Creative Days Nursery

A baby sleep room, a shaded outdoor play area and summer visits to a Reception classroom give Creative Days Nursery a clear identity: everyday care with a practical connection to the next stage. This family-run setting shares a site with Heath Fields Primary School. Based in Hatton, Derbyshire, it provides care for babies, toddlers and preschool children.

At its 1 August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), made good progress. The important qualification concerned child-chosen play: practitioners needed to make better use of those moments to extend learning. That distinction matters. Planned activities were stronger than some opportunities children created for themselves.

The nursery accepts children aged 2 to 60 months, with separate provision for older children before and after school. Attendance choices include mornings, afternoons, full days and hours arranged around parents’ work rotas. The school setting also supports transition activities, although nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place.

Rooms and Ages

Babies have a room equipped for their stage of development, a separate sleep room and care organised around their established routines, giving rest and familiar habits a place within the nursery day.

For Toddlers, aged 2 to 3 years, the emphasis is on communication, physical development and relationships, with opportunities to spend time alongside older children before moving into the next room.

Pre-school combines activities led by the key person with children’s own choices, using both to prepare them for primary school.

These arrangements address different needs rather than treating nursery as one undifferentiated group. A baby’s sleep routine and a preschool child’s growing independence require different kinds of organisation. The room structure recognises that difference.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning through play, covering language, relationships, movement and the foundations of reading, mathematics and creative expression. It is the shared early-years framework; the useful question here is how activities bring those areas together.

In August 2024, dough-making supplied a concrete example. Younger children counted flour portions, while older children considered measurements on a water jug. Practitioners introduced words connected with mixing and ingredients. Children later used that learning in the outdoor mud kitchen, connecting an adult-led activity with their own play.

Books also led to action. In August 2024, children planted beans after reading a traditional story, retold its events and devised different endings. That linked listening, imagination and an experience of growing something. Outdoors, older children painted with water on a wall, making large arm movements while staff talked about their marks. These were practical routes into language and early writing skills rather than learning confined to a table.

The limitation is equally concrete. In August 2024, some environments for self-chosen play were less thoughtfully organised, and practitioners sometimes missed opportunities to add challenge. A busy activity is not automatically a productive learning experience. The improvement priority was to help staff recognise and develop the learning within it.

Outdoor and Community Life

A large shaded area and fenced outdoor spaces support play beyond the indoor rooms. Families supply waterproof clothing and wellington boots for toddlers, making outdoor play part of the clothing plan rather than something reserved for dry weather.

The nursery describes strong working links with Heath Fields Primary School and other local schools. Reception-teacher visits and opportunities to spend time in the school give preschool children something concrete to connect with their next stage. Those relationships support preparation; attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, providing a continuing point of contact for learning and care. Parents can discuss development with that practitioner and contribute experiences from home. This makes communication a two-way exchange rather than a sequence of nursery updates.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to share observations, next steps and progress, with an update once per month. Parents can add photographs and milestones, while the same platform carries policy changes and nursery news. A first step at home or an outing can therefore become part of the child’s learning account.

Babies also have a daily diary that travels home, recording activities and sleep and leaving space for parents’ messages. It continues into toddler care until the child has stopped using nappies and sleeping during the day. That is useful practical information for families balancing sleep, feeding and care across home and nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role, an assistant SENCO role and a designated safeguarding lead sit within the staff structure. Registration asks about additional support, medical conditions, allergies and professionals already involved with a child. Parents can complete the form in discussion with the nursery, allowing those details to be talked through rather than reduced to a tick box.

In August 2024, Ofsted found that leaders worked with other professionals on individual support plans and that staff shared information effectively with parents about care and learning. This is the strongest evidence for how support operated at that point; the current registration process gives families a route to explain their child’s particular needs.

The menu changes on a four-week cycle, and the nursery asks families to notify the office about food or medication allergies. In August 2024, meals were cooked on site, and children practised increasing independence with utensils, drinks and serving food.

Collection arrangements include a password for adults unfamiliar to staff and nominated emergency contacts. Staff administer Calpol or GP-prescribed medicine only after parents complete a medicine consent form. Families are asked to provide a change of clothes. These are practical responsibilities to organise before care begins.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Heath Fields Primary School, Field Avenue, Hatton, Derby, DE65 5EQ. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year, with closures on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. On Christmas Eve, closing time is 1pm.

Attendance can be considerably shorter than that opening window. Choices include 7am to 6pm, mornings from 7am or 8am until 1pm, an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm, and a shorter morning from 8.45am to 11.45am. A 9am to 3pm day is another option; the younger age-band schedule also includes 9am to 5pm.

Flexible hours can follow a parent’s working pattern, with the work rota supplied a month ahead. That is a specific planning requirement, useful for families whose working days change. Breakfast and after-school care also serve children aged 5 to 11, with breakfast provision starting at 7am and transport to and from Heathfields.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01283 810033. The office team tells families when to complete the registration pack. Ending a place requires four weeks’ written notice.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including 15 hours from 9 months upwards and 30 hours from 9 months subject to eligibility. The nursery also describes funding for children aged 2 and 3 and a 30-hour entitlement for eligible children aged 3 to 4. Participation does not establish an individual family’s eligibility.

Funding can follow term-time attendance or a stretched arrangement. Children receiving 22 hours of stretched funding can attend during school holidays and inset days; other funded attendance is term-time only. Families paying entirely privately can also use care during school holidays.

Hot lunch is included when parents pay the full childcare fee. For government-funded childcare, lunch is charged separately, with a packed lunch as an alternative. Parents supply non-food essentials including nappies, wipes, sun cream and, where needed, baby formula. These responsibilities remain separate from the childcare hours.

A registration charge applies. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, while the pricing schedule sets out the attendance options. Privately paid care remains chargeable during a child’s holiday or illness; the nursery’s funded-childcare terms distinguish those absences from privately paid attendance.

Moving on to School

The nursery describes regular Reception-teacher visits and school visits over a six-week period near the end of the summer term. Parents and children are also invited to lunch and an afternoon in the Reception classroom. These opportunities introduce the school environment, but attending Creative Days does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Learning during free play. The August 2024 improvement priority concerned missed opportunities to extend children’s own activities. During a visit, ask how practitioners now add challenge when children choose their play.
• Rota-based attendance. Flexible childcare requires the work rota a month ahead. Consider whether your employer’s scheduling gives you enough notice to use that arrangement.
• Funded attendance and lunch. The 22-hour stretched arrangement includes school holidays, while other funded attendance is term-time only; funded lunches carry a separate charge. Compare the complete pattern with your working year.
• Baby routines and medical needs. The sleep room and home routine are part of baby care, while registration gathers health and allergy details. Discuss how your child’s particular sleep pattern and any medical or dietary requirements will be handled.

Creative Days suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full day, and parents able to plan rota-based childcare a month ahead. Its clearest strengths are practical: a baby sleep room, daily care diaries, Tapestry communication and concrete school-transition experiences.

The August 2024 Good judgement gives the review a positive foundation, with an important learning priority around child-chosen play. For families weighing the choice, the balance is between those established care arrangements, the attendance pattern they need and how practitioners extend learning beyond planned activities.