St George's Nursery, Sherwood

A pretend rocket, colander helmets and outdoor learning give St George's Nursery, Sherwood an account of childhood built around doing things. At its 18 March 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with effective safeguarding arrangements and a curriculum that engaged children, while identifying improvements needed in mathematics and younger children's communication. The strengths are concrete. So are the reservations.

Based at 16 Pelham Road, Nottingham NG5 1AP, the nursery has 81 places in total and accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. That whole-setting capacity should not be read as the size of an individual group. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings provide different ways to use the nursery across the year.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing play, communication and practical skills into the day. It is the common foundation for nursery education; the useful question here is how those experiences work for children of different ages.

In March 2025, staff planned activities around what children already enjoyed and used observations of their play to decide what to introduce next. A pretend rocket became a setting for retelling a familiar story, with kitchen colanders repurposed as helmets. This gave imaginative play a purpose: children could act out ideas rather than simply listen to a story.

Mathematics needed more consistent attention. In March 2025, activities did not reliably extend older children's number knowledge, and staff were asked to improve how they developed counting and understanding of numbers. That matters for families looking beyond busy activities to the learning those activities actually build.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily garden access gives children space for physical play. In March 2025, children practised climbing, balancing and running, with adults nearby as they attempted new movements. Drawing and other mark-making took place outdoors as well as inside, connecting large movements with the hand strength needed for early writing.

Forest School, an approach centred on learning outdoors through practical exploration, also forms part of Sherwood's outdoor story. At the branch's summer fête in July 2024, families explored its Forest School provision and toasted marshmallows over a campfire. That was a past family event, rather than a description of the everyday timetable, but it gives a tangible example of how the outdoor provision has been shared with parents.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2025, settling sessions were adjusted for individual children, helping them get to know their key person. Babies sought that familiar adult during play, while staff drew on their knowledge of children's routines and care needs. For a family starting nursery, the practical value lies in building a relationship with someone who understands the child.

Communication extended beyond a brief account of activities. In March 2025, parents received updates about their child's day and could follow development through online systems. Staff also worked with families to keep care consistent between nursery and home. This creates a useful connection between what a child experiences in each place.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that signs and visual prompts supported communication, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, but that staff needed to help younger children use their own language more consistently. Hearing an adult name an object was not always followed by enough support for a child to combine words or describe it themselves.

Everyday independence was a more developed strand in March 2025: babies practised eating with spoons, toddlers poured drinks and washed their hands, and older children worked on putting on coats before outdoor play. These are useful preparations for moving on to school. Children also talked about feelings and received consistent reminders about behaviour, giving everyday routines an emotional as well as a practical purpose.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Those closures matter when planning a recurring childcare arrangement around work.

The booking patterns have their own times: Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm, Morning from 8am to 1pm, and Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. The opening window starts earlier than the Full Day booking, so the two should be kept separate when comparing a family's timetable with a session.

Contact for the Sherwood branch is through sherwood@stgeorgesnursery.com or 0115 969 1700. Its address is 16 Pelham Road, Nottingham NG5 1AP.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 and 30 funded hours are offered on a stretched basis across 52 weeks, spreading the entitlement through the year rather than concentrating it into school terms. Private sessions are also offered. For families combining funded entitlement with paid care, the distinction between childcare hours and additional charges matters as much as the attendance pattern.

Meals during funded hours are charged separately, with different meal charges attached to Full Day, Morning and Afternoon sessions. A one-off registration charge and a deposit also apply. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, allowing families to consider the session and its associated charges together.

• Learning beyond the activity. March 2025 improvement points covered number and counting, alongside younger children's spoken communication. During a visit, ask staff to demonstrate how these are now built into play for your child's age.
• The early opening window. Doors open at 7.30am, while the Full Day booking begins at 8am. Families needing that earlier start should discuss how it fits their proposed booking.
• Funded-session costs. Stretched funding sits alongside separate meal charges, a registration charge and a deposit. Review the written quotation against the exact Full Day, Morning or Afternoon pattern you intend to use.

Sherwood suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with care across the year and daily garden access. Its March 2025 account gives substance to the key-person relationship, imaginative play and children's growing independence. The reservations deserve equal weight: counting and the quality of conversations with younger children needed strengthening. For parents who value practical learning and outdoor experiences, there is a clear basis for considering this nursery, with those teaching priorities central to the decision.