Cherubs Executive House

Weekly outdoor exploration and preschool sports give Cherubs Executive House a day that reaches beyond the playroom. Explorers sessions bring children into contact with nature, while sports coaching introduces football, fencing and cricket. This Bulwell nursery combines physical activity with practical learning and space for children to choose their own play.

At its October 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. Two improvements were required: adapting group activities more carefully for quieter or less confident children, and making communication with parents more consistent. Those points matter alongside the positive judgement.

Cherubs Executive House cares for children aged 1 to 60 months at Executive House, St Albans Road, Bulwell, Nottingham, NG6 9FT. It opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Unit centres on exploration, with its environment arranged to encourage young children to investigate their surroundings. In the Toddler Unit, adult-led activities sit alongside imaginative play, creative work, physical challenges and quieter periods, giving children opportunities both to join in and to follow their interests.

Pre-School has an open layout, resources children can reach themselves and opportunities to serve their own food, while a more organised daily rhythm introduces routines in preparation for school. The practical emphasis is independence: children have things they can do for themselves, rather than relying on an adult for every step.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS connects learning with children's development and care; here, play and practical activities bring its areas of learning into the day. Cherubs' group-wide approach draws on Montessori, Hygge, Reggio and Forest School, combining influences on how rooms are arranged, the day's structure and staff-led learning. These are influences alongside the EYFS, rather than a replacement for it.

Explorers makes the outdoor element concrete. These weekly sessions use the nursery or the surrounding community for discovering nature through exploration, building and hiding. The point for families is the recurring opportunity to learn through doing, with natural surroundings becoming part of children's play.

Weekly Sports Coaching gives preschool children an introduction to football, fencing and cricket. Its activities are adapted for their age, so this is an early encounter with movement and different sports rather than formal competitive training.

In October 2022, babies investigated the garden with magnifying glasses and used spades during sand play, with adults adding simple words to their actions. Toddlers weighed ingredients for cakes, linking numbers with a practical task. Preschool children mixed their own play dough and experimented with colour, then used spray bottles while planting seeds. These examples show how language, handling tools and early mathematical ideas could meet within an activity.

The limitation was participation in planned group work. In October 2022, staff did not consistently change activities to match individual children's development, especially for those who were quieter or less confident. An engaging activity is only useful if the child can take part at the right level.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden accommodates climbing, energetic play and stories, with its daily arrangement responding to children's interests. It gives outdoor time more than one purpose: movement and quieter experiences can both belong there.

In October 2022, children also made regular visits to a local care home and explored differences through activities such as painting self-portraits. Diwali celebrations reflected the backgrounds of children attending. Those experiences connected learning about other people with relationships and activities children could understand.

Relationships and Communication

In October 2022, children approached staff for comfort and included adults in their play. Staff encouraged manners, sharing and turn-taking, with extra help for children who needed it. Everyday interactions carried much of the social learning.

Blossom Educational Software now provides an electronic account of children's learning and nursery experiences. Parents can view it through a smartphone app and add their own contributions, creating a way to connect nursery experiences with home. It supports a continuing conversation, rather than limiting information to a brief handover.

Communication still deserves attention. In October 2022, meetings and daily feedback were part of parent contact, but information about children's development and nursery life did not reach families consistently. The relevant issue is the reliability and usefulness of updates, rather than simply whether an app exists.

The Family Room adds a practical parent space for informal meetings, breastfeeding and other family needs requiring privacy. Parents can also use it for a hot drink or some work while waiting for their child. That is a useful physical provision alongside digital communication.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children with additional needs made good progress, with the special educational needs coordinator and management working with other professionals and supporting individual target plans. This gives families a concrete picture of the support arrangements at that date, rather than a general promise about inclusion.

In October 2022, everyday care also included practising handwashing, learning about toothbrushing through toy dinosaurs and using tongs to serve salad. These were small, practical opportunities to develop independence and understand hygiene.

The childcare team receives paediatric first aid and safeguarding training. These arrangements sit alongside the dated safeguarding judgement; training itself is not a separate judgement of effectiveness.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Families needing care around those closures will need to build them into their annual plans.

A tour can be booked directly with Cherubs Executive House, and the nursery can be contacted on 0115 9795975. The address is Executive House, St Albans Road, Bulwell, Nottingham, NG6 9FT.

Getting There

Bus and train connections serve Nottingham and destinations beyond it, while access to the A60 and M1 makes the location relevant to commuting families as well as those living nearby. The practical fit depends on the family's actual route and the nursery's opening window.

Funding and Paid Extras

In October 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation, so the useful comparison is the complete cost of the intended attendance pattern.

An on-site chef prepares meals, with menus changing through a three-week seasonal cycle and Meat Free Monday forming part of the food offer. Dietary provision includes allergies, intolerances and cultural or lifestyle preferences; families affected by allergies should discuss current arrangements during a visit.

• Quieter children's participation. The October 2022 improvement requirement concerned adapting group activities for individual development. During a visit, ask how staff help a hesitant child join in and how they change an activity that is too difficult.
• Useful parent updates. Blossom provides a way to view and contribute to children's learning, while October 2022 feedback identified inconsistent communication. Ask how developmental updates and nursery news reach parents reliably alongside daily care information.
• The complete attendance cost. Opening hours extend from 7.30am to 6pm across weekdays. Ask which booking patterns and funded arrangements fit your proposed timetable, and request a written quotation separating private hours, food and non-food consumables.
• Dietary arrangements. A chef prepares food on site and the nursery caters for dietary requirements. For a child with an allergy, confirm the current meal arrangements and how their needs are handled before joining.

Cherubs Executive House suits families who value regular outdoor exploration, practical learning and preschool physical activity, with a weekday opening window that can accommodate working parents. Explorers, Sports Coaching and the Family Room give that proposition concrete substance.

The October 2022 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific concerns about group participation and parent communication. For families choosing this nursery, the most useful visit conversation will connect those issues with their own child's confidence, development and the information they need from staff.