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Mini Explorers Play School

Ofsted: Outstanding
(Sept 2025)
·
5.0(2 parent reviews) ·Sence Valley Forest Park, IBSTOCK, LE67 6NW · Leicestershire
Number of places
42 places
Age range
2–4 yrs
Last inspected
Sept 2025
Local authority
Leicestershire

About this day nursery

Mini Explorers Play School, established in 2015, is nestled within the expansive 108-hectare Sence Valley Forest Park in Ibstock, offering a unique and immersive natural learning environment for children. The school operates in partnership with Forestry England, emphasising outdoor exploration and a forest school philosophy.

The ethos of Mini Explorers centres on nurturing the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development of each child through play and exploration. This approach encourages the development of essential life skills such as determination, resilience, perseverance, and self-awareness, forming a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

The curriculum is designed around observing individual children's interests to plan suitable activities that extend their learning, fostering curiosity, imagination, and creativity. The facility boasts extensive outdoor areas, including woodlands, forest school sites, a garden, a vegetable patch, dens, mud kitchens, ponds, streams, role-play areas, and construction zones, with a covered outdoor area ensuring continuous outdoor play in all weather conditions.

Mini Explorers strives to be a safe, homely, and stimulating setting where children can thrive and enjoy their educational journey.

Our ethos

Mini Explorers is a safe, homely, loving and stimulating place to be, where children’s social, emotional, physical and intellectual development can be nurtured through play. We believe in play and exploration as the main form of learning, so children are happy and enjoy their time with us. Through our play and forest school philosophy our aim is for children to develop skills of determination, resilience, perseverance and self-awareness which will form the foundation for lifelong learning.

What it's like

Staff greet children warmly at this 'home-from-home' pre-school, where they are eager to join in with stimulating activities and investigate fun resources using all their senses. Staff introduce new vocabulary and explain meanings, stimulating children's thinking, creativity, and imaginations as they play.

Forest SchoolOutdoor LearningPlay-based LearningPartnership with Forestry England

Pricing & funding

Fees are charged at the beginning of each term and vary based on the number of weeks in the term. Charges are based on booked hours, with no refunds or credits offered for non-attendance. Additional hours are billed in arrears on the next termly invoice.

Funding accepted

15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)

Good to know

  • Fees are billed termly and vary based on the number of weeks.
  • No credits or refunds are given for non-attendance.
  • Additional hours are added to the next bill.
  • One month's notice is required for any reduction in hours or if a child is leaving.
  • A late collection fine is charged for any collection after 3pm.

Key facts

Opening hours

Children must be off the premises by 3pm.

Term time / All Year

Term Time

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Mini Explorers Play School

Last inspected 23 September 2025

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Outstanding
Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership and management
Outstanding

What it's like to attend

Staff greet children warmly at this 'home-from-home' pre-school, where they are eager to join in with stimulating activities and investigate fun resources using all their senses. Staff introduce new vocabulary and explain meanings, stimulating children's thinking, creativity, and imaginations as they play.

Inspector highlights

  • Leaders are passionate about the outstanding care and education and constantly reflect on provision to make improvements.
  • Long-standing staff get to know and nurture children very well, adapting teaching to meet individual needs, resulting in rapid progress for all children.
  • The curriculum is carefully structured, promoting children's confidence, emotional well-being, and independence, preparing them for future learning.
  • Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is exemplary, with staff swiftly identifying gaps and working with parents and professionals to address them.
  • Staff support the development of children's communication, language, and early literacy skills highly effectively, constantly talking, singing, and reading with children, and weaving new vocabulary into play.
Inspection #10399508 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

Parents say children 'flourish' and that their 'confidence soars'.

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is exemplary. Staff swiftly identify any gaps in children's learning, and work tirelessly with parents and other professionals to address these. Leaders use additional funding innovatively to support children's individual needs, such as providing holiday sessions.

Outdoor space

Children develop impressive levels of physical skills and strength. Staff supervise younger children closely, such as when they move up and down safely on a wooden frame in the playroom. They encourage older children to solve problems for themselves while attempting to climb a 'spider's web' of ropes in the forest. Staff also ensure additional quiet areas are available for children outdoors as well as indoors.

Parent Reviews of Mini Explorers Play School

5.0
(2)
matthew jarvis
2 years ago

I can’t recommend this nursery enough. All the teachers are angels who I whole heartedly trust with the care of our children. Donna is so passionate about early learning and the effort is so clear to see in everything the nursery does. It’s not just parents that want the best for their children, mini explorers do too. Thank you.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Mini Explorers Play School. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history
Improved from Good → Outstanding in 2025

Date: January 2016

  • September 2025Outstanding
  • December 2019Good
  • January 2016Good

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