Whitwick Day Nursery

A converted primary school, a library and a garden with climbing frames give Whitwick Day Nursery a character built around space to explore. Cooking, singing and growing produce add practical experiences to the day. Based in Market Place, Whitwick, Coalville, the nursery has capacity for 72 children from birth to five years.

The nursery received a Good overall judgement in August 2023. Familiar routines, communication activities and opportunities for children to do things themselves were important parts of the day at that time. The current offer includes four base playrooms, a separate sleeping area for babies and a family room supporting communication with parents.

The strongest reasons to consider Whitwick are concrete: babies have access to a small outdoor space, children can borrow books for home, and the garden combines physical play with tending plants. These are useful details for families weighing both the care environment and what their child will actually do.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room has a separate sleeping area and access to a small outdoor space, giving rest and outdoor play their own places within the baby's day. The Toddler Room provides a spacious setting with activities and resources for children to explore. In the Nursery Room, older toddlers have free-flow access alongside an emphasis on toilet training and increasing independence. The Preschool Room encourages children to choose resources and activities themselves.

These arrangements give parents different things to consider at each stage. For a baby, the separation of sleep and play is a practical feature; for a preschool child, making choices is part of the room's purpose. The building is a refurbished former primary school, with the four playrooms providing the bases for nursery life.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the required framework for learning and care here; at Whitwick, children's interests shape planned activities, with cooking, music and exploration giving that learning a practical form. Staff adapt their teaching approaches to the children. The useful detail is how an interest becomes something a child can try, talk about or make.

Make & Bake introduces children to preparing suitable meals from scratch. Boogie Mites and Mini Mites provide classes where children sing and dance to favourite songs. Together, these activities bring food preparation and musical participation into the nursery experience, giving families specific examples of the learning on offer.

In August 2023, an interest in posting letters became a preschool activity involving pretend correspondence and a red posting box. Children explored what happens at a sorting office and used numbers from their addresses. That example connects early number work with something recognisable from home. At the same time, babies used signs alongside words, while toddlers practised blowing bubbles as part of communication activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two climbing frames of different sizes, slides and a mud kitchen give the garden several uses. Children also tend plants and produce in the growing garden, bringing an opportunity to care for living things alongside physical and messy play. The outdoor space is large, and outdoor play forms part of each day.

Regular community outings extend experiences beyond the nursery. Their emphasis is on exploring the surroundings and making local connections. For parents, the combination of a substantial garden and outings matters because both the nursery grounds and the surrounding community contribute to children's experiences.

Relationships and Communication

Take-home activity cards follow children's interests, while the lending library provides books to share as a family. A family room brings together information about child development, support and local services. These are practical ways for parents to connect nursery experiences with life at home.

Photo and video updates through the nursery app provide another route for following the day. The longstanding staff team includes a qualified SENCo and an experienced, qualified nursery chef. The SENCo role provides a specific point of support for additional needs, rather than leaving families with a general promise of inclusion.

In August 2023, familiar music signalled tidying up and changes of routine. Staff responded to babies' smiles, shared favourite stories with preschool children and used distraction when babies wanted the same book. These small interactions show how relationships and predictable routines operated at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with SEND good, with individual plans and information shared with teachers before school, but identified a need for more precise language support for children learning English as an additional language and better communication between key persons and colleagues.

In August 2023, key persons understood children's next learning steps, but that knowledge did not consistently reach other staff during play. This matters to families because a child's support needs to carry across the adults caring for them. The language-development finding also deserves attention from families whose children use another language at home.

An on-site chef prepares fresh meals, and the nursery serves balanced food. Babies' separate sleeping area is another practical care feature, giving them a place to rest within their room arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Whitwick opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas to New Year. The weekday opening window is useful for families planning work and childcare together, while the holiday closures need to fit their annual arrangements.

Getting There

The address is Market Place, Whitwick, Coalville, LE67 5DT. Access is from Market Place Road, opposite the cooperative supermarket and Whitwick Carpets, providing concrete landmarks for locating the building.

Funding and Paid Extras

In August 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated part of its offer, alongside the inspection's account of nursery life.

• Language support and shared knowledge. In August 2023, staff needed more precise approaches for children learning English as an additional language, and children's next learning steps were not consistently shared across the team. Ask how these two areas are handled now, especially where your child needs individual support.
• Babies' rest and play. The Baby Room combines a separate sleeping area with access to a small outdoor space. A visit can explore how these arrangements fit your baby's routines.
• Attendance and costs. The nursery opens across the year, with bank holiday and Christmas closures. What booking pattern and funded-hours cost breakdown would apply to your family's intended attendance?

Whitwick suits families seeking care across the year who value a separate baby sleeping area, opportunities to borrow books and a garden used for climbing, growing and messy play. Make & Bake, Boogie Mites and Mini Mites give its activity offer recognisable substance. The August 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference; its findings on language support and communication between staff remain useful questions when deciding whether the nursery fits your child.