Puddleducks Day Nursery

Giant African land snails, visiting musicians and sleep beneath a wooden gazebo give Puddleducks Day Nursery a recognisable character in its March 2022 account of daily life. At its 24 March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that teaching was adapted to individual children, with targeted language work helping children make excellent progress.

This Spalding nursery has capacity for 28 children, accepting ages from birth to five. The practical distinction matters: total capacity describes the setting, rather than the size of any child's daily group.

In March 2022, learning involved exploration with real objects and living creatures. Children sprayed giant African land snails with water and learnt to handle them gently. Filling bottles through funnels combined hand control with discovering what water could do.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, the March 2022 examples show learning through play: preschool children explored capacity by making potions, toddlers investigated plants and herbs, and babies splashed in water.

Music Man brought instruments for children to explore during weekly visits in March 2022, alongside singing and actions. This added a visiting musician's contribution to activities led by nursery staff. Outdoor life also extended beyond play: children ate outside, while babies and toddlers slept beneath a wooden gazebo.

In March 2022, adults responded promptly when babies became upset or tired, offering close physical comfort. They also encouraged babies to use cutlery, connecting reassurance with small steps towards independence.

Behaviour support involved helping children recognise another child's feelings and consider a different response after disagreements. During that same month, children encouraged one another during music activities, applauding a baby's dancing.

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective, with staff understanding how to raise concerns and management using recruitment, induction and supervision procedures to support safe practice.

The address is Escallonia, 3 Holland Road, Spalding, PE11 1UL. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

In March 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated participation statement, rather than a promise of a funded place today.

• Outdoor sleep. Babies and toddlers slept outside beneath a wooden gazebo in March 2022, warmly wrapped and closely supervised. Discuss how this arrangement would fit your child's sleep routine during a visit.
• Attendance and costs. The opening window spans the working day. What booking patterns and current funding arrangements would apply to your child, including meals and consumables?

Puddleducks suits families interested in hands-on learning and substantial outdoor experiences. The March 2022 picture combines living creatures, visiting music and attentive baby care. Its weekday opening hours are useful for working families; the dated examples provide concrete points to explore when deciding whether its routines fit your child.