Smarties Private Day Nursery

Six babies in the youngest room, a conservatory for meals and creative play, and a garden with a science shed and insect hotel give Smarties Private Day Nursery a recognisable character. This Mansfield setting combines the scale of a detached house with separate spaces for babies, toddlers and preschool children. It has capacity for 30 children and accepts children aged three months to five years.

At its February 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged Smarties Good and found safeguarding effective. The strongest practical details are the small baby-room cap, the different indoor spaces for each stage and the outdoor equipment that supports both physical play and exploration.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside full-time attendance, with funded hours spread across the year. The choice matters: this is a nursery to consider for a shorter daily session as well as a broader working-week arrangement.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room accommodates up to six babies with two practitioners, combines tactile play resources with opportunities to practise feeding and tidying independently, and has belongings pouches for familiar comforters. That room cap deserves attention from families choosing care for a very young child. A favourite object can stay close, while the routines give babies small opportunities to do things for themselves.

For children aged two to three, the toddler room emphasises independence through choosing activities, includes a role play kitchen and reading area, and uses the adjoining conservatory for creative work and meals. Movement from the baby room can begin from 18 months. This makes the transition a gradual possibility rather than a change that has to happen on a single birthday.

The pre-school room combines child-chosen activities with whole-group and smaller-group sessions, supported by a creative area, role play kitchen and interactive whiteboard. Preschool accommodation is on the first floor, while babies and toddlers use the ground floor. The layout gives the older children their own learning space; it also makes the physical move between stages a useful part of a visit discussion.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday routines help children develop language, physical skills and independence. Practitioners observe children and use what they learn about their interests and abilities to plan activities.

Treasure baskets give babies objects to explore, while toddler group times introduce a weekly shape, colour and number. Creative experiences include baking, paint, dough and food tasting.

In February 2022, babies worked at opening locked boxes with keys, toddlers repeatedly built and toppled brick towers, and preschool children used pegs during a washing activity linked to a story. These were practical examples of hand control and persistence. Language also ran through play: staff extended toddler conversations about pretend swimming and encouraged preschool children to explain the colours they made with water and paint.

Outdoor and Community Life

A covered all-weather surface and grass play area provide different outdoor spaces. Elsewhere in the garden, a planting area sits alongside the science shed and insect hotel. These resources make outdoor time more than a chance to run around: plants and insects provide things to examine and discuss, while the different surfaces support different kinds of play.

The stage offers space for small-group work, with climbing equipment and a story telling area adding physical and imaginative possibilities. In February 2022, babies played hide-and-seek around tree trunks, and preschool children practised moving along a balance beam and over small ramps.

Relationships and Communication

A key person connects each child’s care with communication at home. The role includes recognising individual needs, observing learning and planning activities. For babies, parents and staff work together around familiar routines and readiness for toilet training. This makes the relationship useful in everyday decisions, from a comforter that helps a child settle to the next step in independence.

Tapestry is the online Learning Journal used to exchange nursery experiences and contributions from home. Daily conversations, newsletters and handovers offer other routes for communication, while parents’ evenings take place twice a year.

In February 2022, children showed attachment to staff and readily joined activities. They practised choosing their own play, removing shoes and washing their hands. Family photographs also prompted conversations among preschool children about the people important to them.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The key person’s responsibilities include identifying possible learning needs and special requirements. Parents receive an information pack and can consult the nursery’s policy documents.

Permanent staff hold current paediatric first aid certificates, and continuing training is encouraged. These are practical care arrangements; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the relevant assessment of effectiveness.

An onsite chef prepares breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks, with menus rotated and made available for parents to view. The nursery’s food policy provides for dietary requirements and allergies, so allergy-affected families should discuss current arrangements before booking.

Sessions and Attendance

Smarties is at 205 Nottingham Road, Mansfield, NG18 4AA. It opens on weekdays from 7.30am until 6pm throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Families balancing work and childcare therefore need to account for those closures alongside the regular weekly pattern.

The morning session runs from 8am to 1pm and includes lunch; the afternoon runs from 1pm to 6pm and includes tea. An early-drop-off period runs from 7.30am to 8am. Half-day attendance can use either the morning or afternoon window, and full-time non-funded attendance is also offered. Funded entitlement hours operate between 8am and 6pm.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01623 636100 or by email to smarties-nursery@btconnect.com. Show-arounds can be booked through the same contact route. Parking is provided at the nursery, which occupies a residential corner plot on Mansfield’s southern outskirts.

Funding and Paid Extras

The 15-hour and 30-hour funded entitlements are offered on a stretched basis over 51 weeks. The funding arrangements include eligible children from nine months, with eligibility documentation and a code required for the extended entitlement. Spreading the entitlement across the year is different from taking the headline weekly hours during term time, so the attendance pattern and allocation need to be considered together.

Additional private hours are charged separately from funded hours. For funded-only attendance, early drop-off with breakfast, lunch with snacks, and tea with snacks each carry an optional charge. Families should use the funding and fees information alongside a current written quotation to understand the whole arrangement, rather than treating funded childcare as including every part of the day.

Fees are payable in advance. A deposit is required when reserving a place and is refundable on departure provided two months’ written notice is given and paid for. That condition matters when planning a move or a change in childcare: the notice period and deposit refund are linked.

• Individual attention. In February 2022, improvement priorities were to match activities more closely to each child’s development and use children’s names consistently. Ask how planning now accommodates children at different stages and how individual identity is recognised in daily interactions.
• The move between rooms. Babies and toddlers use the ground floor, while preschool children use the first floor; toddler transition can begin from 18 months. A show-around is an opportunity to discuss how that move is paced for your child.
• The complete funded arrangement. Funded hours are stretched over 51 weeks, with optional food charges and charges for additional private hours.

Smarties suits families seeking either morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those considering full-time attendance. The six-baby room cap, separate preschool space and garden resources give the offer substance. Tapestry, daily conversations and scheduled parents’ evenings provide several ways to stay involved.

The February 2022 Good judgement is a useful starting point, with the two improvement priorities deserving direct attention when choosing care. For parents who value a small whole-setting capacity and practical learning spaces, this nursery merits consideration, provided the chosen attendance and funded-charge arrangement fit the family’s routine.