Croyland Nursery School and Day Nursery

In January 2025, ice experiments, simple signing and an earlier temple visit during Diwali illustrated Croyland's approach to early communication. At its 9 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found exceptional progress among babies and toddlers, with communication central to their learning.

On Croyland Road in Wellingborough, NN8 2AX, the setting accepts children aged 6 to 60 months and has 16 places in total. The January 2025 observations concern babies and toddlers; they give a detailed picture of that age group's experiences.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, play and routines become opportunities to practise communication, movement and independence.

In January 2025, staff added language to hands-on exploration. Children tried tools to release animals trapped in ice, while the mud kitchen gave staff opportunities to describe actions as children played. Books were chosen to connect with children's experiences, giving stories a link to things they had done or noticed.

Counting accompanied turns on the slide, and songs introduced ideas about direction. Visual prompts and simple signs supported spoken language. These examples show learning woven into ordinary play rather than confined to a separate activity. In January 2025, filling buckets with sand also prompted conversations about fullness. That gave a physical experience a mathematical meaning: children could connect what happened in their hands with the words adults used. Song games linked objects with vocabulary, bringing something concrete into early conversations.

A robin in the garden became another January 2025 learning opportunity. Staff drew children's attention to the bird and talked about its food and habitat while they watched. For parents, this illustrates how an unexpected interest could become a conversation, alongside planned resources such as the ice experiment. Children also chose books themselves and listened to adults reading, making room for their own interests within the day's learning.

Community experiences also featured in January 2025. A temple visit during Diwali introduced children to a celebration beyond nursery, while a visiting postman explained what happens to letters. Indoors and outside, climbing equipment gave children opportunities to move and solve physical problems.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and praised the work with parents, including home visits before children started and termly individual meetings about learning.

During that month, practical independence featured in daily routines: babies wiped their faces using cloths and a mirror, while toddlers put on aprons, poured drinks and helped clear tables. Patient repetition helped children understand what would happen next.

Parent information sessions covered toilet training, autism and dental care. Staff also worked with the local authority on workshops and supplied activities families could continue at home. This connected conversations about development with practical things parents could do alongside their children.

In January 2025, dental health was explored with children through pretend play, books and food experiences. This brought care for their teeth into activities they could join in with, alongside the information offered to adults. The individual parent meetings addressed both achievements and what children would work on next, giving families a connection between nursery learning and the activities taken home.

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. The address is Croyland Road, Wellingborough, NN8 2AX.

In January 2025, funded early education was provided for two-year-old children. At that time, the nursery operated on the site of Croyland Primary School. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

• Planning attendance and costs. With an opening window of 8am to 6pm, ask at a visit which booking pattern fits your routine and request a written quotation covering funded hours, meals and consumables.
• Settling arrangements. Home visits formed part of the January 2025 approach. Discuss how the settling plan will accommodate your child's routines and your family's circumstances.
• Moving on to school. Sharing Croyland Primary School's site does not secure a Reception place. Treat the nursery decision and the school application as separate steps.

For families who value language-rich play and practical independence, Croyland merits consideration. Its January 2025 account offers concrete examples of learning with babies and toddlers, from signs and stories to pouring drinks. The weekday opening window also suits families organising care around work.