Mulberry Day Nursery, Maidenhead

An outdoor art studio, a mud kitchen and speech and language training give Mulberry Day Nursery, Maidenhead a clear character: practical play sits alongside attention to how children communicate. Music lessons and French add to the day, while quarterly parent training extends some of that learning to adults. The appeal is concrete rather than dependent on a curriculum label.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. Mulberry has capacity for 91 children, with an accepted age range of 2 to 60 months, at 9 Boyn Hill Avenue, Maidenhead, SL6 4ET. Its opening window runs from 7am to 6.30pm on weekdays.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care; in everyday terms, play and routines both become opportunities to learn. At Mulberry, creative activities in the outdoor art studio and mud kitchen give children practical ways to explore materials. Music lessons and French bring other experiences into that play-led day.

In November 2022, learning often grew from an ordinary task. Two-year-olds selected their cutlery and plates, served lunch and cleared up afterwards. Preschool children could decide when to eat lunch and talk with staff and friends over their meal. These were opportunities to practise independence and conversation, rather than treating eating simply as a break between activities.

Books also featured in November 2022, through individual reading, small groups and children's own browsing. The selection introduced different cultures and questioned gender stereotypes. That gives stories a purpose beyond vocabulary: children encounter lives and experiences beyond their own.

Mathematics took physical forms that month. Babies experimented with sand and containers, while other children measured gaps between objects outdoors. Matching numerals to nails hammered into pumpkins combined counting with careful tool use and coordination. The activity joined thinking and doing.

Outdoor and Community Life

The mud kitchen and outdoor art studio are useful reasons to consider Mulberry for a child who enjoys making and experimenting. They give creative play a physical setting outside, alongside the nursery's music and language activities.

In November 2022, movement opportunities changed with children's development: babies crawled on ramps and pulled up to standing, toddlers balanced using planks and tyres, and older children practised yoga positions. This was a varied account of physical play, from early mobility to balance and controlled movement.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2022, children had close relationships with their key person, and babies received sensitive help to sleep when they needed rest. Staff also allowed thinking time in conversations, listening rather than immediately supplying an answer. For parents of a baby, that dated account of familiar relationships and responsive rest is more useful than a general promise of care.

Quarterly parent sessions include Behaviour Training and First Aid. Their practical value is the chance for adults to develop skills relevant at home as well as nursery, giving parent partnership a specific activity rather than leaving it as a broad claim.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through staff training, work with families and outside professionals, and individual plans. The useful detail is the combination of a child's own plan and cooperation between the adults involved; the judgement belongs to that visit.

There were also teaching weaknesses in November 2022. Explanations sometimes stopped short of helping children understand the reasons behind an activity or routine. Group activities did not consistently allow everyone to participate fully or continue an absorbing task. Those points matter when judging how staff turn an interesting activity into learning for each child.

Sessions and Attendance

Mulberry opens Monday to Friday, from 7am until 6.30pm, across 52 weeks, with public holidays and inset days excluded. That broad opening window is useful for families whose working day begins early or finishes late. The address is 9 Boyn Hill Avenue, Maidenhead, SL6 4ET.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and an enquiry form provides a callback route. These are direct ways to begin contact with the nursery.

Funding and Paid Extras

In November 2022, Mulberry received funding for early education for three- and four-year-olds. Current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Participation in group learning. In November 2022, some children missed a wanted turn and activities sometimes ended while interest remained. On a visit, ask how practitioners now organise turns and allow children time to complete a task.
• Speech and language support. Elklan accreditation means practitioners have specialist speech and language training. Ask how that training informs explanations and conversations in your child's age group, given the November 2022 improvement point about developing children's understanding.
• Your attendance and funding arrangement. The weekday opening window spans 7am to 6.30pm. Which bookable pattern would fit your family, and how would funded hours, meals and non-food consumables be treated within its written quotation?

Mulberry suits families who value creative outdoor play, speech and language expertise, and practical learning through everyday routines. Its art studio, mud kitchen, French and music give that preference specific substance. Quarterly parent training is another useful part of the offer.

The November 2022 account combines thoughtful activities and familiar care relationships with clear questions about explanations and equal participation. Those teaching points deserve attention alongside the nursery's practical attractions, especially for a child who needs time and encouragement to join in.