New Road Children's Day Care Nursery

Small rooms, children choosing between activity areas, and gardens divided between neighbouring buildings give New Road Children's Day Care Nursery its character. The emphasis is on letting children follow their interests: construction, make-believe, creative work and quieter reading each have their own spaces. That makes the physical layout part of the nursery's approach to learning.

At its 3 December 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged inclusion and behaviour, attitudes and routines to be at Strong standard, with achievement, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance at Expected standard; safeguarding standards were met. These are separate judgements, rather than an overall grade. The practical strengths sit alongside two clear development points: extending learning for older, more capable children and helping children keep play areas clear and safe.

Based at 37 New Road in Chippenham, the nursery accepts children from 3 months to 60 months. Its three age groups are Caterpillars, Butterflies and Ladybirds. Hourly paid attendance has a minimum daily booking of 6 hours, while funded attendance has a separate package structure.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars, for babies under 2, uses several spaces for sensory exploration and child-chosen play, with staff singing and watching gestures and facial expressions to understand children's responses. The baby accommodation is next door to the main building. This arrangement gives the youngest children their own base while retaining the nursery's emphasis on moving between activities.

Butterflies, for children aged 2 to 3, occupies the upper floor at 37 New Road, with construction, creative work and role play supported by more adult guidance than in the preschool group. Children can choose between spaces rather than spend their day in one activity room. Outdoor time involves going downstairs: this group has daily garden play rather than direct access from its indoor areas.

Ladybirds, for preschool children over 3, uses the ground floor, combining building materials, art, pretend domestic play and a quieter reading space with direct garden access. The layout gives older children opportunities to make choices about both the activity and the pace of their day. A child who wants to build can do so; another can choose books or imaginative play.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, that means learning through play and everyday experiences, including conversation, movement, creative work and growing independence. New Road's child-led approach uses children's interests as starting points for activities, with adults offering encouragement and guidance.

The Construction Room supplies materials for experimenting with how things fit together, while the Arts and Crafts Room gives preschool children space to paint, draw and make things. These are useful choices for different kinds of concentration: building involves planning and testing, while creative work lets children explore materials and express an idea. The Home Corner adds a small kitchen and dining table for acting out familiar experiences.

Books have their own place in the Calm Room, where a natural arch leads to a reading garden. Quiet activity therefore has a physical setting of its own, alongside the busier creative and construction areas. Children can choose a change of pace rather than relying on the whole group stopping together.

In December 2025, a story of the month approach brought repeated stories into daily learning, giving children opportunities to revisit vocabulary and practise listening and speaking. Younger children also joined familiar songs through actions and props, even when they were not yet singing the words. The development point for older and more capable children was to extend their learning more consistently, so the freedom to choose activities needs to be matched by enough challenge.

Outdoor and Community Life

The gardens serve different stages of childhood. Behind number 36, an area is mainly used by babies under 2; siblings sometimes join them to help them settle. Number 37's garden is more commonly used by children over 3, with spaces for more adventurous physical play. This gives babies a quieter outdoor base while older children have opportunities to test movement and coordination.

A climbing frame, sand pit and mud kitchen provide different ways to play, alongside covered and uncovered outdoor classrooms. Grass, sand and concrete introduce different surfaces, while trees and shrubs support exploration and imaginative games. Outdoor play takes place daily, whatever the weather, so suitable clothing matters to the experience.

Enhanced provision includes cooking, gardening and woodworking, together with local outings and visiting professionals during the year. Celebrations include Diwali and a Summer BBQ, while children leaving for school have a Leavers party in their departure term. These belong to the nursery's package of additional experiences, which has a separate charging position for funded attendance.

Relationships and Communication

Communication with parents is especially important in Caterpillars. Staff use information from home to understand what helps each baby and to keep approaches consistent across the day. This connects daily care with familiar responses from home.

In December 2025, staff and parents shared approaches when children needed help with behaviour or emotions. Adults encouraged everyday independence, including taking off coats and shoes, and reinforced expectations about listening, kindness and indoor movement. These small routines give children practical responsibilities as well as boundaries.

The full package includes a learning journey covering a child's experiences at nursery. For funded attendance, this sits within enhanced provision, so it belongs in the discussion about which package a family chooses. It is worth separating this record of nursery life from the essential daily exchange of information about a child's care.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities included individual plans, targeted activities, collaboration with parents and professionals, access to additional funding, and preparation for starting school. This is a concrete account of how support operated at that time, rather than a general promise that every need can be accommodated in the same way.

During December 2025, resources were adapted for children developing their walking skills, and younger children practised crawling, moving and feeding themselves. Preparation for school also included older children managing personal needs and making choices. These everyday experiences connect physical development with increasing independence.

Home-made food is part of the full package, with snacks, lunch and tea included in private fees and separately charged when funded hours form part of that package. Food and care therefore need to be considered alongside the attendance arrangement, rather than treated as one identical offer for every booking.

Sessions and Attendance

New Road opens from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays, and operates throughout the year. Paid hours carry a minimum of 6 hours per day. The opening window describes when the nursery operates; families choosing funded attendance also need to consider its specific session arrangements.

Fully funded attendance follows designated sessions that avoid food and additional experiences. These are offered across 5 days a week. The alternative is to use funded hours within the full package, paying separately for its additional elements; time beyond the funded allocation is charged as private childcare.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01249 652 004, by email at info@newroadnursery.co.uk, or through the contact form. Look-round appointments can be arranged by telephone or email, and children can accompany their parents.

Getting There

The address is 37 New Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 1HP, with accommodation across neighbouring buildings. The nursery is within a few minutes’ walk of the central railway station, making rail access a practical consideration for commuting families.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded hours are offered where applicable, with the entitlement described as up to 30 hours for eligible children from 9 months. Eligibility is a condition of that offer. The fees page sets out the different package choices, and current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation.

Private fees include the food and non-food consumables a child receives. When funded hours are used within the full package, snacks, meals, non-food consumables and enhanced provision are charged separately. Consumables include sun cream, wipes, laundering, bibs and spare clothing; this is a broader category than toiletries alone.

For fully funded sessions, parents can supply essential consumables or pay the nursery to supply them. Missing items supplied by the nursery incur a charge, while additional activities can be selected individually, subject to nursery acceptance and availability. Where an additional experience cannot be avoided in these sessions, payment is voluntary under the nursery's terms. The choice therefore affects both what parents pack and which extra experiences they select.

• Challenge for older children. Extending learning for older and more capable children was a December 2025 development point. During a visit, ask how practitioners now build challenge into the activities a preschool child chooses.
• Clear play spaces. In December 2025, children needed more help to keep play areas safe and clear of scattered toys. Ask how tidying routines work during free movement between activities.
• Funded package choice. Funded attendance within the full package brings separate charges, while fully funded sessions have different arrangements for food, consumables and additional experiences. Request a written quotation for the attendance pattern and package you intend to use.
• Moving between spaces. Butterflies uses an upper-floor base and goes out to the garden daily, while Ladybirds has direct outdoor access. Ask to see how your child's group moves between its indoor activities and outdoor play.

New Road suits families who want child-led play, separate spaces for different activities and daily outdoor experiences. Its room layout gives that approach substance: a quieter reading area, construction materials, creative spaces and gardens serving different ages.

It also serves families choosing paid hourly attendance and those using funded sessions, although the package decision has real consequences for meals, consumables and extras. The December 2025 position offers strengths in inclusion and routines alongside clear work to do on preschool challenge and orderly play spaces. Those are the useful points to test during a visit.