Chestnut Nursery School, St Nicholas House

A large renovated garden and a sensory room give St Nicholas House two concrete attractions for families choosing childcare in North Walsham. Chestnut Nursery School, St Nicholas House accepts children from birth to four and has 74 places in total. That is whole-nursery capacity, rather than the size of an individual group.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its inspection on 16 June 2021. The practical offer combines year-round attendance with morning, afternoon and full-day bookings, so families can choose between different lengths of nursery day.

The garden provides space for outdoor activities, while the sensory room and its resources add a separate indoor feature. Together, these give parents something tangible to weigh alongside the attendance options.

Stories and community participation feature in the nursery's recent past. In July 2025, a Secret Reader visit brought a masked storyteller into nursery to share The Gruffalo and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. The surprise visitor gave familiar books a different presentation. During the same period, children and staff participated in the North Walsham Funday Parade, walking its route and handing out goody bags. These are examples of experiences beyond everyday play, rather than promises of a regular visiting or outings schedule.

Halloween activities in 2025 included making crafts to take home and scooping and carving pumpkins. Children's pumpkins joined contributions from families in a display outside the nursery. It was a practical activity with something to share at home, and a way for families to contribute to a nursery celebration.

The manager holds the Designated Safeguarding Lead role. This identifies responsibility for safeguarding within the nursery; it should be considered separately from the dated overall inspection judgement.

Parent Zone supports the administrative side of family communication. Monthly invoices detail funded entitlement and additional costs, and families need an email address to receive communications and register for the app. For parents combining funded and private hours, that itemised billing helps distinguish the childcare entitlement from the extras they purchase.

Sessions and Attendance

Monday to Friday opening hours are 8am to 6.30pm. Full Day bookings run from 8am to 6.30pm, Morning Session bookings from 8am to 1pm, and Afternoon Session bookings from 1pm to 6.30pm. Half-day bookings are also offered. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, excluding bank holidays and training days, which makes its calendar different from a term-time-only arrangement.

Bookings require forward planning. Sessions cannot be swapped, and the general terms require a month's written notice to end attendance or change the number of sessions. Funded contracts specify four weeks' written notice to leave. Fees remain payable during closures and when a child is absent through illness or holiday, so the contracted pattern matters as much as the days actually attended.

Getting There

The address is 46 Yarmouth Road, North Walsham, NR28 9AT. North Walsham is the nearest station, and the nursery identifies bus routes 3, 5, 6, 11, 18 and 33. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01692 218250 or by email to stnicholas@chestnut-nursery.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes entitlements for children aged nine to 23 months, disadvantaged two-year-olds and eligible working parents of two-year-olds, alongside universal funding for three- and four-year-olds and extended funding for eligible three- and four-year-olds. Additional private hours can be purchased. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and fees page explains the charge structure.

Private session fees include the meals listed for that session: breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea for a full day, breakfast, snacks and lunch for a morning, and snack and tea for an afternoon. During funded sessions, lunch and tea are separately charged choices with a suitable packed-meal alternative; children using a disadvantaged funded place are not required to pay for meals.

Funded-only attendance attracts neither a deposit nor a registration charge. A deposit applies when private hours beyond entitlement are booked, with repayment governed by the contract and settlement of outstanding fees. Trips and additional services are optional, with charges agreed beforehand; attending a charged trip carries its cost. Payment is collected monthly in advance by direct debit, helping families plan around a recurring billing date.

Funded entitlement carries no top-up to cover the difference between local authority funding and the nursery's hourly price. This separates the entitlement itself from meals and additional private childcare. Children receiving disadvantaged two-year-old funding retain their funded place until moving to three- and four-year-old funding, even when family circumstances change, giving continuity across that transition.

Tax-Free Childcare payments and childcare vouchers are accepted. Families using Tax-Free Childcare must release payment by the nineteenth of the month so it reaches the nursery before the direct debit cut-off. Fees are reviewed each April, with six weeks' notice of changes, giving parents time to consider the revised cost and discuss their options.

• Funded day length. Funded sessions have a ten-hour limit, while the Full Day booking runs from 8am to 6.30pm. Ask how funded entitlement and any private time would fit your intended day.
• Fixed bookings. Sessions cannot be swapped, and fees continue during illness, holidays and nursery closures. Families with changing work patterns should weigh that commitment before choosing their attendance pattern.
• Your child's room. The garden and sensory room are useful features to explore on a visit. Ask how your child's age group uses them and how settling would be organised.

St Nicholas House suits families seeking either full-day childcare or shorter morning and afternoon attendance across the year. Its renovated garden, sensory room and past story and community activities give it recognisable character. The decision is also practical: fixed sessions and separate funded meal choices make the contract and chosen attendance pattern central to the fit.