A maintained nursery school is different to a private day nursery.  A maintained nursery is a school, and is run like any other infant or primary school.  

In a maintained nursery school there is:

• Focus on Early Years:

  While legally schools, they are primarily focused on providing early education and childcare, often serving disadvantaged children in deprived areas. 

• Role in the Community:

  MNS can play a wider role in the community, acting as centres of excellence and leading in areas like outdoor learning and SEND support. 

• Inspection:

  They are inspected by Ofsted in the same way as primary and secondary schools. 

• Local Authority Funded:

  MNS are funded and controlled by the local authority, similar to other maintained schools. They do not make any profit from funding, the money per child is spent on the children. 

• School Structure:

  They have a Headteacher, a governing body, and they are staffed by qualified teachers, including a fully qualified SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). 

There are six Derby City authority maintained nursery schools (MNS) across Derby city offering high-quality early education and childcare to many families.

• Whitecross Nursery School
• Harrington Nursery School
• Stonehill Nursery School 
• Lord Street Nursery School 
• Central Nursery School
• Ashgate Nursery School