Hillsborough College Nursery

A mud kitchen, a take-home nursery bear and a baby room capped at nine children give Hillsborough College Nursery a recognisable character. Its self-contained, purpose-built building sits within Hillsborough Campus in Sheffield, with care for children from six months to five years and 53 places in total. The youngest room’s cap is useful context for parents weighing their baby’s first experience of group care.

At its 9 March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, while identifying insufficient challenge in some activities for older children. That balance matters: the judgement supports the nursery’s overall quality at that date, but the teaching point deserves attention from families choosing preschool care.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings sit alongside an early paid hour. There is also a funded childcare offer, making this a practical option for families combining childcare with work or study.

Rooms and Ages

The caterpillar room accommodates babies from six months to approximately 18 months, with a maximum of nine children, access to a soft-surfaced outdoor space and a secure garden. That gives the youngest children opportunities for outdoor play as well as time indoors.

For children aged 18 months to two and a half years, the ladybird room combines a sensory area for sand and water with blocks, treasure baskets and a home corner, supporting exploration, imaginative play and interaction with other children.

The butterfly room serves children from two and a half to five years, combining adult-led and child-led activities with movement between indoors and a playground containing grass, a mud kitchen and a soft-surfaced area. Choice is built into the arrangement. Children can pursue activities inside or continue exploring outside.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and development: children’s experiences cover language, relationships and physical development alongside maths, literacy, creative expression and understanding the world. Each child’s key person records their progress, connecting daily experiences with their individual learning journey.

In March 2023, practical activities linked different kinds of learning. Children planned spring rolls, made a shopping list, bought ingredients and shared the finished food with friends. Counting pennies for snacks brought number into an everyday exchange rather than a separate exercise.

Stories also prompted investigation in March 2023. Children building houses for the three little pigs considered how extra sticks could make their structures stronger, while staff’s open questions encouraged them to explain their thinking. Books were accessible for children to choose independently, and babies shared stories with their key person. These examples show the substance behind the curriculum: talking, testing ideas and handling real materials.

Outdoor and Community Life

The nursery bear extends activity into family life. Children take it home, photograph its adventures and record what it has done, giving them something familiar to share between home and nursery. A children’s library adds another resource for books and stories.

During March 2023, children’s experiences beyond the nursery included shops, parks and the theatre. Outdoor play also involved climbing a snowy hill and working together on a snowman. Those were opportunities to move, experiment and cooperate; they describe that period rather than a fixed timetable of current outings.

A key person gives each child a consistent relationship and tracks their development. In the caterpillar room, staff discuss children’s needs with families and work to continue routines from home. For a baby, that connection between home and nursery is a more useful care detail than broad promises about individual attention.

In March 2023, settling began with information from parents, and children sought their key person for comfort or help. Babies could independently look through personal books containing photographs of their families. This was a concrete way of keeping familiar people present during the nursery day.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified children’s special educational needs and/or disabilities, put support plans in place promptly and worked effectively with outside agencies. Progress checks for children aged between two and three were shared with parents and health visitors, bringing development information into conversations beyond the nursery.

Everyday independence was visible in March 2023 too: children spread butter on crumpets, served food, helped themselves to drinks and managed their coats. These small tasks gave children opportunities to do things for themselves. They also explain what independence meant in practice, rather than leaving it as a curriculum slogan.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 15 Livesey Street, Sheffield, S6 2ET, within Hillsborough Campus. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year.

Bookings include a morning session from 9am to 1pm, an afternoon session from 1pm to 5pm and a full day from 9am to 5pm. A separately priced early hour runs from 8am to 9am. The distinction is useful: the building’s opening window and the standard full-day booking have different finishing times.

Applications use a form on which families select their preferred nursery. A successful application is followed by a contract setting out sessions and an advance invoice; acceptance requires the contract to be returned by the stated deadline. Families who have heard nothing after three weeks are instructed to contact their chosen nursery manager. Hillsborough enquiries go to 0114 260 2911.

Getting There

Hillsborough and Hillsborough Park are the nearest tram stops; each is about a 5-minute walk away from Hillsborough Campus. This gives families using public transport two named stops to consider when planning their regular journey.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the Government’s entitlement scheme of 30 hours free for eligible children between nine months and five years. Paid sessions and the early hour are separate parts of the booking structure; an entitlement should not be treated as a promise of a particular session pattern.

Families can send a healthy packed lunch or purchase a hot lunch, and snacks carry a separate charge. The morning and daily rates include lunch, while a separate daily lunch charge is also listed, so the written quotation needs to specify the treatment of lunch for the chosen arrangement.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. The nursery fees page sets out the session and charging structure.

• Challenge for older children. In March 2023, some activities did not stretch older children enough, and attention sometimes drifted. On a visit, ask how staff adapt an activity when a child is ready for something more demanding.
• Room organisation. The detailed room descriptions use caterpillar, ladybird and butterfly rooms, while another description names Yellow room, Blue Room and Red room with different age divisions. Ask which room structure applies to your child and how moves between groups are planned.
• Lunch and funded hours. Lunch is included in the morning and daily rates, alongside a separate lunch charge and separately charged snacks. Ask for a written breakdown for your exact booking, including how funded hours affect the food charges.

Hillsborough College Nursery suits families seeking either morning or afternoon sessions as well as those booking the 9am to 5pm day. Its campus setting, nine-child baby-room cap and outdoor provision give parents concrete features to weigh, while the take-home bear provides a simple connection with family life.

The March 2023 Good judgement is useful reassurance about quality at that date, with challenge for older children the central teaching question. For babies, continuity with home routines is an appealing practical detail; for preschool children, the decision turns more on how staff extend learning beyond an activity’s starting point.