Grosvenor House Day Nursery & Pre-school

Two floors of play space, a Sensory Room and a Lending Library give Grosvenor House Day Nursery & Pre-school a recognisable character: space to explore, alongside places and resources for quieter interests. This Edwalton setting has capacity for 145 children aged 3 to 60 months. It is a substantial nursery, so the experience within a child's own group matters more than the whole-setting total.

At its 3 July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that staff worked with families and other professionals to arrange early support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The practical strengths include language development, learning through everyday materials and food cooked on site. There were also two clear improvement priorities: consistent hygiene teaching and children's understanding of diversity and individuality.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings provide different ways to use the nursery, subject to its minimum weekly attendance rule.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and care, with play helping them develop communication, physical skills and independence. Grosvenor House places communication and language prominently within that work: new vocabulary is introduced daily across the age groups. For parents, the useful detail is the regular introduction of words, rather than a curriculum label alone.

Two Family First group-wide commitments help explain the approach. Confident Communicators concerns helping children express themselves in ways that work for them; Critical And Creative Thinkers encourages exploration, testing ideas and problem-solving. These sit alongside the required framework. At branch level, children are encouraged to explore challenges and develop the confidence to try again, making independence part of the learning process.

In July 2025, the youngest children explored water and orange slices, using cups to pour and empty while squeezing the fruit. Toddlers worked with biscuit cutters and rolling pins during cooking, while preschool children handled chalk, brushes and glue spreaders. The activities gave different ages opportunities to practise hand control with materials suited to their development.

Books also served different purposes in July 2025. Older babies responded with animal noises and names, toddlers explored wildlife through factual books, and preschool children discussed stories and anticipated their next events. This makes early reading an active exchange: children contribute sounds, questions and ideas rather than simply listening.

Outdoor and Community Life

The building extends over two floors, with Reading Areas, a Sensory Room and a Lending Library among its facilities. These give families several concrete features to weigh alongside the general play spaces. The Lending Library also provides a resource that connects naturally with the nursery's emphasis on language and books.

In July 2025, toddlers used scissors on leaves collected from the garden, with staff nearby to guide safe handling. Their awareness that scissors were sharp made the activity about judgement as well as cutting. It was a small, practical example of children trying a challenge with adult support.

Relationships and Communication

Settling began with information from families in July 2025. Staff used what parents shared to help children adjust, and babies and toddlers received physical comfort and reassurance throughout the day. The important mechanism was personal knowledge: the starting point was the individual child, rather than treating every new starter alike.

During the same month, observations and conversations with parents informed children's next learning steps. Families received information about daily experiences and development, together with encouragement to continue working on those steps at home. That links nursery activity to family life and gives communication a purpose beyond a summary of meals and play.

Several team members have worked at Grosvenor House for over five years. That continuity offers the possibility of relationships lasting across a child's time here, although a family's day-to-day relationship will depend on the practitioners caring for their child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Independence was visible in July 2025: babies practised feeding themselves with spoons, toddlers used open cups and cutlery, and preschool children helped themselves to meals. The weakness was consistency around hygiene. Handwashing before eating was not reliably reinforced, and older children sometimes used fingers rather than serving tools; teaching about shared characteristics, differences and individuality also needed further development.

Meals are prepared fresh on site each day with seasonal ingredients. Dietary needs were checked between childcare and catering staff before food was served in July 2025, making the handover between those teams an important part of mealtime care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 216 Melton Road, Edwalton, Nottingham, NG12 4BS. Opening hours are 7am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks; public holidays and a Christmas week are excluded.

Booked sessions are narrower than the opening window: full days run from 8am to 6pm, mornings from 8am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. The minimum is two full days or four morning/afternoon sessions each week, including a Monday or Friday. This condition matters for families hoping to use only the middle of the week.

Enquiries can be made through the branch's enquiry route. Permanent booking changes and cancellations require one calendar month's notice. A deposit is credited against the final invoice, and both that deposit and the registration charge are waived for fully funded places.

Getting There

Onsite Parking and a Buggy Store are provided. The latter gives families somewhere to leave a pushchair during the nursery day, a useful practical detail for those who combine walking with other journeys.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare covers the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements for children aged 9 months to 4 years, with 2 Help funding also accepted. The standard arrangement stretches entitlement across the nursery's operating weeks, rather than delivering it solely over 38 weeks. Funded hours can be used alone or combined with additional paid attendance, within the session arrangements and subject to availability.

Non-funded session fees are inclusive; during funded hours, meals and non-food consumables are charged separately through the optional Essentials Package. Its consumables cover wipes, nappies, nappy bags, cream and suncream, while enrichment has a separate component. Families can opt out by contacting the manager before term begins; suitable alternatives or arrangements for collecting and disposing of consumables may then be required under nursery policy.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. For a funded booking, the useful comparison is the complete package: funded attendance, any extra paid hours and the Essentials Package, if taken.

• Weekly booking commitment. Two full days or four morning/afternoon sessions must include a Monday or Friday. Compare that rule with your working week before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Opening window and booked hours. Standard sessions sit between 8am and 6pm, while opening hours extend beyond them. At a visit, discuss how an earlier start or later collection would fit your booking.
• Mealtime routines and individuality. July 2025 brought improvement priorities around hygiene and learning about diversity. Ask how handwashing, serving utensils and activities about similarities and differences now feature in children's days.
• Funded extras. The Essentials Package is optional, with an opt-out deadline before term starts and possible requirements for alternatives. Establish the practical arrangements before deciding whether to take the package.

Grosvenor House suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, provided the weekly minimum and Monday-or-Friday condition work for them. Its strongest practical combination is space over two floors, resources for reading and sensory experiences, and a clear emphasis on language and independence.

The July 2025 judgement provides a positive inspection position, with specific improvement work still relevant to a family's decision. The best fit is a parent who values those everyday learning experiences and can make the booking rules and funded-extras structure work together.