-and-play. Those arrangements gave parents opportunities both to talk about learning and to take part in it.

In October 2024, staff used gentle speech and physical comfort, and children's photographs were displayed around the setting. Welcome-time conversations also encouraged children to identify their feelings. These are concrete examples of how relationships and emotional understanding featured in the day, rather than a general promise about care.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In October 2024, staff identified gaps in learning and worked with families and other professionals to arrange targeted help. Additional funding was directed towards the children receiving it. This describes a mechanism for support: noticing a need, involving the relevant adults and deciding what help to put in place.

Physical access includes a ramp at the front and a lift linking the basement with the rooftop garden; visible fire alarms are also provided. These features are relevant to children, parents and visitors with disabilities, although a family's particular access needs should shape the visit.

The two improvement priorities concern ordinary moments as much as organised activities. In October 2024, some quieter children received insufficient encouragement to contribute, and adults sometimes stepped in to handle drink bottles or serve snacks when children could have tried themselves. A busy, enjoyable day still needs space for a hesitant child to speak and time for another to finish a task.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 18 Northampton Square, Leicester, LE1 1PA. Opening hours are Monday to Thursday, 8am to 4.45pm. Full Day Care runs from 8am to 4.45pm; Part Time - Morning runs from 8am to 1pm, and Part Time - Afternoon from 1pm to 4.45pm.

Funded attendance has its own timetable: the 15-hour pattern is two days each week from 9am to 4.30pm, while the 30-hour pattern is four days at those times. Both run over 38 weeks. These patterns should be considered separately from the privately paid sessions when planning childcare around work.

Visits can be booked with the team by telephone or through the Book A Visit route. The current restriction on accepting children younger than two takes precedence over the wider age range when making an enquiry.

Funding and Paid Extras

Free Early Education Entitlement, abbreviated to FEEE, is offered through arrangements covering working parents from nine months, two-year-olds, and children aged three and four; the applicable entitlement depends on eligibility. The nursery's funded delivery is term-time, using the attendance patterns above. Additional paid sessions can also be booked.

Private full-day care includes a morning snack, dinner with pudding, and tea; morning sessions include the snack and dinner with pudding, while afternoon sessions include tea. Funded hours have a separate contribution towards meals and non-food consumables, including uniform, so the private-session inclusion should not be assumed to apply to funded attendance.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Starting age. Children younger than two are currently not being accepted. Families seeking baby care should take that restriction into account before arranging a visit.
• Quieter children and independence. The October 2024 priorities concerned participation in discussions and adults completing tasks too quickly. At a visit, ask how a hesitant child is included and how staff give children time to manage snacks, drinks and dressing themselves.
• Different attendance clocks. Private sessions and funded days have different start and finish times, and opening is Monday to Thursday. Match the actual pattern to working hours rather than treating every booking as the same day.
• Funded contributions. Meals and uniform are included in the contribution associated with funded hours. Request a written quotation separating funded attendance, additional private sessions and these contributions.

The City Nursery suits families seeking either full-day care or shorter morning and afternoon attendance, particularly those whose children enjoy active play. The rooftop garden, indoor climbing frame and recurring football, dance and yoga sessions give that judgement practical substance.

For eligible families, the term-time funded patterns offer another way to organise attendance. The balance to weigh is between these concrete opportunities and the October 2024 priorities around quieter voices and everyday independence. Its strongest appeal is an active nursery day; the most useful visit will test how that day works for the individual child.