The Dolls House Nursery and Pre-school

Two Victorian houses, a children's kitchen and outings into Charnwood forest give The Dolls House Nursery and Pre-school a character that extends beyond its rooms. At 6 New Walk in Leicester, babies have their own base in The Little House, while older children have spaces for activities, cooking and shared meals. The traffic-free setting also makes the surrounding trees and grass part of nursery life.

At its December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that staff worked effectively with parents and other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The important qualification concerns communication: staff positioning sometimes made it difficult for children to see the adult speaking and respond.

There is capacity for 60 children, with accepted ages of 2 to 60 months. Full-day and half-day attendance give families different ways to use the setting, while its combination of a separate baby base and activities beyond the building is a stronger reason to choose it than any single timetable detail.

Rooms and Ages

The Little House gives babies aged 0 to 24 months exclusive use of four rooms, separating their immediate surroundings from the older children's activity spaces. Two-year-olds have four activity rooms in The Dolls House; preschool children also use four rooms, including a restaurant and a children's kitchen for baking and cooking. These are spaces for different parts of the day, rather than a claim about group size.

Large windows facing south are a feature of both houses. A garden play room connects them with an outdoor learning area, and the age groups share play spaces at the front and rear. That arrangement gives babies their own indoor base while retaining shared outdoor resources across the nursery.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage covers seven areas of learning, bringing language, movement, relationships, creative play and early literacy and mathematics into children's everyday experiences. The nursery's Curiosity Approach Framework sits alongside that foundation: its description centres on varied daily activities, with experiences adjusted to babies' ages and abilities. The practical detail is more useful than the label alone. Children make choices in their play, and the older groups have their own cooking facilities.

French Lessons take place weekly for children aged three and four, adding regular exposure to another language. Dance & Yoga Classes are also weekly, introducing movement alongside the other activities. At the December 2023 inspection, Ofsted found physical development especially effective, with babies building upper-body strength and older children practising hand control through dough, drawing and scissors.

Other December 2023 examples show how conversation grew out of children's interests: an adult expanded a child's discussion of history, while a conversation about flying introduced the idea of pollination. Singing included children's choices of rhymes and opportunities to perform for others. These were useful ways into language, although the communication improvement point means that interesting content and effective interaction should be considered separately.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest Discovery takes children aged three and four to Charnwood forest three times a year for seasonal exploration, building dens and paddling in streams. It adds a different scale of outdoor experience to the nursery's own play areas. Manor Farm Trip takes two-year-olds to Manor Farm at East Leake to learn about birds and other animals; its frequency is not needed to appreciate the change of setting.

Closer to home, outings include the museum, library, market and shops. New Walk provides grass for play and trees from which children can gather leaves, conkers and pine cones. These visits connect learning with familiar places and ordinary city life. For four-year-olds leaving the nursery, the Graduation Ball marks the end of their time there with a shared celebration.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person working within a small staff team, giving families a familiar contact as well as continuity for the child. In December 2023, staff learnt about children's existing skills from parents before each child started attending, then used that information to plan subsequent learning. That is a practical starting point for settling: the child's interests and routines can inform the day rather than being treated as background information.

Parents can telephone during the day, and Tapestry provides two-way communication between home and nursery. Families can share experiences from home that staff then discuss with their child. Newsletters and twice-yearly open days add other opportunities to keep in touch, so communication extends beyond photographs or a brief daily update.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The senior manager holds the SENCO role, providing a named responsibility within the staff structure for special educational needs. In December 2023, staff shared information with parents and other professionals when children needed additional help. The useful distinction is between having a role and putting support into practice; the dated inspection judgement above addresses the latter.

Emotions were part of the day in December 2023. Older children talked about situations that made them scared or excited, and staff drew on those discussions during a disagreement over play dough. Children were encouraged to consider another child's feelings before resolving the dispute. This brings social learning into an ordinary moment rather than reserving it for a separate activity.

A chef and the nursery team prepare food in the nursery kitchen, using fresh ingredients, with vegetarian choices and a separate baby menu of purées and finger foods. The food policy limits salt and sugar, and dietary requirements and intolerances are addressed through meal preparation.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 6 New Walk, Leicester, LE1 6TF. Opening hours run from 7.45am until 6pm, Monday to Friday, but children must be collected by 5.45pm. Families should plan around that collection deadline rather than the time staff finish securing the building.

Full days and half days are sold, with morning attendance ending at 1pm and afternoon attendance beginning then. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays, Christmas Eve and a Christmas week. Membership is tied to the weekly days booked: an absence does not allow those days to be exchanged for others.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0116 2236357 or by email to thedhnursery@hotmail.com. A deposit, registration charge and completed application form are part of reserving membership. This is a continuing weekly arrangement with financial terms that matter alongside the choice of session.

Getting There

New Walk is traffic-free, and King Street offers parking in its pedestrianised section before 10am. The parking arrangement allows five minutes and requires a nursery parking slip, so it supports a brief stop rather than a longer conversation with staff.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 30 hours for babies from nine months and two-year-olds, alongside 15-hour and 30-hour options for children aged three to five. The working-parent entitlement has its own eligibility conditions, and funding for the older age group begins in the term after the relevant birthday. Private attendance and additional days are also offered; families receive current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

The all-inclusive personal-needs arrangements cover wipes and sun cream, with disposable nappies included up to 30 months. Parents supply babies' milk feeds and any required dummies or teething rings. Those responsibilities matter when preparing a baby's daily bag.

Membership charges continue across 52 weeks, including closure days and absences through illness or holidays. The deposit is returned on leaving provided membership has lasted at least three months; the registration charge is non-refundable. Ending membership requires one month's notice, or one month's fees in lieu if leaving urgently, so the financial commitment extends beyond the last day a child attends.

• Communication in practice. The December 2023 improvement point concerned adults speaking where children could not see them clearly. During a visit, ask how staff now position themselves and make room for quieter children to respond.
• Collection and parking. Collection is due by 5.45pm, while the King Street parking arrangement applies before 10am and permits a five-minute stop. Consider how both ends of the day fit your working pattern.
• The whole membership cost. Charges continue during closures and absences, and booked days cannot be swapped. Request a written quotation that separates funded attendance, private hours, meals and any other charges before committing.
• A baby's transition. The Little House provides the youngest children's separate base, with a key person within a small team. Use a visit to discuss feeding routines, sleep arrangements and how the move into the older children's spaces is handled.

The Dolls House suits families choosing either full days or half days who want a separate baby base, practical activities for older children and outings into both the city and forest. The children's kitchen, weekly language and movement sessions, and New Walk surroundings give the day substance beyond indoor play alone.

The balance is clear: the December 2023 Good judgement comes with a specific communication improvement point, and the membership terms require careful budgeting across the whole year. Families whose schedules fit the collection deadline and continuing weekly commitment have several concrete reasons to consider it.