Jack In The Box Nursery, Hempnall

An enchanted classroom, self-service lunches and an enclosed garden give Jack In The Box Nursery, Hempnall a recognisable character. Children have opportunities to choose, move between indoors and outdoors, and practise small everyday tasks. This is care with practical independence woven into the day.

The nursery takes children from 3 months to 4 years at Hempnall Road, Morningthorpe, Norwich, NR15 2LL. At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged it Good overall, finding effective safeguarding and attentive baby care, alongside weaknesses in newer staff’s curriculum understanding and preschool routines. Later regulatory action makes that dated judgement only part of the decision for families.

Year-round opening and a choice of flexible sessional or all-day care provide practical breadth. The important qualification is the April 2025 Notice to Improve, which addressed emergency procedures, safeguarding leadership, key-person allocation, management cover, baby-room staffing and SEND coordination.

Rooms and Ages

In June 2024, children practised serving their own portions at mealtimes. This gave them an everyday opportunity to develop independence.

The building is purpose-built and single-storey, with child-height toilets, two changing areas and a disabled toilet. An enclosed garden allows play to move between the building and outside. For a young child, these arrangements connect physical access with ordinary daily routines: using the toilet, getting changed and choosing where to play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care, including learning through play and building communication and independence. Alongside that framework, the enchanted classroom is used for Montessori inspired activities, an approach involving hands-on exploration and practical tasks. This is an addition to the day’s experiences, rather than a replacement for the framework.

Movement has its own place in the routine. Yoga, children’s workouts and moving to music sit alongside outdoor play. Story and music sessions use puppets, story sacks and story spoons, giving children objects and actions to connect with language. The mix matters: listening to a story is one experience; handling a prop or moving to a song offers another route into it.

In June 2024, babies and toddlers experienced language-rich exchanges with staff, while older children built with magnetic shapes and played together in a pretend kitchen. Familiar books and songs formed part of the curriculum. However, newer staff did not consistently understand that curriculum deeply enough, and preschool routines sometimes reduced opportunities for learning with direct adult support. Enjoyable resources alone did not settle the question of teaching consistency.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play is scheduled in both the morning and afternoon routine, with indoor and outdoor choices also forming part of the earlier play period. Gardening and food tasting connect the nursery day with how food grows and with foods associated with different cultures and festivals. These are practical experiences children can join in with, rather than abstract explanations about healthy eating.

Relationships and Communication

Younger children at Hempnall have a Daily Diary Book recording eating, sleep and important moments from the day. That gives parents a useful bridge between home and nursery, especially when a child cannot yet explain how their day went.

In June 2024, staff used information about children’s interests at home to help them settle, offering familiar activities and physical comfort when needed. Parents generally felt informed about their children’s experiences. These observations describe that period; the later requirement to ensure every child had a key person makes continuity of individual care a central consideration now.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The Hempnall SEND arrangements include monitoring children’s development, seeking specialist advice, involving families and professionals, and using pictorial communication and routine supports. Transition planning includes school visits and the School to school project, through which professionals visit the nursery with strategies tailored to individual children. These mechanisms explain how support is intended to work; they do not establish an admissions advantage.

The menu includes vegetarian alternatives and fresh fruit, while children with allergies or particular dietary requirements have care plans. Snacks carry no charge, and meals involve children and staff eating together.

Allergy practice needs close attention. In June 2024, parents’ dietary instructions had not been followed closely, and Ofsted had not received the required notification from the provider about that significant event; strengthened procedures and staff practice were demonstrated at that inspection. Health-related regulatory findings then recurred in September and December 2024, with changes to allergy reminders and food preparation procedures recorded as corrective action. In April 2025, Ofsted issued a Notice to Improve after finding failures covering emergency evacuation, safeguarding leadership, key-person allocation, a capable deputy, staffing and experience for babies, and appointment of a SENCO. At the regulatory visit on 1 August 2025, shortcomings involving staff deployment and headcounts had been corrected. A further safeguarding action required better liaison with statutory agencies where staff behaviour could place children at risk. That action was confirmed met following the provider’s response on 15 August 2025. This outcome concerns the August action alone; the latest published position for the separate April requirements remains the notice and its deadlines.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Flexible sessional care and all-day care are offered, with the session window running from 7.30am to 6pm. Breakfast and after-school clubs also form part of the Hempnall offer, including collection and transport arrangements involving Tasburgh and Hempnall schools.

The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week between Christmas and New Year. That Christmas closure is a concrete planning point for families whose working arrangements continue through the holiday period.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for two-year-olds and three- and four-year-olds. The funding arrangement described is up to 15 hours a week over up to 38 weeks, with an annual maximum of 570 hours, subject to Local Authority changes. Hours beyond the funded allocation are charged privately, and the funded attendance pattern is chosen for the term rather than changed midway through it. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Getting There

The address is Hempnall Road, Morningthorpe, Norwich, NR15 2LL. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01508 499611, and there is a Hempnall application form.

• Later regulatory requirements. The April 2025 notice covered several essentials of care and leadership. During a visit, ask for the subsequent outcome and how emergency evacuation, key-person allocation and SEND coordination now operate.
• Allergy handling. Corrective action followed health-related findings in September and December 2024. Families managing allergies should confirm current food preparation, serving and care-plan practice before committing.
• Preschool teaching. June 2024 routines did not consistently provide enough learning supported directly by adults. Ask how the day now protects that teaching time and how newer practitioners learn the curriculum.
• Attendance and closures. Flexible sessions and all-day care serve different family schedules, but bank holidays and the Christmas closure require cover. Discuss the intended booking pattern alongside the term-based funding arrangement.

Hempnall suits families considering flexible hours, full days or breakfast and after-school clubs who value indoor and outdoor choice, practical independence and activities involving movement and stories. The enchanted classroom and self-service routines make the offer easy to picture.

The regulatory qualifications carry real weight. Repeated allergy-related findings and the April 2025 requirements deserve attention before a family makes its decision. The useful balance is to recognise the concrete nursery experiences while giving later care and leadership concerns their proper importance.