Open 7.30am - 6.30pm
Open 51 weeks a year
Purpose built nursery
Outdoor learning
The team at The Old Station Nursery Houlton is here to welcome you to a personal tour of our nursery, where we can answer questions you might have about this first exciting step in your child’s education.
The nursery in Rugby is a carefully planned, purpose-built nursery which offers a stimulating and engaging learning environment for our community’s children. The nursery was opened at the end of 2021.
The nursery is light and airy even on cloudy days and we are fortunate to have an allotment space for the children to develop a lifelong love and understanding of sustainable planting and growing. The children love being outside and we are right next to Houlton Children Park on Dollman Road so there is plenty to explore and equipment to play with.
Starting school is a big adventure, and at Houlton, we make sure every child is ready to embrace it with confidence! Our Next Stop School program focuses on developing essential skills through fun, engaging activities, while supporting families every step of the way.
The Old Station Nursery Houlton clubs and activities are as varied as our children, so it might be here that we nurture Rugby Borough Football Club’s next star or the UK’s next artist or chef. When you come along for a tour of the nursery, we will be pleased to show you the activities that our children love.
View Ofsted report
The Brighter Learning Approach (BLA) is unique to The Old Station Nursery group and is our advanced approach to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and core pedagogy. It differs from traditional nursery teaching methods by providing real-life opportunities to enhance children’s natural curiosity, with emphasis on hands-on experiences, child-led learning, and whole development.
The six core areas promote active engagement and critical thinking whilst encouraging exploration, creativity, and collaboration. Each child learns at their own pace and is challenged and extended at appropriate times.
The best place to see the BLA in action is via our local nursery Facebook page, where each post explains which part of the curriculum the children are working on. Our parents also receive updates on the Parent App too.
Championing children's holistic health and laying the foundations for a happy, healthy and successful life.
Helping the future generation of global citizens to understand the world they live in and to believe they can make a difference.
Enabling early experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM). Nurturing our next generation of investigators, inventors and innovators.
Enticing children to develop a life-long love of books and reading through engaging and interactive storytelling experiences. Building strong literacy skills while sparking imagination and creativity.
Engaging children in meaningful mathematical learning. Developing knowledge, building skills and exploring concepts, through purposeful play and plenty of practice.
Developing confident communicators by engaging in quality conversations with children every day, in a language rich and communication friendly environment.
Activities at our nursery in Rugby are often based around the outdoor space, where each age group has its own garden. We are fortunate to have an allotment and we encourage you to come and view the nursery to see how much the children enjoy gardening.
We also hold numerous extra clubs throughout the week that enhance our Brighter Learning Approach, our bespoke version of the Early Years Statutory Framework.
With the aid of a ‘cool touch’ oven, child-safe equipment and the children’s chef’s hats and aprons we follow a set curriculum to learn about the joys of cooking and gain lifelong skills such as measuring, counting and following set instructions.
Children learn so much during their early years and take great joy in exploring the world around them. At our nursery they’re immersed into the world of Science through age appropriate hands-on experiments and activities designed to spark their curiosity.
It is all about the allotments here at The Old Station Nursery Houlton. The children, in their wellies and coats, set about growing their own fruits and vegetables. Our favourite crops to grow vary throughout the season, all providing a nutritious snack to keep your little one going throughout the nursery day.
As Budding gardeners, children learn about the environment and gain lifelong sustainable growing skills and enjoyment, which they will carry with them throughout their lives.
At Houlton Nursery, our budding movers enjoy Multisports. The early-years trained team of sports coaches come along and deliver a sports session that includes basic throwing and catching skills, running, jumping, and football for nursery children which helps to develop their gross-motor skills and confidence.
In addition to lots of opportunities to enjoy and make music at any time of the day, once a week we hold a structured music and movement session to get our bodies moving and tune our ears to the enjoyment and learning opportunities within music.
In the summer, residents of Houlton will no doubt hear the melodies and great fun radiating from our nursery.
When you book a nursery tour at Houlton nursery, you will see all-sorts of creative masterpieces displayed on the walls and no doubt some of it will make its way home to your fridge door.
Alongside our exploration of arts and crafts we encourage artistic impression via dress-up, role-playing, singing and dancing.
Our nursery group is passionate about the link between home and nursery; the nursery experience is as much about the parent as it is for the child. The Old Station Nursery Houlton commits to verbally updating you about your child’s day at pick-up time and via digital updates on the parent App. We are here at any time should you wish to call us or want to discuss any area of your child’s care. We aim to look after our parents as well as our children so you can carry on with your day, work and career with a sense of peace.
First and foremost, you and we need to know that your child is safe. Before we can deliver the excellent curriculum that makes our nurseries so special, robust policies and procedures are followed to meet the exacting standards of Ofsted, building and fire regulations, food safety standards and staff DBS background checks and references.
