Toddlerz Daycare Nursery

A pirate ship with a sandpit, minibus outings to the Organic Farm in Woodford and family Stay & Play Sessions give Toddlerz Daycare Nursery a character built around play and shared experiences. This Kettering setting combines an outdoor play area with space for movement indoors, so physical activity has a place alongside books and creative work.

Toddlerz has capacity for 50 children aged 12 months to five years. Children starting here must already walk confidently, although toilet training is not an entry requirement. That distinction matters for families choosing care around a first birthday: age alone does not settle whether a child is ready to join.

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The improvement priorities concerned support for healthy choices and making group activities accessible to children of different ages. These are useful subjects for a family visit, alongside the practical appeal of morning, afternoon and full-day attendance.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning, development and care, with play used to build language, movement, social confidence and early understanding of numbers and books. Toddlerz places particular emphasis on how children learn: practitioners use interaction and planning to encourage children to make decisions, imagine possibilities and think about their experiences.

A small library, creative facilities and a messy room support books and hands-on exploration. An indoor physical area allows movement when outdoor play is impractical.

In July 2022, children's experiences outside nursery helped shape activities inside it. Conversation about a beach visit led to an indoor beach activity, including discussion of equipment used for safety in water. Play dough became pretend ice cream, giving children opportunities to compare sizes and talk about flavours. These were concrete links between familiar experiences, conversation and early mathematics.

In July 2022, scissors, tweezers, brushes and glue tools developed handling skills; squeezing a difficult glue bottle encouraged persistence.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor area includes a pirate ship and sandpit, a climbing frame, a climbing wall and tubs for planting. Children can follow seeds through to produce that can be brought inside to eat. The soft play surface adds another physical detail to an outdoor space used daily.

Outings extend that experience beyond the nursery. Daily trips take children to parks, pet shops and garden centres, travelling on foot or in the minibus. The Organic Farm in Woodford and strawberry picking also feature in the nursery's outings, while occasional trips include Wicksteed Park.

Visits from the Fire Service with its engine and from local police with a police car bring community roles into children's experience. An Easter Bunny visit takes place annually. Wear It Pink! combines a cake sale with children wearing pink for a small donation to support breast cancer awareness.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is allocated a key person before starting. This practitioner helps with settling, observes development, plans achievable next steps and exchanges information with parents. Written observations are collected in a folder that goes home each term, and parents can look at it at other times.

Settling begins with two taster sessions, each lasting an hour; a parent stays for the opening 30 minutes of the first. Families can request a home visit from the future key person through the application form. If a child remains upset despite additional support during the initial hour, parents are contacted to collect them, and shorter attendance may follow during the early days or weeks.

Family Stay & Play Sessions run through the year, allowing parents and children to take part together. In July 2022, parents also reported receiving regular updates about development and described positive experiences of settling.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Where a child has difficulty with learning, the nursery arranges a discussion with parents and its special needs coordinator, followed by an Individual Education Plan tailored to the child's development. Additional staff may work alongside children with special educational needs.

Access control restricts entry and exit, with staff escorting parents and other visitors; CCTV covers indoor and outdoor areas.

Snacks and lunches are freshly prepared each day, with vegetarian choices at meals and a menu that rotates over three weeks and changes seasonally. Parents provide details of dietary or religious requirements, and may supply a packed lunch in an insulated box with an ice pack, although the lunchtime charge remains payable.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Full-day care spans that window, and non-funded sessions for children aged two and over include mornings from 9am to noon, afternoons from 1pm to 4pm, and a day from 9am to 4pm. Longer half-day options run from 9am to 1pm or noon to 4pm. The distinction is useful: a morning session finishes before lunch, while the longer morning option includes the lunchtime hour.

Additional time before 9am or after 4pm is charged separately. The nursery also offers an out-of-school club from 7.30am to 9am and from 4pm to 5pm, with separate charges. Nursery care and holiday or out-of-school provision have different age boundaries, so the latter should not be mistaken for an extension of the nursery's main age range.

Toddlerz operates through the year, including school holidays, closing on bank holidays and for a week between Christmas and New Year. Five staff-training days also take place during the year, with dates announced at the beginning of the academic year. Applications can be submitted at any time and enter a waiting list; allocation does not follow a first-come order.

Getting There

The address is Behind 27 Crown Street, Kettering, NN16 8QA, near the town centre off Rockingham Road. Crown Street runs one way, and the nursery occupies a gated complex beyond King Street. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form, and visits can be arranged.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour entitlement for eligible three- and four-year-olds, beginning in the term following their third birthday, funding for eligible two-year-olds and the 30-hour offer for eligible working families. The 15-hour arrangement can run over 38 weeks, or stretch to 11 hours across 51 weeks; funded attendance is accepted on both 38- and 51-week patterns. The funding offer does not override the nursery's starting age or confident-walking requirement.

For private attendance, snacks are included in the morning and afternoon session prices, and the 9am to 4pm day includes snacks and a two-course meal. Funded attendance carries a contribution towards food, activities and consumables. Parents also supply nappies, wipes and nappy bags, so the contribution does not replace those items from home.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. An administration charge applies when reserving a place, and four weeks' leaving notice is required. Non-funded booked sessions remain chargeable when a child is absent, including illness and holidays.

• Starting readiness. Admission begins at 12 months, but children must walk confidently. How would the taster sessions and any shorter initial attendance fit your child's stage and your working arrangements?
• Participation and food choices. In July 2022, older or more confident children sometimes took over group play, and lunchtime encouragement to eat vegetables was inconsistent. Ask how activities now include younger children and how staff support healthy choices during meals.
• Year-round commitments. Non-funded absences are chargeable, four weeks' notice is required, and closure dates include training days. Consider these terms alongside your holiday plans before choosing a booking pattern.
• Funded extras and personal care. Contributions cover food, activities and consumables, while nappies and wipes come from home. A visit is a useful opportunity to discuss the proposed funded schedule, the contribution and any dietary requirements together.

Toddlerz suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as those needing a full day, with outdoor play and community outings forming a substantial part of the experience. The pirate ship, planting tubs, indoor movement space and minibus trips give that offer tangible substance.

The key-person arrangements and adaptable settling process are useful for children beginning nursery, provided they meet the confident-walking condition. The July 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference; participation in group activities and encouragement around healthy food choices remain the clearest areas for families to explore. Attendance charges and funded contributions deserve equal attention when deciding whether the nursery fits everyday family life.