Paper Moon Day Nursery, Forest Town

Football sessions, food cooked on site and a dedicated unit for children under two give Paper Moon’s Forest Town branch a clear practical character. This is a purpose-built nursery with capacity for 108 children aged 2 to 60 months. Its size is a whole-setting measure, rather than the number sharing any one room.

At its 16 February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That judgement sits alongside two clear priorities: better support for babies’ physical development and more consistent teaching of mathematics. Both deserve attention when weighing the nursery’s offer.

Across the year, the opening window runs from 7.30am to 6pm, with funded afternoon patterns alongside full-time attendance. That gives families different ways to use the setting, rather than a single attendance arrangement.

A dedicated under-two unit gives the youngest children their own part of the nursery. For parents choosing baby care within a setting of this size, the arrangement of that unit matters more than the total place count. Its layout, opportunities for movement and daily group size are useful subjects for a visit.

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care. In parent language, that means play and everyday care belong together: conversation, physical exploration and growing independence are part of the educational day. It is the baseline framework, rather than an extra programme unique to Paper Moon.

In February 2023, older children practised precise hand movements by transferring water with pipettes and syringes, experimenting with art materials and managing their own fastenings before outdoor play. These were practical tasks with a purpose. Pouring and mark-making exercised coordination, while dressing gave children opportunities to do things for themselves.

Books and music also featured in February 2023. Babies explored textured pages and responded physically to familiar rhymes; toddlers recreated a bear-search story using mud, water and flour. A memory book brought together photographs from nursery, home and the surrounding community, giving children recognisable experiences to discuss with staff. Conversation had concrete material to work from.

The current enrichment offer includes Mini Kixx, football and exercise sessions, alongside yoga. The funding agreement also includes weekly Zumbeanies as a charged enrichment session. Mini Kixx has the clearest explanation of what children actually do, while the content of Zumbeanies is a useful point to explore before choosing the enhanced offer.

Library visits, local outings and weekly cooking or baking activities also sit within the funding agreement’s service structure. These extend the day beyond room-based play, but families should distinguish the experiences they want from the charges attached to their attendance arrangement.

The February 2023 weaknesses were specific. Babies did not consistently receive enough help to develop standing and walking, and some preschool activities did not extend mathematical understanding as intended. The issue was how staff used the environment and developed learning, rather than whether activities existed. That distinction makes demonstrations of current practice more useful than a general description of a busy day.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted praised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including close coordination with families and other professionals. This is a dated judgement, but its detail gives parents a meaningful starting point: the support involved joint working around individual children, rather than inclusion expressed only as an aspiration.

In February 2023, a familiar key person helped children settle, and parents had opportunities to take part through stay-and-play sessions, coffee mornings and information events. A lending library encouraged shared reading at home. Together, these examples linked family involvement to children’s ordinary learning experiences, rather than restricting contact to formal progress discussions.

Daily interactions in February 2023 included staff talking through photographs with toddlers and asking questions that extended their understanding. Children also practised sharing resources and waiting for a safe turn on the slide. These observations show the kinds of small, repeated exchanges through which language and social routines were supported at that time.

Fresh food is prepared at the nursery itself. Under the enhanced funded offer, meals and snacks attract separate service charges; the alternative funded arrangements include a light afternoon snack for which a voluntary contribution is requested.

The Family App forms part of the charged service structure, covering observations, transition reports, newsletters and schedule updates. For families using that offer, it brings care and learning information into the same communication route as attendance administration.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens from 7.30am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. Its weekday schedule is Monday to Friday, with a Christmas closure of one week. These are opening hours, rather than a promise that every funded arrangement spans the whole day.

Full-time attendance is offered, and the alternative to the enhanced funded offer has two defined patterns. One provides 15 funded hours during term time, across 38 weeks, with afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. The other provides 24 hours a week across 47.5 weeks: four afternoons from 1pm to 6pm and one from 1pm to 5pm. The different finishing time matters when arranging collection.

Getting There

The address is Fulmar Close, Forest Town, Mansfield, NG19 0GG; the nursery also uses Sandlands Court in its contact address. The branch can be contacted on 01623 657 570 or through its Forest Town enquiry form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded sessions start from nine months upwards. The Forest Town funding agreement covers 15 or 30 hours, including the universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds and funding for eligible two-year-olds. Eligibility remains a condition, rather than a guarantee for every child.

The enhanced offer separates funded childcare from additional services. Meals and non-food consumables are charged separately, with sun cream and nappy bags among the consumables; cooking ingredients and Family App services also appear within that charge structure. Weekly enrichment sessions have their own charges.

Families choosing the alternative funded arrangements have the afternoon patterns set out above, with a voluntary contribution towards the light snack. The distinction is important: funded hours and the enhanced package are different elements of the agreement. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Graduation ceremonies and Christmas Plays also appear in the service agreement. These are part of the wider charge structure to consider alongside meals and sessions, rather than a reason to assume that funded childcare includes every associated experience.

• Baby movement and group size. February 2023 brought a recommendation to improve the baby environment and support standing and walking. On a visit, ask how the under-two unit now supports movement and what its usual group size is.
• Mathematics in practice. Activities did not consistently extend preschool children’s mathematical knowledge in February 2023. Ask for a current example of how staff adapt an activity to what a child already understands.
• Enhanced offer or funded afternoons. The alternatives have fixed afternoon windows, while the enhanced offer adds service and enrichment charges. Compare the written quotation with the collection times your family needs.
• Choosing enrichment. Mini Kixx involves football and exercise, while weekly Zumbeanies appears in the charged offer. Ask what Zumbeanies involves and how enrichment fits your child’s attendance pattern.

Paper Moon Forest Town suits families considering full-time attendance as well as those seeking defined funded afternoon sessions. Its purpose-built setting, dedicated under-two unit, on-site food preparation and football offer provide concrete reasons to consider it.

The February 2023 picture combines useful examples of language, independence and family involvement with clear weaknesses in baby movement and mathematical teaching. Those priorities should shape a visit. For the practical decision, the distinction between the enhanced offer and the alternative funded afternoons is just as important: the right fit depends on both the child’s day and the family’s collection pattern.