Nellie's Nursery

Converted agricultural cart sheds give Nellie's Nursery a recognisable setting at Thickthorn Farm in Hethersett. The buildings date from the 18th century, but their conversion was planned around children's indoor and outdoor learning. There is substance behind the setting, too: at its November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective.

Nellie's cares for babies and children up to five years old, with 92 places in total. Three rooms provide resources suited to different stages of development, including materials that engage children's senses. The emphasis is on individual interests, language and growing independence rather than expecting children to learn at the same pace.

Families can book morning, afternoon, full-day or extended-day attendance. The practical strength is the choice between shorter sessions and a longer working-day pattern; the educational question is how well activities are adjusted to each child, especially when children learn together in groups.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the statutory learning framework: children's play and planned activities cover seven areas of learning and development. Nellie’s Curriculum builds its planning around children's interests and needs, with the key person adjusting activities to their pace. This means information about a child's home life can help shape what happens at nursery, rather than sitting separately from learning.

Language has a clear place in that approach. Staff explicitly teach vocabulary and create opportunities for conversation, while learning combines play, smaller groups and whole-group activities indoors and outside. For a child who is beginning to express ideas, that gives several ways to participate: talking with an adult, exploring independently or joining other children.

In November 2024, fortnightly topics included emotions. During role play, adults encouraged children to think about feelings and how eating or sleeping might change them. The useful detail is the connection between an everyday experience and a new idea. Feelings become something children can discuss through play, rather than an abstract lesson.

Books and songs also had a practical role in November 2024. Babies explored books with different textures, while older children used costumes and retold stories they knew. Adults joined babies at their level for songs, using eye contact and actions, and encouraged them to choose what to sing. These were opportunities to take part, make choices and use language.

Outdoor and Community Life

The converted cart sheds were designed with both indoor and outdoor spaces for children. Learning is planned across the two, so outdoor time has an educational role alongside physical play.

In November 2024, children practised coordination through ball-and-bat games, explored obstacle courses and developed physical skills through running, jumping and climbing. Turn-taking was part of the games. Older children also adjusted how they walked when cold weather made the ground slippery, giving them a concrete opportunity to think about risk.

That same visit captured a small step towards independence for babies: finding their shoes before going outside. It is a useful example of learning through an ordinary routine. The challenge is sustaining that approach throughout the day, an issue reflected in the improvement priorities below.

Relationships and Communication

A child's key person connects care with learning. Current planning draws on parent contributions, observations and assessments, and activities are adapted to children's different rates of development. For families, the value is continuity: knowledge of the child informs both relationships and the next learning experience.

In November 2024, children sought comfort from their key persons when upset, and staff gathered detailed information from parents from the outset. Communication included daily online updates and conversations in person. This provided parents with ways to understand nursery experiences and continue learning at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities highly effective, including help with referrals, individual planning, work with external agencies and targeted one-to-one support. Those mechanisms matter more than a broad promise of inclusion: they describe how support was organised around individual children.

The current staff structure includes a Setting SENCO, alongside specialisms in literacy, maths and outdoor and physical learning. Safeguarding arrangements include a lead practitioner and deputies, staff training, safer recruitment procedures and daily risk assessments. These are arrangements for managing responsibilities; the dated safeguarding judgement above provides the assessment of effectiveness.

In November 2024, a cook was employed alongside the childcare team. Care routines also included handwashing before food and after outdoor play, although opportunities to practise self-care more consistently remained an improvement priority. For children approaching school age, the important distinction is between being reminded of a routine and gradually learning to manage it themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

Nellie's opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, for 51 weeks each year. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, with an extended morning starting at 7.30am; afternoons run from 1pm to 6pm. A full day is 8am to 6pm, or 7.30am to 6pm with the extended morning.

The minimum weekly booking is one full day or two morning or afternoon sessions. That makes this a regular attendance arrangement rather than an occasional session model. Its purpose is to give children repeated contact with their key person and familiarity with nursery routines.

Getting There

The address is Thickthorn Farm, Norwich Road, Hethersett, Norwich, NR9 3AU. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01603 927450; registration enquiries request the child's date of birth, desired sessions and intended start date.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded sessions are offered to eligible families, with funding allocated to standard mornings, afternoons and full days. Two schemes spread funding across 46 or 51 weeks, so the funding arrangement needs to fit the chosen attendance pattern. The extended morning is a separate session option from those standard funded patterns.

Tax Free Childcare payments and childcare vouchers are accepted. The welcome pack and fee sheet are supplied on enquiry, and families should obtain their current prices in a written quotation. Funding and privately paid attendance need to be considered together when choosing the weekly booking.

• Group learning. In November 2024, some adult-led activities did not meet every child's learning needs consistently. At a visit, ask how staff adjust shared activities for children at different stages.
• Everyday independence. The November 2024 improvement priorities included more consistent practice of self-care. Ask how children now build responsibility for personal routines as they prepare for school.
• Funding and the early start. Funding is allocated to standard sessions, while the extended morning begins at 7.30am. Request a written breakdown for your chosen pattern, including the treatment of meals and consumables.

Nellie's suits families choosing regular morning or afternoon attendance as well as those needing full or extended days. Its converted farm buildings, interest-led planning and emphasis on communication give the offer a clear identity. The November 2024 picture combines reassuring care relationships and effective individual support with two practical priorities: making group learning work for each child and giving children more consistent opportunities to manage their own routines.