The Nest Nursery and Preschool

A pirate ship, a bedroom for baby naps and family groups on different floors give The Nest Nursery and Preschool a clear character. This Lincoln setting combines spaces for quiet rest with messy play and outdoor exploration. Its emphasis is practical: children make choices, investigate materials and gradually do more for themselves.

The nursery has 42 places in total and accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. Ofsted rated it Good on 25 October 2022 and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. That is a dated assessment, alongside a current offer built around Little Daisies, Buttercups and Bluebells.

Open from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, it offers a substantial weekday opening window. The strongest reason to consider it, though, is the combination of domestic-style baby spaces and resources that children can use in different ways.

Rooms and Ages

Children belong to three family groups, each based on a different floor. Little Daisies occupies the lower floor, where a living-room play space, kitchen, dining area and bedroom support exploration, meals and rest, with learning centred on communication, physical development and emotional and social skills. The sleeping space matters: quiet naps have a room of their own.

Buttercups, for children aged 2 and 3, uses the upper levels and has a room for creative and messy activities, with an emphasis on making decisions and becoming more independent. Bluebells is the preschool group, also upstairs, where preparation for school builds on earlier learning through literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world. These are stages within the nursery, rather than interchangeable rooms.

Moves out of Little Daisies take place when children are two. Visits to the next group help them become familiar with it before moving, so the change involves getting to know another space rather than simply changing rooms.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS guides learning through play, covering language, relationships and physical skills before extending into areas such as literacy and mathematics. Here, staff observe children's interests and use what they notice to plan activities, choose resources and decide what to introduce next. The early-learning prospectus explains this approach.

Loose Parts means open-ended play with materials that have no single prescribed use. Corks and drainpipes are examples: children decide what to build or invent, rather than follow a toy's fixed purpose. Natural and everyday objects are central to the resources, giving children scope to make their own decisions about how play develops.

In October 2022, younger children explored spiders through stories and songs, while older children investigated beneath garden logs. Toy vehicles in foam introduced another kind of investigation, as children examined the tracks they produced. These examples connect language, observation and experimentation to things children can handle and discuss.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor space includes a sand house, pirate ship, woodland and mud kitchen. Children can balance on logs, construct dens, search for bugs and use the pirate ship for imaginative play. The appeal is variety within one setting: movement, make-believe and investigation each have practical resources behind them.

In October 2022, outdoor activity included climbing on wooden crates and mixing water with flowers and herbs. Additional funding also supported bus journeys to woodland for forest school sessions, giving children experiences of nature beyond the nursery garden. Those outings belong to the inspection-time picture; the garden resources form part of the current offer.

Relationships and Communication

Tapestry Learning Journals gives parents access to photographs, activity updates and observations about their child's development, with space to contribute their own comments. Access is restricted to each child's parents and carers, and consent is sought before a child joins the system. This makes communication a two-way exchange rather than just a sequence of nursery updates.

In October 2022, children had introductory settling sessions and received individual comfort when they needed it. Staff also encouraged kindness between children, including helping friends rebuild constructions that had been knocked over. The practical theme was helping children participate, rather than expecting them to manage every uncertainty alone.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its October 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities included referrals to other professionals and work with parents on individual learning needs. The mechanism matters: additional help involved both family input and professional support.

In October 2022, staff repeated children's English words and sentences to model pronunciation, including for children learning English as an additional language. Everyday independence included finding a tissue, washing hands before eating and practising with cutlery. Collection arrangements used passwords for adults collecting on parents' behalf.

The baby bedroom provides a quieter place for daytime sleep, separate from the living-room play area. Cooked lunch is prepared by the nursery, with a light tea offered if required. In October 2022, adults ate alongside children and used mealtimes for conversation and practising self-care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 21 - 23 Portland Street, Lincoln, LN5 7JZ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with year-round operation and closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Families balancing work with childcare can assess that opening window against their regular commitments and planned holiday cover.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01522 575640, by email at info@nestnursery-lincoln.co.uk or through the contact form. The nursery accepts babies as well as older children, with its overall age range running from 2 to 60 months.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare of 15 to 30 hours is offered for children aged 2, 3 and 4. Eligibility remains a condition of using an entitlement; the offer should not be read as a promise that every child receives the same funded hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

The practical decision is how funding fits the attendance a family needs. The opening window, the entitlement and the contents of a quotation are separate considerations, especially for a household arranging care around a working week.

• Indoor movement for younger children. In October 2022, staff did not consistently extend younger children's interest in climbing and jumping indoors. On a visit, look at how Little Daisies supports active movement as well as messy play and rest.
• Understanding tools. In October 2022, children used equipment for pumpkin activities, but explanations of why tools needed careful use were insufficient. The important issue is helping children understand the reason for safe handling, alongside practising the skill.
• Funding and the family budget. The nursery offers funded hours for ages 2, 3 and 4 and prepares cooked lunches. For your intended attendance, what would a written quotation include for meals and non-food consumables?

The Nest suits families who value child-led exploration, separate space for baby sleep and a gradual move through named family groups. Loose Parts, the pirate ship and the woodland and mud kitchen give that approach concrete substance. Tapestry Learning Journals adds a useful connection between home and nursery.

The October 2022 Good judgement provides a positive dated assessment, with clear development points around indoor movement and explaining tool use. For parents considering care across its weekday opening window, the strongest fit is with the nursery's practical, exploratory style and its progression from baby spaces to preschool learning.