Butterflies Day Nursery

Outdoor play gives Butterflies Day Nursery its clearest character: children can move between indoor activities and an outdoor space used for climbing, den building and exploring living things. Based in Cubbington, Leamington Spa, on the grounds of Our Lady and St Theresa primary school, it combines separate spaces for younger and older children with opportunities for them to mix.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The current age range is 23 months to 5 years, making this a setting for older toddlers and preschool children rather than young babies.

Continuity is another practical strength of the arrangement. Children have consistent staff and key workers, while daily conversations and shared observations give parents several ways to follow their child's experiences. The important qualification is independence: September 2025 brought a recommendation to give children more consistent opportunities to manage things themselves.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars accommodates children under 3, while Butterflies is for children aged 3 and above; the separate spaces support adult-led activities and individual needs, including sleep, although children also mix during the day. These are connected parts of the nursery day, rather than permanently separate groups.

That distinction matters when choosing between an age-separated setting and one with shared experiences. A younger child can spend time alongside older children, while staff retain spaces for activities or rest that suit individual needs. Caterpillars and Butterflies organise the provision by age, while children also mix during the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, with play giving children opportunities to develop across its seven areas of learning. Hands-on experiences, interaction with other children and discovering solutions through play are central to the nursery's approach. This is the statutory foundation of the day, rather than a separate branded curriculum.

In September 2025, staff used children's interests and assessments to plan their next learning steps. One activity linked a nature walk with cutting leaves and twigs and assembling a decorated cardboard star. Conversation about shapes and colours ran alongside the practical work, bringing language into an activity that also exercised scissor control.

The useful detail is the connection between experiences. Natural materials were used for craft work after the walk, linking outdoor exploration with making and scissor practice. Adult-led activities had a clear purpose, and staff checked children's understanding as they worked.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily access to the outdoor area gives children room to balance, run, build dens and climb. Searching for small creatures, growing plants and investigating collected natural materials also brings the natural world into learning. For children who enjoy movement and practical exploration, the outdoor space has a substantial role in the day.

Forest School access adds an outdoor learning setting alongside the nursery's own space. In September 2025, children used climbing frames and tyres and joined searches for conkers, leaves and sticks. Those examples show both physical play and quieter investigation, giving families a clearer picture than a general promise of outdoor activities.

Relationships and Communication

Consistent key workers give children familiar adults who can get to know their routines and interests. Parents can exchange information through everyday conversations, newsletters and shared observations, with parents' evenings, stay and play opportunities and nursery trips providing other points of contact. Communication therefore extends beyond a periodic progress discussion.

In September 2025, staff passed on messages from parents and information from meetings with other professionals during the day. Leaders were involved in children's daily care, and relationships with parents helped children settle, including those returning after time away. That detail matters for families whose child needs continuity across adults or after a break in attendance.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with other professionals to arrange prompt support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, using individual strategies and one-to-one help to support progress. This is a dated finding about support in practice, rather than a blanket promise about every child's experience.

In September 2025, pictures, symbols and boards showing the sequence of activities helped children understand what would happen next. Staff also demonstrated respectful behaviour and repeated their expectations during the day. Visual communication and clear routines gave children ways to participate alongside spoken instructions.

Sleep is accommodated through use of the separate spaces. Independence deserves equal attention: the September 2025 improvement point concerned making opportunities to do things unaided more consistent, rather than leaving that development to occasional moments.

Sessions and Attendance

Butterflies opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm, across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. These are its opening hours. The contact form accepts a child's age, requested start date and a message, and viewings can be arranged through the contact route.

Getting There

The address is Windmill Hill, Cubbington, Leamington Spa, CV32 7LN, on the grounds of Our Lady and St Theresa primary school. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place; families seeking a state-school place still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts children aged 2 and 3 with 15 or 30 hours funding, subject to availability, and funded hours operate between 9am and 3pm each day. Attendance outside that window attracts additional charges, so the opening day and the funded part of it are different practical considerations. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Independence in everyday routines. September 2025 brought a recommendation to support children more consistently in doing things themselves. During a viewing, ask how staff now build this into everyday activities.
• Separate spaces and shared play. Caterpillars and Butterflies have their own uses, but children also mix during the day. Consider how that arrangement fits your child's preferences for company, activity and rest.
• The funded window. Funded attendance runs from 9am to 3pm, with additional charges outside those hours. What attendance pattern, meals and consumables would your child's written quotation cover?

Butterflies suits families with older toddlers or preschool children who value daily outdoor play, familiar key workers and a nursery day that combines separate spaces with shared experiences. Its Good judgement in September 2025 gives a dated quality assessment, while the practical examples bring the provision into sharper view: natural materials become learning resources, and visual cues help children follow routines. The decision point is whether its mixed-room arrangements and funded-hours window fit your child and family, alongside progress on everyday independence.