Bright Horizons Teddies Day Nursery and Preschool

Sensory exploration, music and a garden with free-flow access give Teddies its character. Bright Horizons Teddies Day Nursery and Preschool serves children aged 3 months to 5 years in Nether Edge, Sheffield, with capacity for 76 children. Its appeal combines sensory experiences for babies with school preparation for older children.

At its 15 March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement needs reading alongside a later organisational safeguarding notice affecting Bright Horizons, discussed below. The nursery's own learning priorities also deserve attention: consistent support strategies, more effective questioning and better positioning of activities for babies learning to stand.

Music and communication provide useful threads through the offer. Boogie mites combines movement with songs, while the Family app connects parents with their child's experiences. Standard opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with a separately charged early start by arrangement.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room emphasises sensory development, using stimulating activities to support developmental milestones. For the youngest children, that makes exploration a central part of the experience rather than treating the room simply as somewhere to be cared for.

In March 2024, the toddler room had been rearranged after staff recognised that children needed more space for playing together. The change allowed more children to share the play areas. This is a useful example of adapting the physical environment around how children actually use it.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, communication and everyday routines contribute to learning. Alongside it, the group-wide Bright Beginnings Curriculum emphasises wellbeing and development, including transitions between rooms and preparation for school. Preschool children take part in Ready for School, the nursery's school-preparation programme.

Boogie mites adds interactive music and movement, using singing to explore the world. It gives children another way to participate, beyond spoken conversation or sitting with a book. The activity belongs alongside the nursery's sensory emphasis and school preparation, rather than replacing either.

In March 2024, stories also became starting points for imaginative play. Children combined vegetables, flowers, herbs and water into a potion intended to rescue a character from a favourite book. Staff helped them remember the story. The example connects practical exploration with recalling events and explaining an idea.

Communication took different forms for different ages at that time. Babies heard individual words accompanied by Makaton signs; toddlers experienced singing during water play; older children brought book characters into their games. Questioning remained an improvement priority because opportunities to encourage fuller answers and deeper thinking were uneven across staff.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden access allows children to move between indoor and outdoor experiences, with both child-chosen play and activities led by adults. The outdoor space can be used in different weather conditions. This gives physical exploration a place alongside the room-based activities.

In March 2024, children searched for birds using pretend binoculars, practised balancing on an obstacle course and painted at easels or on the floor. A mud kitchen provided opportunities to cut fruit with guidance about safe handling. For babies, however, favourite activities needed positioning more carefully to encourage pulling up and taking early steps.

Individual settling arrangements were a practical strength in March 2024. Sessions were adapted around each family, and babies built relationships with their key person before exploring more confidently. Children were encouraged to help one another, including sharing materials during play.

Parents contributed information about learning at home, while staff shared observations and assessments. A lending library and toothbrushing ideas extended that exchange beyond updates about the nursery day. Today, the group-wide Family app provides another connection with children's experiences and development.

In March 2024, the special educational needs coordinator worked with families and other professionals to agree targeted support. The improvement priority was consistency: every practitioner needed to use the agreed strategies, rather than support depending on which adult was involved. For a child with additional needs, that distinction matters throughout the day.

The later safeguarding position is material. In a notice dated 22 June 2026, Ofsted required Bright Horizons to strengthen organisational safeguarding leadership, oversight and practice, with actions due by 1 August 2026; the notice explicitly concerns organisational arrangements rather than findings at every individual nursery. The latest published position is that the organisation had not demonstrated consistently effective safeguarding across its provision, with its response to be monitored. This does not establish a safeguarding breach at Teddies itself or establish that the actions have since been completed.

Everyday independence was also part of care in March 2024. Children practised handwashing, wiping their noses and preparing tables for meals. These routines gave them responsibilities they could understand and carry out with adult support.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 24 Kenwood Park Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S7 1NF. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; an early start from 7.30am attracts an additional charge and must be arranged with the manager.

Attendance is priced across bookings of one to five days a week. Funded childcare uses 10-hour sessions beginning when the nursery opens. The nursery operates across the year, closing for one inset day, bank and public holidays, and the period between Christmas and New Year. These closures matter when matching care to a working calendar.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded and privately paid childcare are offered. The funding arrangements include 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, subject to eligibility, stretched over 50 weeks. Additional private hours are charged separately; purchasing them is not a condition of taking a funded place.

For private childcare, meals, snacks and everyday essentials are included in the fee. The included items cover nappies, wipes and milk, with formula for babies under 1 year; the group-wide inclusion wording carries a caveat that a small number of nurseries make exceptions. A chef works onsite and food is freshly prepared.

For funded hours, food has a separate, non-mandatory charge, which is not a condition of accessing the place. Consumables associated with funded hours are supplied, with no separate consumables charge itemised. This distinction matters: funded childcare hours and the total bill are different things.

A registration charge applies, and fees are paid in advance through monthly direct debit. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Direct enquiries can be made by telephone on 0114 399 1615.

• Organisational safeguarding action. The 22 June 2026 notice required changes by 1 August 2026. Ask how those actions have been implemented at Teddies and what oversight now checks their effectiveness.
• Consistency across practitioners. March 2024 priorities covered SEND strategies, questioning and the height of activities for babies learning to stand. During a personal tour, ask to see how these points are addressed in ordinary room routines.
• The funded bill. Funding is stretched across 50 weeks, with food charged separately on a non-mandatory basis. Have the written quotation distinguish funded hours, additional childcare, food and the registration charge, including any exceptions to the included essentials.

Teddies suits families seeking sensory exploration for babies, music and movement, and a defined school-preparation programme for preschool children. Its attendance structure accommodates both fewer days each week and a full-week booking, with funded sessions and additional private childcare treated separately.

The garden, Boogie mites and parent communication give the offer practical substance. The decision also carries a clear qualification: the organisational safeguarding notice and the nursery's dated consistency priorities warrant direct discussion before joining.