Phoenix Nursery

Mixed-age play and woodland exploration give Phoenix Nursery its character. Two spacious, open-plan rooms allow younger and older children to share experiences, while a separate room for under-twos can be used when needed. Fairlands Valley Lakes extends the day beyond the nursery, with woodland walks and forest school sessions bringing nature into children's learning.

On Fry Road in Stevenage, Phoenix has capacity for 28 children, with a current age range of nine months to five years. At its 27 January 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of today's practice.

Full-time and flexible part-time care sit alongside this mixed-age model. The strongest reasons to consider Phoenix are concrete: a baby-room cap of six, regular outdoor experiences and a settling process that increases time away from parents gradually. Families choosing it should be comfortable with babies spending part of their day alongside older children.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room accommodates no more than six babies each day. Its learning emphasis is on physical development, communication and emotional security, with activities selected around individual interests. Babies also spend time in the main room with older children and practitioners; the separate room forms part of a shared nursery experience rather than an entirely separate baby provision.

Across the two open-plan rooms, mixed-age contact is a deliberate part of daily life. Younger children can interact with older children, with the separate under-twos room used as needed. The enclosed garden adds outdoor space on site, although its small step matters for children who use a wheelchair or need assistance with access.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the required framework for learning through play, including language, movement, relationships and later development in literacy and mathematics. Phoenix balances activities led by adults with children's choices, using their interests to plan what comes next. That gives the day some structure while allowing children to pursue an idea of their own.

Regular cooking, yoga and music-and-movement sessions add practical experiences alongside that framework. Italian phrases, Italian opera and Latino music introduce further language and musical experiences.

In January 2022, stories took several forms: toddlers explored musical nursery-rhyme books, while older children supplied familiar lines as stories were read aloud. Staff also used words from children's home languages and repeated children's sentences clearly. Those examples show how conversation and books were incorporated into ordinary activities at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Fairlands Valley Lakes is used regularly for woodland walks and forest school sessions, where children explore the woodland, practise new skills and use imaginative play. The outdoor classroom and nearby woods make outdoor learning part of the nursery's offer. Small-group outings also take children to the library, market and local shops, connecting their day with places in their community.

In January 2022, younger and older children joined a woodland walk together, with key persons accompanying their children. Getting ready included practising how to put on coats. The outing therefore involved everyday independence as well as time outdoors.

Annual nursery trips go further afield. Whipsnade Zoo and Southend Beach are past destinations, rather than a promise of where the next trip will go. They add a different scale of experience to the regular local outings.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person responsible for their care and learning. This gives parents a consistent point of contact for sharing what their child enjoys, what they can manage independently and where they need help. Planning starts with that knowledge rather than treating children of the same age as interchangeable.

Getting to know you time is Phoenix's gradual settling approach. A parent is encouraged to remain for the first visit; the next suggested step is an hour with the key person, followed by progressively longer visits. Family and pet photographs can be added to a photo book, giving children something familiar to return to during the transition.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to share experiences and development with parents, who can also contribute from home. A separate photographic album records children's social experiences. These serve different purposes: the online journal supports ongoing exchanges, while the album becomes a keepsake when a child leaves.

Daily conversations, parent consultations and the parents forum offer further routes for discussion. Development is reviewed half-termly, and parents evenings take place twice a year with written accounts of children's learning. Parents can therefore discuss both the immediate details of the day and the longer view of their child's development.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support for special educational needs and disabilities has a defined process. The key person and SENCO work with parents to identify needs, adapt routines and plan support. An Individual Education Plan can set targets and strategies, with termly meetings to review it. Speech and Language Therapists and Early Years Advisory Teachers can be involved for advice.

The SENCO has experience applying for additional-needs funding for resources or individual support. The Children's Centre lends toys and sensory equipment.

Personal health plans can be adopted where needed. Prescribed medication requires a signed Medication Permission form, and staff can receive training for a child's medication requirements. The nursery aims to involve parents in planning outings around their child's needs and takes any necessary aids or medication.

Meals are cooked freshly at the nursery, and breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea are included in fees. Older children can help with preparation and serve themselves, making mealtimes another opportunity to practise independence.

Moving to school includes inviting the receiving teacher to learn about a child's interests and needs, with an accompanied school visit where possible. Learning journals and relevant support plans can be passed to the next setting. The practical value is continuity: the next adults caring for the child can start with information about what helps them.

Sessions and Attendance

Phoenix Nursery's address is Fry Road, Stevenage, SG2 0QQ. Opening hours are 7.45am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. It operates across the year, with closures at Christmas and for two weeks in August, so families need to include those breaks in their childcare planning.

The attendance offer includes full-time and flexible part-time day care. These are the booking patterns; the opening window describes the span of the nursery day. Parents can contact the nursery through its contact form or by email at info@phoenixnursery.co.uk, and a prospectus is available by email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is offered for three- and four-year-olds and some two-year-olds, with access to up to 30 hours a week subject to eligibility. That should be considered separately from the additional private care a family chooses to book. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea are included in fees.

• Shared-age baby care. The baby room is capped at six, but babies also join the main room. During a visit, ask how time in each space is arranged around your baby's needs and routine.
• Starting age and the full cost. The current age range begins at nine months, while baby-care arrangements describe starts from 10 months. Clarify the starting-age arrangement and ask for a quotation separating funded hours, private hours, food and non-food consumables.
• Conversation during activities. In January 2022, questioning did not consistently develop children's ideas or test their understanding, including during colour mixing. Ask how practitioners now extend conversations while children play.
• Garden access and holiday cover. A small step leads to the enclosed garden, and closures include Christmas and two weeks in August. Families needing assisted access or continuous childcare should discuss how these arrangements fit their needs.

Phoenix suits families seeking either full-time care or flexible part-time attendance who like the idea of children learning across ages. Its outdoor offer has a clear local anchor in Fairlands Valley Lakes, and the six-baby limit gives parents a concrete measure to weigh alongside the shared-room arrangement.

Gradual settling, Tapestry and a defined SEND planning process make the care arrangements useful to assess in detail. The choice rests on whether this mixed-age model, its opening window and its holiday closures fit the child and family, with the January 2022 improvement point providing a specific question for a visit.