The Honey Pots Day Nursery, Swadlincote

A former modern chapel, a sensory tent and an outdoor area with views across Swadlincote give Honey Pots a recognisable character. The setting combines age-based rooms with a separate space for sensory exploration, quiet time and individual support. That gives children different ways to spend their day, rather than keeping every activity in one busy room.

The Honey Pots Day Nursery, Swadlincote has capacity for 50 children aged three months to five years. At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. The strongest practical features are the outdoor space, adaptable room allocation and a choice of morning, afternoon and funded daytime sessions.

Rooms and Ages

Tiny Tots, Toddlers and Pre-School are the nursery's named rooms. Age guides the allocation, but a child's emotional readiness and development also influence the move between rooms. Families are involved in those decisions. This matters for a child whose confidence, independence or needs do not fit neatly into an age boundary.

The rooms are bright and airy, while the separate sensory space contains a ball pit, mirrors, changing coloured lights, wind chimes and calming music. A sensory tent adds another place to explore or take a quieter break. The nursery also has a home library facility. The sensory space can be used for supported individual time. Its value lies in that flexibility: a child can have a different pace from the larger group.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, play and relationships are used to build communication, physical skills and understanding of the world. It is the baseline for early education, rather than an extra programme unique to Honey Pots.

In November 2023, children joined weekly music and movement activities involving instruments, copied actions and responses to rhythm. Staff participated alongside them, helping children follow instructions and take part. The combination gave children opportunities to practise listening and coordination through an activity they could share.

Forest School sessions, which encourage exploration of the natural world, are offered according to demand. This is a conditional addition to the nursery day, rather than a fixed promise for every attendance pattern. The large outdoor area is used in different weather conditions, making outdoor play part of the setting's character rather than something reserved for sunny days.

Outdoor and Community Life

In November 2023, children explored frost, hardened soil and frozen water outdoors, trying tools to break ice and examining the changes around them. These were concrete opportunities to investigate weather through touch and experimentation. Community outings at that time also included learning about road safety, connecting nursery experiences with situations children encounter beyond home.

Outdoor play supported social learning too. In November 2023, staff redirected throwing games towards suitable equipment, helping children adapt their play so others could join safely. The useful detail is the intervention: children were shown another way to continue an interest, rather than simply being told to stop.

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described SEND support using picture cards and visual timetables to help children understand routines and changes. Those practical aids made the sequence of the day easier to anticipate. They are more informative for families than a general statement about inclusion.

In November 2023, staff helped children understand how their actions affected friends and guided sharing and turn-taking during play. Support was woven into activities, giving children opportunities to practise relationships as situations arose. Mealtimes also involved using cutlery and pouring drinks, combining social interaction with growing independence.

Eating routines needed attention in November 2023. In November 2023, some older children needed clearer direction after lunch, and staff did not consistently use group snack conversations to extend vocabulary. These are specific limitations in the organisation and teaching of those parts of the day, rather than a reason to dismiss the wider provision.

The quieter sensory space offers a current practical option for individual support. It gives families a useful starting point for discussing how a child who needs a calmer pace would use the nursery's different environments.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 55 Newhall Road, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0BD. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01283 551398.

Term-time paid sessions run from 8.30am to 1pm for AM attendance and from 1pm to 5.30pm for PM attendance. During non-funded weeks, the School Day pattern runs from 9am to 4pm. Paid care outside funded or session times is also offered, allowing families to add care around those defined windows.

Funded attendance has its own timetable. The 15-hour patterns are mornings from 9am to noon or afternoons from 1pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday; the 30-hour pattern runs from 9am to 3pm on those days. Using the full entitlement is encouraged but not required. Private care operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays and one week at Christmas.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding includes 15 hours for eligible non-working families with two-year-olds, 30 hours from nine months for eligible working families, and the universal 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds. Access starts from the term after the child reaches the relevant age. Funded care is term-time only, over 38 weeks, rather than stretched across the year. This distinction matters when planning childcare through school holidays.

Meals are included in the paid AM, PM and non-funded School Day sessions, while meals taken with funded hours or paid wraparound care are charged separately. Within funded care, hot lunch is optional, families can supply a healthy packed lunch instead, and snack contributions are voluntary.

Parents supply consumables such as wipes, nappies and sun cream. Funded hours can be accessed without purchasing meals or additional services. Kimbles is the group's optional, separately charged fortnightly music and movement offer delivered by an outside agency; trips are also optional and charged separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Lunch and language. In November 2023, older children's activity after lunch and vocabulary-building at group snack times needed attention. Ask how those parts of the day are organised now.
• Holiday coverage. Funding runs over 38 term-time weeks, while private care operates across the year apart from the stated closures. A contract should distinguish the funded timetable from care during non-funded weeks.
• Room moves and quieter space. Emotional readiness helps determine room allocation, and the sensory space can support individual time. On a visit, discuss how both would work for your child.
• Demand-led Forest School. These sessions depend on demand. Families attracted by this addition should ask how it fits their proposed attendance pattern.

Honey Pots suits families seeking either morning or afternoon attendance, as well as those using the longer funded daytime pattern. Its former chapel setting, outdoor space and adaptable sensory room give it clear practical appeal. The November 2023 Good judgement supports that picture, while the lunchtime and language-development improvement points give families precise matters to discuss. The important planning distinction is between term-time funding and paid care across the year.