news & updates
From Garden to Bowl: Making carrot soup at Blue Windmill Nursery
From Garden to Bowl: Making Carrot Soup at Blue Windmill There’s something very satisfying about eating something you’ve grown yourself, especially when you’ve been involved in every stage, from planting the seeds to preparing the finished meal. At Blue Windmill Nursery, our latest garden-to-table project involved turning our home-grown carrots into a delicious soup to share with families. Growing our…
Rugby in Bloom Platinum Award-Winners!
Rugby in Bloom Platinum Award 2026 We’re delighted that Blue Windmill Nursery was able to celebrate our Platinum Award in this year’s Rugby in Bloom competition at a ceremony this morning. Our resident gardener, Barbara Spiby, represented the nursery along with nursery owner, Sharon Peach. They attended the Rugby in Bloom awards ceremony at The Benn Hall, where Barbara was…
Autumn Stay-and-Play at Blue Windmill Nursery
Autumn activities at nursery in Rugby It was lovely to welcome parents and carers into our Garden of Discovery on Thursday for our Autumnal Stay-and-Play morning. We had organised a range of seasonal activities for families to enjoy together, including nature weaving, pumpkin exploration and exploring natural materials. We wanted our parents to see what we’d been up to this…
More places to explore: our new Hideaways
One of the things we want our Garden of Discovery to offer is choice. Children do not always want to be doing the same thing, in the same place, at the same time. Running and climbing is important but sometimes imaginative play needs a smaller space. Our new Hideaways add another kind of place to explore. The woven teepee-style dens…
Looking for a funded nursery place in Rugby this September?
If you have only recently realised that your child may be entitled to funded childcare from September, you are certainly not alone. Every year, the weeks leading up to September bring a rush of parents checking their childcare entitlement, applying for their funding code and trying to find a nursery place that works for their family. If you live in…
A Very Special Graduation Day at Blue Windmill Nursery
There are some days in nursery life that feel particularly special, and our Leavers’ Graduation Assembly was certainly one of them. This year, we gathered together to celebrate our preschool children as they reached the end of their time at Blue Windmill Nursery and prepared for the exciting next step of starting school. For many of our leavers, this was…
From Our Nursery Garden to the Lunch Table
There was great excitement in the Blue Windmill garden recently when the children helped to harvest sweetcorn and courgettes that had been growing at nursery. Growing our own fruit and vegetables gives children the opportunity to see where food comes from and to notice how plants change over time. They can watch small seedlings develop, help care for the plants…
Top award for our day nursery garden in Rugby
Blue Windmill Nursery, a children’s nursery with a large garden in Rugby, has been awarded Platinum in the Schools Rugby in Bloom 2026 competition, as featured in the Rugby Observer. We are absolutely thrilled to receive the award, which recognises the work that has gone into making our garden a beautiful, engaging and nature-rich environment for the children. A huge…
Looking for an Air-Conditioned Nursery in Rugby?
During the recent heatwaves, many parents have been searching for an air-conditioned nursery in Rugby to make sure their children stay safe and comfortable in extreme temperatures. At Blue Windmill Nursery, all the playrooms and sleep areas are fully air-conditioned, allowing children to continue learning, playing and resting in a cool, comfortable environment even when outdoor temperatures become too high…
Thank You for Making Our Father’s Day Celebration So Special
We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our Blue Windmill families who joined us for our Father’s Day celebration. It was wonderful to see so many parents, siblings and other special family members enjoying the afternoon together in our nursery gardens. In the days leading up to the event, the children had great fun preparing…
Reading Activities for Babies: Our First Mobile Library Visit
Reading activities for babies can begin long before children are able to recognise words or turn pages independently. This week, our babies enjoyed a very special milestone at Blue Windmill Nursery as they visited the mobile library for the very first time. The excitement was clear from the moment we arrived. There were books to discover, colourful displays to look…
Father’s Day Picnic at Blue Windmill Nursery
We’re looking forward to welcoming our nursery families to a special Father’s Day Picnic at Blue Windmill Nursery on Friday 19th June 2026 (weather permitting). Father’s Day Picnic Rugby The picnic will begin at 4pm and gives us a wonderful opportunity to bring together children, parents and siblings for a relaxed afternoon in our nursery gardens. Blue Windmill families are…
Learning About Road Safety and Nature at the Park
Our older children at Blue Windmill Nursery recently enjoyed a visit to a local park as part of our ongoing learning about road safety and the world around us. Before setting off, the children put on their bright high-visibility jackets and talked about how these help people see them clearly when they are out and about. Along the way, we…
Managing Online Risks for Young Children
Online risks for young children are becoming an increasing concern for many parents, as phones, tablets, smart TVs and online videos are now part of everyday family life. Even children under 4 can accidentally come across upsetting or unsuitable content while using a device, sitting with older siblings or watching videos at home. At Blue Windmill Day Nursery, we do…
Releasing the Butterflies at Blue Windmill Nursery
Over the past few weeks, the children at Blue Windmill have been part of something very simple but quite special—watching our butterflies grow from tiny caterpillars, into cocoons, and finally emerging ready to be released. At the beginning, the caterpillars were small and busy, spending their time eating and growing. The children were naturally curious, often stopping to watch them…
Playdough Workshop for parents and children
Last week we welcomed parents into the nursery for a relaxed, hands-on playdough workshop led by our Parent Partnership Lead, Jill Burnett. It was a simple session, but a really meaningful one—bringing together families, sharing ideas, and showing how everyday play supports children’s development in powerful ways. Jill guided parents through making their own playdough (recipe below) using a straightforward…
Gardening with babies at Blue Windmill Nursery
Gardening with Babies is something we’ve been enjoying with this glorious spring weather at Blue Windmill, and it’s often the simplest moments that work best. Our babies have been busy at the Watering Station, filling small jugs from the water butts and carefully (and sometimes not so carefully) watering the herbs. There’s a lovely sense of purpose as they scoop,…
Curiosity Corner: A New Outdoor Learning Space at Blue Windmill Nursery
Our Curiosity Corner is a new nursery outdoor space here in Rugby, designed to invite children into slower, more thoughtful play. We’ve been working on it over the weekend, gently transforming part of our outdoor space into something a little different. It sits just under cover, making it usable in all weathers, and offers a calm contrast to the busier…
A Special Nursery Visit to Westlands Care Home
The children enjoyed a truly special visit to Westlands Care Home in Rugby, this week. It was a gentle, joyful experience that brought together two generations in a way that felt natural and meaningful. The residents welcomed the children with warmth and enthusiasm, creating an atmosphere that immediately put everyone at ease. Shared moments of connection There was a lovely…
Local Author Visit: Rosie Pickering at Blue Windmill
This week we were delighted to welcome local author Rosie Pickering to Blue Windmill Day Nursery, to mark World Book Day. Rosie spent time with the children sharing one of her stories and talking a little about how books are created. The children listened carefully, joined in with the storytelling and asked thoughtful questions afterwards. Meeting people in the local…