Nursery Advice
Claim Your Nursery

Woodlands PDN

Ofsted: Good
(Jun 2023)
·
4.8(9 parent reviews) ·194 Duffield Road, Derby, DE22 1BJ · Derby
Number of places
118 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Jun 2023
Local authority
Derby

About this day nursery

Woodlands Day Nursery, established in May 1991, provides a nurturing and stimulating environment for children from infancy through to school age. The nursery prides itself on offering a family-friendly atmosphere with dedicated and caring staff.

It features spacious and well-equipped playrooms, an exciting garden, and its own dedicated forest school space, allowing children to engage with nature. The curriculum emphasises child-initiated and adult-led learning through continuous play and small group activities, covering all seven areas of learning.

Both indoor and outdoor spaces are utilised to deliver the curriculum, which incorporates open-ended resources, loose parts, treasure baskets, tinker trays, and heuristic play to encourage exploration and deepen understanding. The nursery also focuses on promoting good manners, British values, and cultural capital.

Woodlands Day Nursery adapts its curriculum to meet the specific needs of each cohort of children attending, ensuring a responsive and inclusive educational experience.

Our ethos

Our curriculum is child-initiated and adult led learning using continuous play and small group activities covering all seven areas of learning. We use both inside and outside to deliver this curriculum. We use opened ended resources, loose parts including treasure baskets, tinker trays and heuristic play to allow children to truly explore a range of experiences and deepen their understanding. Our pedagogy is built around several approaches to learning for example Forest school, playing in a natural environment, Froebel, the importance of play and having first hand experiences. Bandura, the importance of the adult as a good role model, adults think out allowed showing thought processes.

What it's like

Children grow with confidence and progress in their learning as they transition through the setting. They are supported by kind, nurturing staff. Staff have built positive relationships with children and their families, forming firm foundations for children's successful learning and development.

Forest SchoolChild-initiated learningContinuous playFamily-friendly environment

Pricing & funding

Fees are charged for extra hours outside of funded sessions, alongside daily food packages which vary by age group. Fully funded sessions can be completely free if parents choose to provide a packed lunch, otherwise food is charged separately.

Funding accepted

15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — working parents (9 months–2 yrs)

Good to know

  • Government funded sessions can be taken as stand-alone free sessions or integrated into regular bookings.
  • Extra hours over funded hours are charged separately.
  • Parents can bring a packed lunch for fully funded sessions to avoid food charges.
  • Daily food packages are charged separately and priced by age group.

Key facts

Opening hours

Monday to Friday, all year round, except for Christmas and bank holidays. Sessions are from 7.30am to 6pm.

Term time / All Year

All Year

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Woodlands PDN

Last inspected 6 June 2023

Overall effectiveness
Good

What it's like to attend

Children grow with confidence and progress in their learning as they transition through the setting. They are supported by kind, nurturing staff. Staff have built positive relationships with children and their families, forming firm foundations for children's successful learning and development.

Inspector highlights

  • Children are supported by kind, nurturing staff, who build positive relationships with children and their families.
  • The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with parents, key workers and other professionals to enable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make good progress.
  • Staff understand and successfully deliver the setting's literacy curriculum, using core books and repetition to help children become familiar with key words and phrases.
  • The management team has adapted settling-in procedures, offering more flexible and longer sessions, which new parents report have led to a smooth transition for their children.
  • Managers demonstrate a commitment to staff's continued professional development, offering opportunities for staff to improve their knowledge and skills, such as work placements in different age groups.

Areas to develop

  • 1develop the curriculum so that children have adequate opportunity to learn, practise and use the fine motor skills they need for their further education and beyond, specifically around the use of tools
  • 2focus performance management on staff's interactions with children during routine activities, such as mealtimes, so that children's communication and language development is continually being promoted.
Inspection #10290434 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

New parents report that their children have made a smooth transition into the setting.

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with parents, key workers and other professionals to enable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make good progress in their learning. The manager has deployed the SENCo to target her work with the children who would benefit most, recognising the continuing impact of the pandemic and the age range of children most affected. The SENCo uses her experience and knowledge to act quickly and puts appropriate support in place.

Outdoor space

In the setting's forest school, staff create an enchanted environment where pre-school children's imaginations flourish. Children are challenged by staff to identify the trees around them by looking at their leaves, using descriptive language to identify similarities and differences.

Parent Reviews of Woodlands PDN

4.8
(9)
Guy Gibson
10 years ago

Great staff, great setting, my daughter lives it here.

Read on Google
Bill Mercer
7 years ago

My grand daughter goes there it is lovely

Read on Google
Amelia Watson
a month ago

Went for a show around today and was blown away! This nursery is incredible. As soon as you get there you can see old homely architecture that puts you immediately at ease such as stained glass windows with fresh flowers in. The smell of the children's food smells incredible as you enter a glorious high vaulted building with original architected ceilings, very open letting light flood in. Each area well though out and made to feel like a home from home. Very clean areas, friendly engaging staff then you step out into the large open garden, full of toys and activities. The forest school is a great addition that leads out onto the park via a gate. I have to say I can not wait for my children to start their nursery years here!

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Woodlands PDN. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: March 2009

  • June 2023Good
  • June 2017Good
  • June 2013Good
  • March 2009Good

Frequently asked about Woodlands PDN

About the setting

Woodlands PDN registered in 1991. The nursery employs 27 members of childcare staff, with 20 holding an appropriate early years qualification at level 3 or above. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

URN
509204
Registered person
Woodlands Nursery (Derby) Limited
Day care type
Full day care
Register
Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register
Establishment type
Childcare on non-domestic premises

Nearby day nurseries in Derby

Other Ofsted-registered day nurseries close to Woodlands PDN.

Are you the owner of this nursery? Claim this listing to manage photos, hours and contact details.

Claim listing

Share this nursery

Send to a partner, friend or family member.

This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more