Bright Horizons Nottingham Day Nursery and Preschool

Tennis courts, soft play and swimming lessons give this Aspley Lane nursery a character closely tied to its setting within the David Lloyd Club. Bright Horizons Nottingham Day Nursery and Preschool combines those club facilities with a baby sleep room and a large garden. The practical attraction is clear: children can spend time in several different environments during their nursery day.

Children aged 3 months to 5 years attend, and the nursery has 91 places in total. At its 10 January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with additional needs received prompt support and made good progress. That is a dated assessment, and a later organisational safeguarding notice is material to the decision families make now.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with care across the year and specified holiday closures. Funded childcare and privately paid care are both offered.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room combines sensory resources and play equipment with a cosy sleep room, while staff aim to keep feeding and rest close to the baby's routine at home. That gives younger children space for both activity and sleep. For parents balancing a nursery start with an established home routine, the emphasis on continuity matters.

Toddlers have large rooms where they can pursue their interests and practise doing things independently. Preschool children take part in Ready for School, a programme concentrating on early writing, reading and mathematics alongside other preparation for school. A preschool teacher also works with them. This is preparation for the next stage of learning, with specific skills to practise rather than simply a change of age group.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play supports communication, movement, relationships and early learning. Boogie Mites adds music and singing to that day. Its value here is the concrete activity it brings, giving children another way to participate through sounds and songs.

In January 2023, children explored worms and their habitats, then rolled and squeezed play dough into pretend worms. The activity connected an interest in living things with hand movements and language about size. Preschool children used a book of the month as a starting point for mark-making and attempts at writing about its characters. Stories became material for their own work.

There was a clear caution alongside those examples. In January 2023, some adult-led activities moved too quickly, leaving children too little thinking time after questions and causing them to disengage. Giving children longer to respond was the required improvement. For families, the useful distinction is between an appealing activity and an interaction paced so that the child can contribute.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden has freeflow access and resources arranged for different ages, allowing outdoor play to sit alongside time inside. A Mud Kitchen and Water Play add hands-on opportunities. These are useful physical features for children who enjoy experimenting with materials and taking their play outdoors.

Regular use of the David Lloyd Club includes its tennis courts and soft play area, plus swimming lessons. The setting therefore offers more than its own garden as an activity space. In January 2023, garden play included riding tricycles and jumping in puddles while holding a key person's hand, combining movement with familiar adult support.

In January 2023, children developed affectionate relationships with staff and settled readily. Familiar routines helped them understand the sequence of the day, while adults used encouragement and reminders to guide behaviour. Those observations describe children's experience in January 2023.

Home languages also had a practical place in January 2023. Staff worked with parents on how to pronounce important words and used them during play. Children's family beliefs and festivals were included in nursery life. For a child learning English alongside another language, hearing familiar words can make participation more personal.

Meals are prepared by an onsite chef. In January 2023, the cook passed allergy information to staff before meals were served, making the handover part of the mealtime routine.

In its compliance outcome dated 22 June 2026, Ofsted reported that the provider had not demonstrated it could ensure consistently effective safeguarding across its provision and described a Welfare Requirements Notice addressing organisational safeguarding leadership, oversight, staff training and the handling of concerns across Bright Horizons, with actions due by 1 August 2026. These were organisational findings, with concerns not identified at every individual setting; the provider remained registered. The latest published position is that monitoring would follow. It does not establish that Nottingham itself had each weakness, or that the required organisational actions were subsequently completed.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is c/o David Lloyd Club, Aspley Lane, Nottingham, NG8 5AR. An onsite car park provides a practical option for families travelling by car.

The nursery opens on weekdays between 7.30am and 6pm. It operates throughout the year, closing for one inset day, bank and public holidays, and the period between Christmas and New Year. Those closures matter when arranging cover around work commitments.

Funded childcare is offered in 10-hour sessions beginning when the nursery opens. Attendance beyond that funded session is charged separately, and buying additional hours is not a condition of taking a funded place. This makes the funded session arrangement different from simply treating the whole opening window as funded care.

Enquiries can be made directly by telephone, and personal tours can be booked. Families using privately paid care pay monthly in advance by direct debit.

Funding and Paid Extras

The funding arrangements include 30-hour provision for eligible children from 9 months and at age 2, plus 15-hour and 30-hour options in the older age band. Funded entitlement is stretched across 50 weeks. This spreads the entitlement through more of the year, so the weekly arrangement differs from a term-time allocation.

For privately paid care, meals and snacks are included in the fee, along with nappies, wipes, formula and creams. On funded hours, food has a separate, non-mandatory charge that is not a condition of accessing the place; the nursery supplies consumables associated with those hours. Additional childcare hours are charged separately from the entitlement.

A registration charge applies. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which should distinguish funded hours, additional attendance and food so families can assess their own arrangement.

• Organisational safeguarding notice. The 22 June 2026 notice required action by 1 August 2026 on safeguarding oversight and practice across the provider. Before joining, ask how the organisational response affects Nottingham and what follow-up outcome has been communicated.
• Time to answer. In January 2023, some questioning moved too quickly for children to think and respond. During a personal tour, look at how practitioners pause, listen and let children contribute to an activity.
• Funded session fit. Funded care uses 10-hour sessions from opening time, with separately charged attendance outside them. Compare that arrangement with the hours your family actually needs, including whether you want to take the non-mandatory food offer.
• Allergies and club activities. The January 2023 allergy handover and regular use of tennis, soft play and swimming facilities are useful discussion points. Families affected by allergies should confirm current meal practice, and a tour is an opportunity to discuss how club activities suit their child's age and needs.

This nursery suits families seeking year-round care with outdoor play and regular access to club activities, whether they plan privately paid attendance or the specified funded-session arrangement. The baby sleep room, music through Boogie Mites and Ready for School preparation give the offer substance across the age range.

The January 2023 Good judgement provides a positive historical assessment, with a specific improvement needed in the pace of questioning. The June 2026 organisational safeguarding notice carries greater weight for a decision now. Families should weigh the practical attractions alongside the provider's response to that notice.