Head Start Private Day Nursery

The Woods, an Outdoor Classroom and a daily number programme give Head Start Private Day Nursery a clear identity: outdoor exploration sits alongside deliberate preparation for school. Based beside St Saviour’s Church in Smallthorne, this nursery has 27 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. Its scale is a useful starting point for families comparing settings, although that whole-nursery figure is not a room size.

At its October 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement. The current offer includes child-chosen key workers, developmental profiles that parents can see, and communication through daily diaries and the DOJO app.

Full days and morning or afternoon half days provide different attendance patterns, with funded hours offered term-time or stretched for eligible children. The practical distinction is between the attendance booked and the extras paid for: funded hours carry a separate daily meal charge.

Rooms and Ages

Baby & Toddler Room has divided areas, giving these stages their own parts of the indoor space. Outdoors, Baby Garden, the Pre-School free flow area and The Woods provide different settings for play; the Outdoor Classroom in The Woods also hosts activities led by adults.

Each room has a displayed timetable, so parents can understand the routine their child follows. The overall day moves between freely chosen play and organised activities, with opportunities indoors and outside. After lunch, children who need sleep can rest, while others continue playing. The timetable acts as a guide, with planning also responding to what interests children at the time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS) provides the framework for learning, development and care: here, play, conversation, stories and practical activities give children ways to build those skills. The additional programmes have concrete roles. Little Learners Listening skills is used for children aged 0–2 years, while Ten Town is the number programme for ages 2–4 years.

Ten Town develops recognition of numbers and their written formation through characters, songs and clips watched on the nursery laptop. It runs each afternoon, introducing a number and character each week.

Letters & Sounds adds preparation for reading and spelling through listening, speaking and phonics. Preschool work mainly uses Phase 1, and parent workshops help families understand the programme. School preparation begins in the academic year before children are due to leave, with more structure in the preschool routine and encouragement to manage everyday tasks themselves.

In October 2022, language work included five new words each day, which staff brought into children’s play. A science activity involved freeing animals from ice with tools and talking about the change as it melted. These examples show the relationship between doing something interesting and finding words to explain it.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Woods and Outdoor Classroom give families something concrete to weigh alongside the indoor routine. In October 2022, the woodland-inspired space was used for cycling, running and exploring physical challenges, and children had opportunities to grow vegetables. Those activities connected movement with learning about the natural world.

Trips and walks can include the local post office and shops when possible. They bring familiar community places into children’s experiences, without imposing a fixed outing schedule. The nursery also works with Stoke-on-Trent Early Years Team, connecting its provision with local early-years support.

Relationships and Communication

A designated Key Worker, selected by the child, maintains each child’s developmental profile. Observations and other documentation track development, and parents can request access to the profile. This gives conversations about progress a concrete basis: families can discuss what their child is doing and the next steps being planned.

Free taster sessions and optional home visits support the start of nursery life. Transition forms are used both when children join and when they change rooms, helping information travel with them. In October 2022, babies who were upset during settling were held close and comforted, while preschool children sought out their key person to share what they had done.

Communication has several routes. Daily Diaries travel home, monthly newsletters include an individual target, and Planning with Parents sheets go out each half term. The DOJO app provides another way to keep in touch, alongside parents evenings and workshops. Shared reading bags connect nursery reading with home, giving parents something practical to do with their child between conversations with staff.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) was exceptional, with detailed plans shaped through meetings involving parents and professionals, picture-based communication and excellent progress. The current team structure includes SENCO roles, and outside-agency involvement takes place where needed and with parental permission. Possible contributors include a Speech & Language Therapist, a Physiotherapist and a Health Visitor.

Staff have paediatric first aid, safeguarding and food-hygiene training, and safeguarding officer roles are part of the team structure. These are arrangements for care and safety; the dated safeguarding judgement remains separate from today’s staffing arrangements.

Stoke-on-Trent City Catering supplies a hot lunch with two courses, while staff and, where appropriate, children prepare breakfast and healthy snacks. Formula is supplied and feeds are prepared when needed; families bring a sterilised bottle and nappies, and staff work with parents on weaning.

Teachers from local schools can contribute to transition support. Alongside this, the nursery’s school-readiness work emphasises self-help, giving preparation for the next stage a practical purpose as well as a learning programme.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St. Saviours Church Hall, Ford Green Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 1NX. Opening hours are 07:30–17:30, Monday to Friday, throughout the year apart from bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

A full day runs from 07:30 to 17:30. Half days are either 07:30–12:30 or 12:30–17:30, so families can choose between attendance covering the whole opening day and a shorter morning or afternoon block.

Booked days cannot be swapped. Full fees remain payable for absence and holidays, including bank holidays and the Christmas closure, because charges are calculated across the year. That makes the regular pattern an important decision: occasional changes to a family’s week do not automatically change the nursery bill.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can access Government funding from 9+ months. Once an eligibility code has been received, funding can be arranged term-time or stretched, with the delivery discussed at that stage. Additional hours are charged separately, and funded attendance has a daily meal charge. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees and payment terms explain the charging structure.

Parents bring nappies where needed. Formula is supplied by the nursery, with families bringing the sterilised bottle.

• Protecting toddler story time. In October 2022, people moving between rooms and children returning from outside interrupted toddler stories. On a visit, ask how those sessions are now organised so children can listen and participate.
• Training that develops teaching. The October 2022 improvement actions included making professional development more consistent and better targeted. Ask how staff learning is selected and followed through in everyday practice.
• A fixed attendance pattern. Booked days cannot be exchanged, and fees continue during absence, holidays and the stated closures. Choose the pattern against your ordinary working week and the arrangements you need when that week changes.
• Funding alongside meals. Eligible funded attendance carries a daily meal charge, and extra hours are chargeable. Compare the written quotation for your intended attendance, including the term-time or stretched arrangement discussed after your code is received.

Head Start suits families choosing either full days or morning and afternoon half days, with outdoor space and practical school preparation high on their list. The Woods, Ten Town and Letters & Sounds give those priorities substance. Child-chosen key workers and several routes for parent communication also make the care arrangements easy to understand.

The October 2022 judgement provides a positive, dated assessment, alongside clear improvement actions on toddler story time and staff development. For a decision today, the strongest practical considerations are the fixed booking pattern, continuing fees during closures and the separate meal cost on funded attendance.