The Old Station Nursery Innsworth

At the February 2025 inspection, campfire play with imaginary dragon pancakes and visits from military personnel gave The Old Station Nursery Innsworth a recognisable character. In February 2025, preschool children combined imaginative outdoor cooking with reminders to one another about keeping back from the heat. Everyday experiences carried learning about language, independence and safety.

At its 28 February 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found that children made good developmental progress and judged safeguarding effective. There were also practical improvements to make: some activities needed more movement and better pacing, while the arrangement of play and sleep spaces sometimes disturbed babies trying to rest.

The nursery has capacity for 94 children aged three to 60 months at Imjin Barracks in Innsworth. Its current opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with care across the year apart from bank holidays and Christmas.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday parent language, this means learning through experiences such as talking, exploring materials, listening to stories and practising independence, alongside attention to children's wellbeing.

In February 2025, babies explored flour, water and oil with their hands while adults demonstrated mixing and supplied words for the textures. This connected a physical experience with language. Toddlers helped clear away toys before lunch, giving them a part in the routine rather than leaving every task to adults.

A book of the month in each room gave children time to become familiar with a story and its language. Conversations about characters drew on earlier experiences, including making porridge, so stories connected with things children had done themselves. Songs also supported communication and early literacy.

The limitation was how some adult-led activities unfolded. In February 2025, staff did not always account for activity duration or adapt tasks to engage younger children more actively. An appealing activity still needs the right pace. For parents, the useful distinction is between what an activity contains and how staff adapt it when children's attention changes.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2025, outdoor play included the preschool campfire activity, with imaginary dragon pancakes prompting children to think about both make-believe cooking and the heat nearby. Children also had daily opportunities for physical activity outside. That gave the day room for movement as well as quieter learning.

Police officers and military personnel visited to explain their work. Children tried uniforms and explored the roles through play, making community jobs tangible. The military connection was expressed through children's experiences, rather than simply the nursery's barracks address.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2025, children developed close relationships with familiar key staff, and adults used encouragement and predictable routines to help them participate and manage their behaviour. Children shared resources and took turns with one another. Consistency in the day mattered as much as the planned activities.

When children started, staff collected detailed information from parents and used observations of play to plan subsequent learning. Communication continued through conversations, newsletters and online learning journals. Parents also received information about training opportunities, including online first-aid courses, giving the relationship with the nursery a practical dimension beyond updates about activities.

Support during separation and change involved working with parents on a consistent response. That is relevant for families whose child needs familiar ways of being comforted: the February 2025 practice brought home and nursery into the same conversation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In February 2025, staff liaised with speech and language therapists and other professionals, exchanged information and directed additional funding towards individual learning needs. Observations helped identify emerging developmental gaps and shape targeted support. These were concrete mechanisms for responding to a child, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

At mealtimes in February 2025, individual meal cards and plates coded by colour helped staff distinguish dietary needs and preferences, with handwashing reinforced before eating. Sleep needed closer attention: nearby play sometimes distracted babies settling down, and key staff were not always positioned to make the best use of their relationships with particular children.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Imjin Barracks, Innsworth Lane, Innsworth, GL3 1ET. Opening hours run from 7.30am until 6.30pm on weekdays, and the nursery operates throughout the year with bank holiday and Christmas closures.

An Innsworth online registration form takes applications. Families must finalise their attendance days at least six weeks before the child's start date, and the manager confirms the requested sessions subject to availability. This is a planning deadline, so the intended weekly routine needs to be settled before that point.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through the 15 or 30 hours entitlement, subject to eligibility, alongside privately paid care. A child starting before their funding activates pays the private rate until it begins.

For funded attendance, an additional service charge covers meals and snacks, plus consumables including nappies, wipes and suncream, together with additional services. Those costs sit alongside the funded care. A non-refundable registration charge is required with every new application.

• Babies' sleep. In February 2025, nearby play interrupted some babies settling to sleep. During a visit, ask how sleeping children are protected from activity around them and how familiar staff are positioned during that routine.
• Active teaching. February 2025 activities sometimes lasted too long or needed more movement for younger children. Ask to see how a story or group activity changes when children lose interest.
• Planning and charges. Attendance days must be finalised at least six weeks before starting, and funded care carries a service charge for food, consumables and additional services. Before applying, request a written quotation matching the intended routine and account for the non-refundable registration charge.

Innsworth suits families seeking year-round weekday care, with learning rooted in practical exploration and contact with community professionals. Its February 2025 picture combined familiar relationships, stories and outdoor imagination with specific weaknesses in activity pacing, sleep arrangements and staff positioning. Parents of babies should give the sleep routine close attention; families using funding should budget for the service charge as well as any private care.