Daisy Chain Day Nursery

An annexed sleep room for babies, a garden where children grow food, and monthly topics built around toddlers’ interests give Daisy Chain Day Nursery a clear character. This Peterborough setting has capacity for 30 children aged 3 months to 5 years. Its appeal lies in the detail of everyday care: familiar routines for babies, practical independence for older children and learning that parents can contribute to.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, describing positive relationships, purposeful learning and children who helped one another. Two improvements were required: closer oversight of teaching and more consistent explanations about healthy food. Those are useful points to weigh alongside the strengths, rather than treating the grade as the whole story.

Three age-based rooms organise the provision. Families can use full days or individual morning and afternoon sessions, giving the setting a broader practical appeal than its day-care label alone conveys.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for children aged 3 to 18 months, combines sensory exploration through painting and water play with changing facilities, an annexed sleep room and access to the baby and toddler garden. Keeping a sleep space alongside the room gives rest its own place within the provision. Staff also work with parents on each baby’s home routine, so the starting point is the individual child rather than a single timetable for everyone.

Children aged 18 months to 3 years use the Toddler Room, where a book corner, construction materials and role play sit alongside daily small-group singing and story activities, with garden access throughout the day. These give children different ways to participate: listening with others, building something themselves or using pretend play to explore an idea.

The Pre-School Room takes children from 2 years 9 months to 5 years, with capacity for up to 14, and brings together a loose parts station, mark making and mathematical activities with an emphasis on independence before primary school. The overlap between its age band and the toddler provision is worth discussing in relation to an individual child’s move between rooms.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, covering language, movement, relationships and later skills such as early reading and number work. It is the common foundation for early-years provision. Here, children’s interests, parents’ contributions and practitioners’ observations help shape activities, with time for both adult-led experiences and children’s own play.

Interest of the Month gives the Toddler Room a topic to explore through related activities, chosen from children’s interests or something staff think would benefit them. Past examples include Dinosaurs and Minibeasts. In the Pre-School Room, Interest of the Term works over a longer period; People who help us and Seasons are among the previous themes. These are practical ways to connect activities rather than leave a topic as a display heading.

The example preschool routine balances outdoor play and planned experiences with stories, meals and quieter time. It remains flexible around development, interests and spontaneous play. That matters for parents who want some shape to the day while allowing a child to pursue an absorbing activity.

In November 2022, younger children’s learning emphasised interaction and communication, while older children worked on language leading towards sounds and phonics. Children also explored cultures through traditional objects and cooking activities reflecting their backgrounds. These examples show how conversation and familiar experiences could carry learning, rather than relying entirely on formal group tasks.

Outdoor and Community Life

Toddlers and preschool children have direct garden access. The enclosed outdoor space includes safety surfacing and a large canopy for shade and shelter, making the garden a substantial part of the nursery environment rather than a single activity area.

A sensory area brings together textures, colours and smells, while digging and growing areas let children cultivate and harvest fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Bikes, trikes and climbing frames add opportunities for movement. Water play and a sand area offer a different pace of exploration. The combination gives outdoor time several purposes: physical activity, sensory investigation and practical encounters with how plants grow.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key worker who works with the family. Settling is individually planned, with meetings covering development, interests, needs and home routines, and individually tailored visits before the start date. This gives parents a structured opportunity to explain the small details that affect their child’s day, from familiar routines to how they approach an unfamiliar setting.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, brings together observations, examples of children’s work, photographs and videos; parents can add their own observations and images. It creates a shared account of learning across home and nursery. Monthly newsletters, parent evenings and participation sessions provide other points of contact, while room handbooks explain routines and staff arrangements.

In November 2022, children could take home learning packs containing books, puzzles and small mathematical activities. That offered families a concrete way to continue shared learning. It was also a more useful form of partnership than simply receiving an account of what had happened during the day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including accessible activities, sensitive help with emotions and cooperation with other professionals. The practical detail matters: support was built into participation and relationships, rather than treated as a separate activity.

Practitioners hold early-years qualifications at level 3 or above, and most have paediatric first-aid training. The nursery also restricts access to people nominated and identified by a parent or legal guardian. These are concrete arrangements for families to understand, alongside the dated safeguarding judgement.

The cook prepares meals daily, and the menu is displayed in the rooms. Children help with snack preparation and serve their own food, giving mealtimes a practical role in developing independence.

In November 2022, children were learning to manage tasks such as washing their hands and putting on coats themselves. However, explanations about the benefits of healthy eating were inconsistent, and management needed to check teaching practice more closely. These improvement points concern what adults do during ordinary routines, so they deserve specific discussion rather than a general question about whether children are happy.

Sessions and Attendance

Daisy Chain Day Nursery is at Fairview, Palmers Road, Peterborough, PE1 5YF. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with closures on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The holiday closure matters even for families choosing attendance across the year.

Full-day sessions run from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. Part-time and full-time attendance are offered, including individual morning or afternoon sessions, with no minimum session requirement. Additional private hours are optional.

An earlier 7.30am start can be requested and carries an additional charge. For enquiries, families can telephone, email or use the contact form. Parent parking is at the front of the building, making collection arrangements part of the site itself.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is offered for children aged 9 months and over and those aged 2 and over, subject to eligibility, as well as for 3- and 4-year-olds. Tax-Free Childcare is accepted. Funding and private attendance should be considered separately: taking funded hours does not require families to purchase additional private hours.

Ordinary morning sessions include breakfast, a snack and a cooked lunch with two courses; afternoon sessions include a snack and a two-course tea. Extras are optional, and families may bring a packed lunch instead of paying meal charges. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, with the sessions, fees and funding information explaining the booking and charging structure.

• Room transitions. The Toddler Room and Pre-School Room have overlapping age bands. During a visit, discuss how a move is planned around development, friendships and readiness, rather than assuming a birthday determines it.
• Teaching and food conversations. In November 2022, closer checks on teaching and clearer messages about healthy eating were required. Ask how these are now built into staff support and everyday mealtimes.
• Funded attendance. Extras and additional private hours are optional. Families may bring a packed lunch instead of paying meal charges.
• Settling and the holiday calendar. Introductory visits are tailored to the child, while the nursery closes over Christmas and New Year as well as bank holidays. Discuss the settling plan and fit those closures into your family’s working arrangements.

Daisy Chain suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with an age-based progression from baby routines to preschool independence. The sleep room, practical garden activities and parent contributions through Tapestry give that offer substance. The November 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference; the teaching and healthy-eating improvement points make the conversation about current practice equally important.