Children 1st Bilborough Nursery School

An indoor marketplace and an outdoor village give Children 1st Bilborough Nursery School a recognisable character: children have a post office, petrol station and village shop to bring everyday experiences into their play. These are concrete settings for pretending, talking and exploring familiar roles. The nursery occupies part of the academy site on Highwood Avenue in Nottingham.

The nursery has capacity for 95 children, with a current age range of two months to five years. At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. That judgement is a dated assessment, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision.

Practical choice is another strength: Business Days, Nursery days, School days, Mornings and Afternoons give families several attendance patterns. The more substantial decision is which pattern fits the child's routine and the family's working day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in parent terms, play and everyday routines support language, movement, relationships and growing independence. Bilborough's marketplace and outdoor village provide tangible surroundings for that learning. A pretend shopping exchange, for example, gives children a reason to communicate within a familiar everyday setting.

In August 2022, physical play included rolling balls through pipes towards a bucket, riding wheeled toys and tackling simple obstacle courses. Babies used furniture to help them rise to standing. These examples show how different stages of movement were accommodated during that visit, from early balance to more controlled coordination.

Another August 2022 activity began with children drawing pets, then moved into preparing pretend treatments using coloured liquids, funnels and pipettes. Staff introduced vocabulary connected with what children were doing. The value lay in joining conversation to an activity children already understood, rather than treating language as a separate task.

There were limits to that practice. In August 2022, some organised activities did not keep their intended learning sufficiently clear, and staff sometimes missed chances to extend children's ideas during play. For parents, the useful distinction is between an engaging activity and an adult interaction that takes a child's understanding further.

Cookery sessions now give children opportunities to handle ingredients and practise practical skills. Learning about growing ingredients also connects food with its origins. The group-wide Whole child approach is named alongside the branch's offer; the strongest concrete detail here remains the cookery activity and the physical play spaces.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor post office, village shop and petrol station extend imaginative play beyond the indoor marketplace. They give outdoor time a social purpose alongside exploration and movement, with familiar places that children can use in their own stories.

Bilborough supports Ducklings Charity, associated with the QMC Children’s Hospital School. Fundraising takes place through the year and includes sponsored challenges, dressing-up days and bake sales. This gives families a specific local cause around which to participate; it is also a practical consideration for parents who want to take part in nursery events.

In August 2022, babies and toddlers showed affection towards familiar staff and separated happily from their parents. Gentle reminders helped children practise sharing and considerate behaviour. Older children asked politely for resources, while younger children received help with taking turns. These are useful examples of relationships expressed through everyday interactions.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted described positive partnership work for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including collaboration with outside agencies and support when moving between groups and on to school. Ideas shared with parents also helped connect learning at nursery with activities at home. That finding matters for families who need adults to coordinate support across several settings.

Home languages needed more attention in August 2022: opportunities for some children to hear and use familiar words alongside English were inconsistent. Oral-health learning was also uneven, with missed opportunities to explain caring for teeth. Neither point should disappear behind the overall Good judgement. Families with a home language other than English have a clear issue to explore when considering care here.

An onsite chef cooks the meals, using local ingredients where possible, and menus accommodate different dietary requirements. Cookery gives children a separate opportunity to engage with ingredients themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Jubilee L E A D Academy, Highwood Avenue, Nottingham, NG8 3AF. Attendance runs Monday to Friday. Business Days cover 8am to 6pm, while Nursery days finish earlier, running from 8am to 5pm.

School days run from 9am to 3pm. Mornings cover 8am to 1pm, and Afternoons run from 1pm to 6pm. The School days label describes a shorter daily window; it should not be read as a promise of term-time-only attendance.

The nursery operates across the year, with Christmas week and two annual staff-training days listed as closures. Its enquiry form provides a route to contact the team, and tours are offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with a non-refundable registration charge and a deposit credited against the first invoice.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children aged nine months and above can access the Government's 15 Hours or 30 Hours funding offer, beginning the term after they reach the relevant qualifying age. Bilborough spreads those entitlements over 51 weeks: the respective weekly amounts are up to 11.18 hours and 22.35 hours. Up to 10 funded hours can be applied in a day, within the nursery's regular attendance patterns.

Private fees include food and drinks, infant formula, and care supplies such as wipes, nappies, sun cream and nappy cream. Funded sessions have separate charges for food and for health and hygiene consumables; additional unfunded hours are paid at the relevant session rate. Activities are currently free of charge within funded sessions. This distinction matters when comparing the total cost of different booking patterns.

Being on the academy's grounds does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply for a state-school place through the local authority admissions process.

• Learning beyond the activity. August 2022 practice included missed opportunities to extend children's thinking. On a tour, ask how staff now build on an unexpected question or idea during play.
• Home language and oral health. Both needed more consistent attention in August 2022. Families can use a visit to discuss how familiar words and tooth-care learning feature in their child's day.
• The funded-session total. Food and hygiene supplies carry separate funded-session charges, although private fees include them. Compare written quotations for the actual attendance pattern you need.
• School-day timing and school entry. The 9am to 3pm pattern offers a shorter day, but attendance here gives no guaranteed Reception place. Keep the nursery booking and school application as separate decisions.

Bilborough suits families comparing Business Days with shorter School days or morning and afternoon sessions. The marketplace, outdoor village and cookery sessions make its offer concrete, while Ducklings Charity gives its community activity a clear local connection.

The August 2022 assessment provides a positive starting point, with specific questions about extending learning, home languages and oral health. For families, the strongest combination is imaginative space, several daily attendance patterns and a clearly separated funded-hours charge structure.