Bilton Grange School Nursery: The Nest

The opportunity to swim each week in a 25 metre heated indoor pool gives The Nest a distinctive place to start school life. This is Bilton Grange School's own pre-school provision in Dunchurch, Rugby, for children from age three. Play leads the learning, with specialist activities adding music, making and movement.

In March 2025, the nursery comprised one class. Its children also spend time with older children in Pre-Prep, giving them opportunities to become familiar with the wider school while keeping their own nursery programme.

Child-chosen play sits alongside adult-led learning. The Nest follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), combining children's interests with activities that develop early skills. In practical terms, that means daily work on sounds, reading and numbers alongside opportunities to explore ideas through play. Topic work introduces science, art and other subjects.

Indoor group activities include gathering on a carpet and using an interactive whiteboard. Beyond the classroom, Outdoor Learning uses the school's 90 acres of grounds. Sports Stars adds games and challenges intended to develop agility, coordination and balance, while dance and weekly swimming opportunities give children different ways to practise movement. Physical activity takes several forms here.

The Enhanced Provision Programme brings further named activities into the nursery day. STEAM Club centres on investigating, discussing ideas and trying solutions together. In Create Club, specialist art teachers lead work with simple tools, construction and materials that children can shape. Rhythm Time combines instruments, singing and movement, using props including scarves and puppets. These activities give children concrete things to make, test and talk about.

ISI's inspection of 18 to 20 March 2025 found good progress across early years, especially in language, physical skills and emotional and social development. Adults demonstrate vocabulary and help children connect sounds with letters; mathematical activities develop understanding of quantities and spatial ideas. The findings cover the early-years provision rather than a separate nursery judgement.

Small practical tasks contribute to independence. In March 2025, early-years children practised pouring their own milk and sorting wellington boots. Sand timers helped them share turns, making waiting and fairness tangible rather than simply instructions from an adult.

Staff support also extends to helping children care for one another, including assisting a friend with a coat. During the same inspection period, early-years supervision ensured children could get adult help, and suitable staffing ratios were maintained throughout. Someone with paediatric first-aid training was always available to early-years children. These are useful assurances about everyday support as well as emergency care.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Treat Reception as a separate application and follow the school's normal admissions route and deadline.

Familiarity is a different matter. Nursery children regularly learn, socialise and eat alongside Reception children. Those shared experiences introduce older peers and school routines before the next stage, but should not be treated as an admissions advantage.

Visits can include The Nest and the wider school grounds. Contact the registrars on 01788 818246 to arrange one. Seeing the nursery's own space alongside its shared facilities gives families a useful basis for considering how the programme would suit their child. Refer to the school for current charges.