Pretty Windows Day Nursery

Pretty Windows Day Nursery is situated in the historic City Of Nottingham at the bottom of the old Lace Market and opposite the modern Nottingham Arena. The nursery can accommodate a maximum of 75 children at any one time.

Due to our staffing levels and the fact our nursery contains large, airy rooms, we still achieve a great sense of intimacy with the children we care for. It is important to us that every child feels safe and secure.






Our rooms are divided into age groups: -

    Baby Bears is for the babies, sometimes starting from as young as 6 weeks old.
    Lively Lions is where most of our good walkers can be found, usually between 12 and 18 months old.
    Talking Turtles rooms take children from 24 months to 3 years.
    Finally, the two pre-school rooms are occupied by the Tidy Tigers and the Clever Cats (3 to 5 year olds).

Pretty Windows operates a very popular holiday club for older children, the Funtasia Club. We also have a Before and After School Club and offer delivery and collection to and from local schools.

There are often extra staff in each room as we have some regular part-time university students and other work experience students. The greater proportion of staff are qualified to NVQ Level 3, some to Level 2 and some trainees who are working towards their qualification.

Our staffing ratios are never below: -

    0 to 2 years: 1 staff to 3 children
    2 to 3 years: 1 staff to 4 children
    3 to 5 years: 1 staff to 8 children

The rooms at Pretty Windows are bright and colourful and filled with pictures and craft work done by the children. There is a pretty play area outside with a soft safety surface and lots of flowers. The equipment is cleaned and sterilised regularly and frequently and the whole setting is very secure with cameras and 24 hour security guards.

The nursery day begins when children and parents are welcomed into the nursery from 7.30 a.m. Parents often want to chat to staff about their child and this is very much encouraged. All children have their own key-worker at the nursery but the whole of the staff team is involved in the care and education of each child and knows them intimately. staff will help children to part happily from their parents and let them say goodbye in whichever way makes them feel most comfortable. Each child then has access to a range of activities before breakfast and then they will go to their own rooms.

Outside play is a big feature of the day and the children get a lot of fresh air and exercise - we even have our own annual sports day - The focus in the nursery is for children to develop whilst having fun and there is a strong emphasis on children developing personal and social skills This means the staff will help the children to listen, take turns, share and compromise and understand the needs of others whilst they play and learn.






Lunch-time is a very happy period when the children learn to serve themselves fresh home-cooked meals from a varied menu. Fruit and vegetables are purchased daily from the local market and as little processed food as possible is used by the experienced cook.

After lunch is the quiet time in the nursery. Some children have a sleep whilst others have a rest and engage in quiet activities in small groups. This time is often used to do some specific and more complicated work with the older children in the areas of maths, writing and reading. We believe very strongly that children learn best through their interaction with staff and with each other. This is encouraged and we try to ensure that children are stimulated through talking, asking questions, increasing their vocabulary by having lots of story times and circle times.

The nursery curriculum is the whole of the child's experiences in a learning environment which includes a planned programme of activities as well as spontaneous and unplanned opportunities for play and learning. We create a learning environment in Pretty Windows Nursery which takes account of each child's stage of development but also promotes high expectations and offers challenges to extend and realise the potential in all children.

The nursery day finishes for different children at different times but can be as late as 6.30 p.m. During their day at the nursery, every child will have learned many new and exciting things in a warm, stimulating, tolerant and supportive environment. Children thrive when they feel comfortable and know that they are cared for and Pretty Windows provides such an environment. Staff are trained to build on what each child knows and to develop this through a range of play-based activities, opportunities and positive interaction so that children progress socially, physically, emotionally and intellectually. But most of all they lean because they are having FUN!