Grasshoppers Day Nursery, Aylesbury

Vegetables grown in the garden and served by the nursery chef give Grasshoppers Day Nursery, Aylesbury a practical connection between outdoor play and food. Daily garden access is part of the offer, alongside preschool Yoga and Dance and seasonal Tennis. These are concrete reasons to look closely at this Wendover Road setting.

At its August 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, highlighting teaching that developed children's interests through conversation and books. The current age range is two months to five years, with capacity for 73 children in total. That whole-nursery figure should not be read as the size of an individual group.

Learning and Activities

EYFS guides the activities here: children develop their learning through play, with their interests helping shape what staff introduce. The garden adds a practical dimension. Children plant vegetables and taste what they have grown, connecting an activity outdoors with something they can eat.

For preschool children, Yoga and Dance take place on Tuesdays; Tennis runs from October to April. Younger age groups have Cha Cha Chimps and Sing and Sign at different points during the year.

In August 2023, a dinosaur interest became an opportunity to combine imaginative play, painting and factual reading. Staff brought books into the activity and discussed dinosaur names and diets with children. The useful detail is how an interest was extended: the painting remained play, while conversation added knowledge and vocabulary.

Reading and sensory experiences also worked together in August 2023. Children learnt herb names and used new words in their play, while nursery rhymes gave them another way to practise language. Everyday materials carried learning too: very young children shared flour while making play dough, with adults giving them time to think and take turns.

Outdoor and Community Life

Every child has daily access to the garden. Vegetable growing gives that outdoor time a purpose beyond movement and fresh air, and the nursery has achieved a Green Flag award for its environmental projects. For a family drawn to practical experiences, growing and tasting produce is a clearer point of interest than an environmental label alone.

At the August 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised SEND support that combined targeted language activities with detailed plans developed alongside families and outside agencies. Those are dated judgements, with specific mechanisms behind them.

In August 2023, children formed close relationships with their key person, and parents could stay to help them settle. Moves between rooms involved detailed handovers from key persons. For a child facing a change of adults and surroundings, passing on that knowledge helped preserve continuity rather than treating a room move as a fresh start.

Home language was part of the care arrangements in August 2023. Staff used recordings supplied by parents to practise the pronunciation of important words, and picture prompts helped children understand the routine. These were practical ways to make the day more understandable for children learning English.

Independence also had small, tangible expressions in August 2023. Children could reach tissues at a self-care station, and staff allowed time to finish an activity before lunch. Adults helped children recognise emotions and express feelings. The emphasis was on practising everyday decisions and communication, alongside learning through activities.

Food has a direct link with the garden: the nursery chef serves produce that children have grown. This gives children an opportunity to taste the results of their own planting.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, across 52 weeks of the year, excluding public holidays and inset days. Families planning care around a working week need to account for those closures as well as the daily opening window.

Getting There

The address is 244 Wendover Road, Aylesbury, HP21 9PD. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01296 424540 or by email to grasshoppers.aylesbury@childbase.com; an enquiry form also offers a callback.

Funding and Paid Extras

In August 2023, the nursery provided funded education for children aged two, three and four. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fully inclusive package is part of the offer, so its contents deserve attention alongside the attendance pattern when comparing the overall arrangement.

• Garden and food. Children grow vegetables and taste produce served by the chef. At a visit, ask how children of your child's age take part in that sequence.
• Activity timing. Preschool Yoga and Dance run on Tuesdays, while Tennis runs from October to April and younger children's named sessions take place at different times of year. The days your child attends will affect which activities overlap with their routine.
• Your booking and quotation. The opening window runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays, with public-holiday and inset-day closures. Ask which booking pattern fits your week and how funded hours, meals and non-food consumables are treated in your quotation.

Grasshoppers suits families who value daily garden access, practical growing activities and a connection between play and language. Its August 2023 examples show adults using children's interests to build conversation and knowledge, while the current offer adds named activities for different age groups. Weekday opening across the year gives it practical appeal for working families. The choice should bring those features together with the booking arrangement and quotation that fit your household.