Dollymixtures Nursery

An allotment, an outdoor kitchen and a pet tortoise give Dollymixtures Nursery's July 2025 daily life a practical character: children grew food, experimented with mud and learnt to care for another living creature. These experiences connected learning with things children could handle and do.

At its 29 July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and judged safeguarding effective. Dollymixtures Nursery has capacity for 74 children aged 1 to 60 months, at The New Lodge in Stafford.

The early years foundation stage sets requirements for children's learning, development and care, bringing play and learning into the nursery day. In July 2025, activities followed children's interests: making footballs from play dough combined choosing colours with learning how to shape the material.

Outdoor learning had substance. In July 2025, children used slides and climbing equipment, lifted a parachute and watched balls bounce across it. The outdoor kitchen encouraged imaginative play with stones and mud; caring for the pet tortoise introduced responsibility for food and water.

Regular allotment visits in July 2025 linked planting, watering and harvesting. Children examined caterpillars, compared sunflower heads with their hands and worked together to pull up beetroot. Along the route, staff explained road safety, stinging nettles and why children should pick fruit only from their own allotment. Growing food also became a lesson in judging risk.

In July 2025, stories, songs and drawing shapes in sand encouraged conversation, including exchanges with older children. Practising coats and shoes, and dressing in school uniform during role play, made preparation for primary school concrete.

In July 2025, settling centred on staff learning children's routines and individual needs, helping relationships develop between home and nursery. Gentle reminders and praise supported behaviour. Parents received activity ideas and next steps to continue at home, while stay-and-play sessions offered involvement in nursery life.

In July 2025, staff planned individual support with input from physiotherapists and speech and language therapists, using spaces for individual and small-group work.

In July 2025, children practised feeding themselves under close supervision and used mirrors while cleaning their hands and faces afterwards. Younger children heard a story before sleep. These details show how everyday care incorporated opportunities for independence alongside familiar routines.

The address is The New Lodge, Corporation Street, Stafford, ST16 3AG. Opening hours are 6.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and one week at Christmas.

In July 2025, the nursery provided funded early education for eligible children. Eligibility remained a condition of that provision.

• Settling and communication. July 2025 practice connected home routines with care and shared next steps with parents. During a visit, discuss how that would work for your child.
• Outdoor learning. July 2025 allotment visits included harvesting and road-safety teaching. Consider whether this practical approach matches the experiences you want for your child.
• Booking and costs. Which attendance pattern and funded-hours arrangement would suit your family, and what would the written quotation include for meals and consumables?

Dollymixtures Nursery suits families drawn to practical outdoor learning and care that builds everyday independence. In July 2025, allotment work gave children experience of growing food, while specialist collaboration helped staff plan individual next steps. The early opening time also matters for parents whose working day starts early.