Our staff are trained in numerous areas and we offer further training opportunities for staff who have an interest in a particular area. For example, some of our nurseries have attained Millie’s Mark, an accreditation gained by having 100% of staff on site trained in paediatric first aid.
Nutritious hot meals are prepared on-site at The Old Station Nursery Houlton by our cook and menus are rotated every three weeks. Good nutrition is essential during childhood as it is a time of rapid growth, development and activity.
Our chefs are trained using the Eatwell NHS guidelines to ensure mealtimes are delicious, packed with good things that enjoyable for children to eat.
Every child has a nursery key person who knows them best and who will be the child and parent’s main contact. Your key person at our nursery will update you about your child’s day and is there to answer your questions.
When your child moves to the next age group room, we hold several settling sessions with a new nursery key person.
We encourage our parents to view the new room too, and we will work with you to discuss the new routines, just like we did when you first started nursery.
It is wonderful to nurture and see our children graduate to primary school. Part of the unique offering at our nurseries is our focus on the next stage of your child’s learning journey. We prepare the children through school activities, teacher meet and greets and graduation ceremonies. Our commitment is to support our parents too by providing child learning journey updates, parents evenings or one-to-ones and home link learning kits to enhance the link between nursery and home.
When our children leave us in June, July, August and September the term before joining primary school, each family will receive a £30 Clarks voucher to help towards your child’s first pair of school shoes. It’s our way of saying thank you for being part of our nursery family.
All our nurseries follow the Brighter Learning Approach, our bespoke version of the Early Years Statutory Framework. Within this, each nursery chooses extra clubs, activities, and enhancements suitable for their space.
The Old Station Nursery Houlton, in Rugby, has a wonderful outdoor environment where we enjoy Budding Gardeners and Budding Movers, Budding Musicians, Budding Artists’ and cooking clubs are firm favourites. We also hold open days where parents and carers are encouraged to come along and meet other parents to build their own personal friendships and networks ahead of primary school.
The Old Station Nursery Houlton commits to providing a simple fee structure so you can manage your nursery costs.
At this nursery, we provide private and government-funded sessions for eligible parents. Contact us for the nursery fee that is correct for your individual circumstances.
Babies start in their own ground-based room, with access to plenty of learning resources and toys to play with, as well as being able to develop at their own pace within the secure environment and playground. They will follow your home routine working in partnership with parents.
At The Old Station Nursery Houlton, we pride ourselves on our parent and nursery relationships ensuring we work together as a team. When you first join us, we encourage you to come for as many settling-in sessions as you feel you need.
The staff help and support each child to achieve their next milestone at a pace that suits your child.
Both baby rooms offer a wide range of activities and learning outcomes to help their curiosity and growing energy.
The Toddler room offers a variety of learning experiences through activities such as sand, water, sensory equipment, role-playing areas and lots of natural resources. The staff will help the children develop their self-confidence and independence and will support with toileting developments.
Children can freely move around the areas, discovering the inspiring activities the team sets up each day. Here, children’s independence is encouraged, particularly at mealtimes when they serve themselves.
The Pre-school rooms are wonderful, fun environments. Our children fine tune their skills and begin to develop emotional intelligence, often forming friendships and learning to get on with others. The children begin to learn about their own capabilities whilst being gently encouraged by the team to try new experiences.
Here we have structured lessons and focus on school readiness, ensuring that children transition to school being the most confident and prepared that they can be. This includes meeting their Primary school teachers, looking at the uniform, dressing for PE, holding a pencil and learning to read. Coping with change and being able to adapt to different situations is a key part of the environment here. Our Rugby nursery children are empowered to be independent thinkers who can question the world around them.
Time: 9:30am – 4:30pm
Looking for the perfect start to your child’s early years? Come along to our Open Day and discover what makes our nursery a warm, nurturing, and inspiring place for little ones to learn, play, and grow.
Meet our friendly team, explore our engaging facilities, and learn about our tailored approach to early childhood education. Whether it’s our creative activities, outdoor play areas, or focus on individual development, we’re excited to share how we can support your child’s unique journey. Contact us today to book a time slot.
“At Houlton we are passionate about children’s development and alongside my team, we provide the best care in Rugby, with stimulating activities and a happy environment for all the children and their families. We aim to provide excellent partnerships with parents who are an important part of our family.”
Gina Hughes, Nursery Manager at The Old Station Nursery Houlton
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Please note that this is not a confirmation of your tour. One of our nursery team will endeavour to get back to you ASAP to confirm your date and time. Thank you.
If you are looking to arrange a tour within the next 48 hours, we recommend calling the nursery directly.
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