University of Nottingham Day Nursery

University life shapes the practical offer here: a purpose-built nursery on University Park for the children of University of Nottingham staff and full-time registered students. It has capacity for 67 children, accepting ages from four months to five years. Its own catering facilities put food preparation within the setting.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, while identifying improvements needed in support for children learning English as an additional language and in children's freedom to choose their play. That is the quality judgement to weigh alongside the campus setting and attendance options.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning and care. In March 2022, this took concrete form through making dough, exploring musical sounds and imaginative play: children practised measuring, encountered new vocabulary and worked together on their own ideas.

Dough-making connected mathematical language with something children could handle and change. During March 2022, staff prompted children to remember ingredients and quantities, then demonstrated a rolling pin when children wanted to flatten their mixture. The useful detail is the connection between a child's question and an adult's response. An everyday activity became an opportunity to practise a new skill.

Music also supplied language beyond the familiar. In March 2022, practitioners explained crescendo and diminuendo as children experimented with instruments and changing sounds. Imaginative collaboration appeared in another activity, when children pulled a wooden log on string and treated it as a pretend pet. These examples give parents a picture of learning through conversation, materials and shared play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest school sessions, involving exploration and creative activity in woodland, featured in March 2022. Some practitioners working with older children had completed forest school training; children investigated what a fire needed and watched its lighting from a safe distance. The activity brought curiosity and safety instructions together in a real outdoor setting.

During the same month, children could explain why they should avoid touching nettles. That makes the outdoor learning tangible: recognising a plant and understanding how to respond to it. These are dated examples of the nursery day, useful for understanding the character of the provision assessed in 2022.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2022, settling began with taster sessions shared by parents and children, giving families time to become familiar with practitioners and the surroundings before separation. Children sought cuddles and physical comfort from staff. For a parent thinking about a first nursery experience, those details show what settling and reassurance looked like at that time.

Communication extended beyond care routines. During March 2022, staff discussed children's learning and achievements with parents and encouraged story-reading at home. This gave families a practical way to continue an interest outside nursery. The exchange covered what children were doing as well as how they were being cared for.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The March 2022 findings also identified uneven support for children who used another language at home: some practitioners were not drawing on that language to help development. Room organisation presented a second concern. Gates dividing some areas were frequently shut, limiting children's access to resources and reducing opportunities to decide what to play with.

Everyday wellbeing had concrete routines in March 2022. Children used their own toothbrushes after lunch, with stories about dental visits extending the conversation about oral care. Staff encouraged toilet training with stickers and recognised younger children's achievements with applause. These examples describe the care practices of that period; they do not establish how routines operate today.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery serves University staff and full-time registered students, so that connection is an essential part of the joining decision.

The 2025–26 attendance arrangements include morning sessions from 8am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, alongside full-day and half-day bookings. Charging is by session, rather than by individually purchased hours. This matters when matching attendance to a lecture timetable or working pattern: a shorter booking still follows the session structure.

The 2025–26 contracts distinguish full-year attendance from Education Funded hours contracts. Full-year attendance excludes bank holidays, University closures and staff inset days, with early finishes for bi-annual staff meetings also excluded. Those interruptions need to fit the family's childcare arrangements as well as the usual daily timetable.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. Eligible working parents can access 30 hours a week for at least 38 weeks annually from the term after their child turns nine months; the universal offer provides 15 weekly hours for three-year-olds, with 15 hours also offered for two-year-olds where the child or parent receives extra support.

For Education Funded hours contracts, the 2025–26 options are 30 hours across three days, attending 8am to 6pm on each day for 38 weeks, or 20 hours across two days with the same daily times over 48 weeks. Funded attendance is monitored and audited by Nottingham City Council, and children must attend 85% of the hours claimed. Families may be charged for accessed or reserved sessions if the authority reclaims the funding covering them. Free hours can also be spread across the full year within the annual entitlement. Working-parent funding requires an application and supporting information; accessing funding also requires proof of the child's date of birth and a provider agreement.

Private sessions bundle meals into the fee; on funded-only attendance, families can purchase meals and snacks separately or supply food under storage and allergy-related conditions, and food from home cannot be prepared or reheated. Morning attendance includes breakfast, a snack and cooked lunch, while the afternoon includes tea and a snack.

Fees vary with staff or student status and full-time or part-time attendance. Payments are generally due in advance; the Nursery Tax Scheme allows eligible University staff using University-owned and managed services to exchange reduced salary for childcare, subject to its terms. A limited number of places carry a student rate for eligible full-time registered University of Nottingham students, and the University's childcare support scheme provides means-tested assistance to eligible students using registered childcare provision.

The childcare fees page sets out the funding and payment structure. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation. Childcare Services can be contacted at childcareservices@nottingham.ac.uk.

• University eligibility. The nursery serves University staff and full-time registered students. Establish how your employment or study circumstances fit that rule before planning attendance.
• Language and choice. March 2022 identified inconsistent home-language support and restricted access to some play resources. At a visit, ask how practitioners now support your child's languages and enable children to choose materials across the room.
• Funded attendance and food. The 2025–26 funded contract options use set full-day patterns, and meals sit outside free hours. Families supplying food need to account for the restrictions on storage, preparation and reheating.
• Closures around University life. Full-year contracts exclude University closures and inset days as well as bank holidays, with early finishes for staff meetings. Compare those interruptions with your work or study commitments.

For eligible University families, the practical appeal is clear: campus childcare from babyhood to five years, with morning, afternoon and full-day patterns. The March 2022 picture combines comforting relationships, conversational learning and woodland activity with specific concerns about language support and independent choice. It suits parents whose University connection and timetable fit the attendance structure, and who value those concrete experiences while taking the improvement points seriously.