St Andrew's Day Nursery

Fruit and vegetables grown by the children reach the nursery kitchen, babies have a garden of their own, and communication includes signs as well as speech. St Andrew's Day Nursery in Shilton combines practical exploration with carefully described support for children and parents. Its appeal lies in the detail: gardening connects with mealtimes, while quieter spaces give children somewhere to pause when a busy room becomes too much.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 26 June 2024. It has capacity for 53 children, accepting children from eight months to under five. The Baby Room, Toddler Room and Preschool Room organise the progression through nursery, with a Sensory Room shared across ages.

Full days, mornings and afternoons are offered. That choice matters for parents arranging work and care, but the educational character deserves equal attention: child-led exploration sits alongside adult-supported activities, and communication with families continues through settling, everyday updates and preparation for school.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for eight months to two years, combines an adaptable open-plan space with a separate garden and sensory exploration through messy play, music, animal models and construction toys. Younger babies can have an area set aside when the room contains children at different stages of development. The arrangement gives babies outdoor experiences suited to their stage rather than requiring them to share the older children's garden.

For children aged two to three, the Toddler Room emphasises independence and friendships, introducing adult-led group activities through stories, music, movement and picture cards. Play remains central. The change is in how adults extend it: children still investigate their interests, while group time creates opportunities to listen, join in and learn alongside others.

The Preschool Room, for three to five, links preparation for school with practical independence, including managing coats, shoes, cutlery and toileting. Toddlers and preschool children share the larger outdoor area. These are everyday skills with a clear purpose: preparing for school includes being able to manage familiar routines, rather than simply practising classroom tasks.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and development, covering communication, movement, relationships, early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Here, those areas take shape through play, seasonal exploration, stories and music; the framework itself is the shared foundation for early years education.

In The Moment Planning adds a particular way of organising learning: practitioners respond to what interests a child as play unfolds, then help develop the idea further. Scaffolding Learning describes the complementary adult role, offering support with a task that a child cannot yet manage independently. Together, these approaches make room for a child's own ideas while giving adults a clear teaching role. The emphasis is on responding thoughtfully, rather than leaving exploration unsupported.

Makaton, a visual communication approach using signs, is taught through songs and group activities, with a sign of the week for children and staff to learn. It gives communication a place in shared nursery activities as well as individual support. Cooking also forms part of the weekly routine in every room, bringing textures, hand movements and food into children's learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Growing Area connects planting with something children can recognise on their plates: they help harvest produce, wash it and take it to the kitchen. In the Mud Kitchen, open-ended materials support pretend cooking, digging and mixing. These spaces give outdoor play different purposes, from caring for living things to experimenting with materials and imagining what they might become.

An annual hatching programme brings chick or duck eggs into an incubator so children can follow hatching and growth. Cookie and Cream, the nursery's guinea pigs, provide another opportunity to take part in animal care, with families able to take them home at weekends. These experiences make caring for animals concrete.

The yearly Easter Bonnet Parade involves families making bonnets with their children before the parade and competition. An annual Halloween party takes place at the village hall, while occasional visits to St. Andrew's church extend experiences beyond the nursery. Family involvement is part of this calendar, giving parents opportunities to share activities with their children.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with Stay and Play Sessions, which gradually introduce children to nursery routines and relationships. A key person is chosen according to whom the child naturally connects with, and takes responsibility for observing development and sharing information with parents. That makes the relationship responsive to the child, rather than simply assigning an adult before anyone has met.

An All About me booklet gathers information about preferences and personal needs. Everyday conversations, calls and emails sit alongside newsletters and two parents evenings each year, giving families both routine contact and planned opportunities to discuss development. The useful distinction is between hearing what happened today and having time to consider what comes next.

Famly is the digital learning journal and communication platform, allowing staff to share observations, photographs and videos and parents to contribute milestones from home. Traditional documentation is also offered. Families can therefore take part in the learning conversation through a format that works for them, while achievements outside nursery can inform what staff do next.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found exceptionally effective SEND support, rapid progress including for children with SEND, and effective safeguarding arrangements. Current support mechanisms include a SENCO who works with parents, practitioners and outside professionals, including speech and language services, health visitors and the Integrated Disability Service. This gives families a defined route for discussing developmental concerns and coordinating support.

The Regulation Station is a calming area within each room, with resources such as playdough, bubbles, fidget toys and books about feelings. Staff adapt its contents to children's interests and needs, and use finger-tracing activities to support breathing and calming. An Emotional Wellbeing worker also supports staff and families, including meetings to review strategies. The emphasis is on helping children express feelings and manage them with adult support.

Moving lights, soothing sounds and tactile materials distinguish the Sensory Room from the busier base rooms. It offers a separate place for children who need a calmer experience. Its value is practical: a child can pause and explore sensory materials with a familiar adult or friends.

Sleep arrangements include cots for younger children and mattress beds for older ones, with an adult supervising sleeping children. The sleep policy follows Lullaby Trust advice. Staff receive paediatric first aid, child protection and food safety training, and designated safeguarding lead roles provide routes for raising concerns.

A School Readiness Co-ordinator supports the move to school, alongside a transition meeting for parents and contact with the child's future teacher through a visit or conversation. Photographs of the school and teachers, stories about starting school and discussions of routines help make the next setting familiar. This is preparation for the move, with practical independence running alongside emotional preparation.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Church Road, Shilton, Warwickshire, CV7 9HW. Full-day attendance runs from 7.45am to 5.45pm; the morning session is 7.45am to 1pm, and the afternoon session is 1pm to 5.45pm. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7.45am to 5.45pm, across 50 weeks of the year.

Bank holidays and the Christmas period are closures, with reopening on 2 January or the following working day. Exceptional weather can also lead to closure, with families notified through email and Famly. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children from nine months can use the 15 and 30 hours free childcare entitlements. Funding can be taken over 38 weeks or spread as reduced weekly hours across 50 weeks. Tax-Free Childcare is accepted, and EYPP and DAF can be claimed where applicable; these arrangements retain their eligibility conditions.

Meals and healthy snacks are included in the session fee: full days include breakfast, lunch and tea, while shorter sessions include lunch or tea. An on-site chef prepares meals fresh, using a four-week menu cycle, and the nursery's dietary policy provides for allergies and individual requirements.

Parents supply nappies, wipes, formula or breast milk, nappy cream and sun cream. Famly handles invoices and payments, while Funding Loop allows funding declarations to be signed online. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees information sets out the attendance patterns.

• Baby-room routines. The Baby Room has its own garden and adaptable indoor space. During a visit, discuss how your baby's feeding, sleep and stage of development would shape their day.
• Funding and session costs. Funding can follow term-time or stretched delivery, while session fees include food and parents bring care supplies. Ask for a written quotation showing the meal and consumable arrangements specifically for funded hours.
• Allergy arrangements. The nursery caters for dietary requirements and allergies. Families affected by allergies should confirm current kitchen practice and how information is shared with room staff.
• Holiday cover. The nursery operates for 50 weeks and closes for bank holidays and Christmas. Match those closures with your family's work and care arrangements.

St Andrew's suits families seeking full-day care, morning attendance or afternoon sessions, with outdoor exploration and communication support prominent in the nursery day. The Growing Area, Mud Kitchen and Makaton give that description substance; the SENCO and Emotional Wellbeing worker provide defined support roles rather than a general promise of care.

Its practical strengths are the connection between home and nursery, spaces for both active and calmer experiences, and preparation for school through familiar routines. Parents choosing it should weigh the session patterns and holiday calendar alongside how their own child would use those spaces and support arrangements.