Whitwick Day Nursery, Coalville, Leicester

Good food, time outdoors and a familiar daily rhythm all form part of wellbeing at Whitwick. Our qualified nursery chef prepares fresh, nutritious meals on site each day, while children have regular opportunities to enjoy our large outdoor area throughout the year.

Building trusting relationships with families matters just as much. The GrandirUK App keeps families connected with regular photo and video updates, while take-home activity cards linked to children’s current interests and our lending library give families ideas and resources to continue learning together at home.

Our family room is another source of support, with information on child development, local services and other resources available for families to explore.

Sing and Sign, Boogie Mites and Mini Mites give children at our Whitwick nursery plenty of opportunities to enjoy music, movement and singing together. Through our Make and Bake programme, children also get hands-on in the kitchen, preparing age-appropriate recipes and exploring different ingredients.

Regular outings take children into the local community too, giving them opportunities to explore the outdoors, discover more about the area around them and build connections with their local community.

Whitwick Day Nursery has four base playrooms, each designed around a different stage of Early Years development.

• Baby Room: A nurturing space with a separate sleep area and access to a small outdoor space.
  
  
• Toddler Room: A spacious room with a range of activities and resources to explore throughout the day.
  
  
• Nursery Room: Our room for older toddlers, with free-flow access that supports growing independence, including around toilet training.
  
  
• Preschool Room: A space built around choice, where children can select resources and activities and take a more active role in their learning.

Each playroom is thoughtfully arranged with age-appropriate resources and familiar spaces for play, learning and quieter moments.

Outdoor space

Our large outdoor area gives children plenty of space to be active, explore and play throughout the year. Two climbing frames of different sizes, both with slides, provide different levels of physical challenge for children as they grow.

Our growing garden gives children opportunities to plant, tend and watch their produce grow over time, helping them become involved in the process from planting through to harvest. Alongside it, the mud kitchen provides plenty of opportunities for messy, imaginative and open-ended play.

Care here starts with knowing each child as an individual and giving them opportunities to develop growing independence at their own pace. Our older toddlers have free-flow access to support greater independence around toilet training, while preschool children can choose their own resources and activities throughout the day.

Giving children opportunities to make age-appropriate choices helps them practise decision-making and take an increasingly active role in their own learning.

Children are at the centre of our curriculum at Whitwick. Our team build on their current interests, creating purposeful learning experiences that give children opportunities to explore ideas, develop new skills and discover more about the world around them.

We draw on a range of approaches rather than following one particular method, adapting experiences to each child’s age, stage and interests so they can learn and develop at their own pace.

We believe children should have a real influence on the direction of their learning. At Whitwick, our team build on what has captured children’s interest, shaping experiences around their ideas rather than working through a fixed scheme.

Our Market Place location brings the local community into that learning too. Planned outings give children opportunities to explore the village, visit local shops and discover more about the people and places around them.

For families with more than one child, having siblings at Whitwick means one drop-off and pick-up on Market Place. Our four base playrooms are close together, giving brothers and sisters opportunities to see each other during the day while still enjoying a space suited to their own age and stage.

Outside, siblings can share the large garden, climbing frames and growing area. Sibling places are subject to availability, but where we have space, we will always do what we can to find places for brothers and sisters together.

Whitwick Day Nursery has a long-standing team, bringing more than 150 years of Early Years knowledge and experience between them. More than half of the team are qualified to at least Level 3, while our Nursery Manager, Lucy, holds a BA (Hons) degree.

The team also includes a Level 3 qualified SENCo and an experienced, qualified nursery chef, bringing specialist knowledge to support children’s individual needs and their day-to-day experience at the nursery.