Over the Moon Day Nursery

Woodland trails and open fields give Over the Moon Day Nursery its character: outdoor exploration belongs to ordinary nursery life, with den building, wildlife watching and muddy clothing part of the picture. The setting occupies college grounds in Flackwell Heath and has 28 places in total. Its practical position needs equal prominence: refurbishment is currently under way, and tours are being directed to Marlow Bottom instead.

At its 16 May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received good support through work with families and other agencies. That judgement sits alongside two clear development priorities: giving children more opportunity to solve problems themselves and making individual learning plans more precise.

The baby, toddler and preschool stages each have their own described routines, while the wider approach gives children choices about activities and outdoor play. Funded childcare includes the universal 15-hour entitlement and the 30-hour offer for eligible working families. Morning, afternoon and full-day patterns sit alongside additional early and late hours.

Rooms and Ages

Babies, for children aged three months to two years, centres on sensory experiences and familiar care routines, with feeds, sleep and nappy changes following the individual child rather than a shared timetable. This makes the care pattern the starting point for the youngest children. Water play, music and buggy outings add activity around those needs.

Toddlers, for ages two to three, combines imaginative play and early communication with a steadier daily rhythm, including books, art, outdoor activity and increasing participation at mealtimes. Independence is practised through ordinary tasks. The aim is participation in the day, rather than an abrupt move from baby care to formal learning.

Pre-School, for ages three to five, brings communication, early number work, literacy and problem solving together through play, with children making choices about their activities. These room descriptions form part of the group's shared approach. Each stage includes daily outdoor time, so growing older changes the emphasis of the day rather than removing its outdoor element.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, conversation, physical activity and experiences suited to their stage of development. Here, that framework sits alongside the group's free-flow approach, which lets children move between indoor activities and the garden as their interests change. A child can continue an absorbing activity or choose something different, with practitioners joining and extending the play.

In May 2025, number work was woven into children's chosen activities. Staff used objects to explore quantities, then changed the collection by adding or removing an item. This puts early mathematics into something children can handle and see, rather than treating it only as a separate group exercise.

Daily group conversations were also part of the May 2025 day, giving children opportunities to speak and practise listening to others. Adult intervention sometimes came too quickly, however: children were not consistently given enough thinking time before an answer or solution arrived. That distinction matters. An interesting activity offers more learning when a child has time to work out what to do.

For older children, the group-wide Preparing for School meeting takes place each spring. It accompanies the Pre-School emphasis on learning through play and preparation for the next stage, giving families a specific point in the year for discussing that move.

Outdoor and Community Life

The college setting provides woodland trails and fields for exploration, including looking for wildlife and making dens. Wellies and waterproof clothing are everyday equipment. For families who value substantial time outdoors, the attraction is the setting's physical surroundings and the activities they make possible, rather than a named outdoor programme alone.

In May 2025, garden activities included chasing bubbles, painting with water on a fence and chalk board, and tending fruit and vegetables. These experiences asked children to move in different ways, control brushes and care for growing plants. They also gave adults concrete things to discuss with children: what they had planted, what needed watering and how growth happened.

Regular local walks featured in the May 2025 day, introducing children to their community and people such as the police. Caring for eggs and seeing chicks hatch brought another kind of discovery into nursery life. Nature was something children could observe changing, with care for living things attached to the activity.

Relationships and Communication

Settling in develops gradually, with the pace adjusted to the child. Families work with staff towards feeling comfortable before care is handed over fully. This is a useful distinction for parents whose child needs time with unfamiliar people: the starting process is organised around adjustment, rather than a fixed promise about how quickly separation should happen.

The group-wide communication approach includes everyday conversations and termly updates, alongside work with parents on behaviour and emotional wellbeing. These are opportunities to share practical strategies between home and nursery. In May 2025, staff also gathered information about children's preferences and used it when planning activities, giving familiar interests a place in the nursery day.

A key person was involved in observing development and planning learning in May 2025. The weakness arose when that practitioner was away: colleagues did not consistently know the child's next learning steps. For parents, continuity means more than having a familiar adult. The information about a child's learning needs to travel with the child when another practitioner takes responsibility.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In May 2025, support for children with additional needs included referrals and individual plans developed with parents and external agencies. These are concrete mechanisms families can discuss, rather than a general promise of inclusion. Regular exchanges with parents also connected information about nursery activities and progress with what families knew at home.

Baby sleep follows individual patterns, with checks recorded every ten minutes and bedding allocated to each child. Toddlers have a regular rest using their own sheets, while preschool children can rest or sleep after lunch when needed. Different arrangements recognise that the youngest children and older children may need different rhythms.

Chefs prepare meals on site using a four-week menu rotation. Shared meals are also part of the nursery day, with children helping to prepare the table rather than treating eating solely as a break between activities.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Buckinghamshire College Group, Spring Lane, Flackwell Heath, High Wycombe, HP10 9HE. The normal opening window is Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, across the year, with bank holiday and Christmas closures. Refurbishment is currently under way, so that opening pattern needs to be read alongside the arrangements for the building work.

The branch's session patterns are a morning from 8am to 1pm and an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm; an ad hoc full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Additional hours can begin at 7.30am or finish at 6.30pm. The extension is separate from the normal opening window and standard sessions, which matters when comparing a family's working hours with the childcare day.

For enquiries, the branch can be contacted on 01628 532169 or at otm@thtjb-daynursery.co.uk. On-site parking is provided at Spring Lane. Tours are currently directed to Marlow Bottom during the refurbishment.

Funding and Paid Extras

The universal offer is 15 funded hours for three- and four-year-olds; eligible working families can use the 30-hour entitlement from nine months to school age. At this branch, funded hours are spread over 51 nursery weeks rather than confined to term time. This distributes the allocation through the year instead of providing the headline weekly entitlement in every nursery week.

Food is charged separately on days using funded hours and appears as an item on the invoice. The quoted package prices include food, wipes and suntan cream, so the food charge needs to be understood within the package selected rather than added indiscriminately to every price. Wipes and suntan cream are included in those package prices.

Additional early or late hours and ad hoc attendance have their own charges. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the branch's funding and session terms distinguish the childcare pattern from the funded contribution towards it.

• Refurbishment and the intended start. Building work is currently under way, with tours redirected to Marlow Bottom. Ask how the refurbishment affects your intended start and when a visit to Over the Moon itself can take place.
• Thinking time and continuity. In May 2025, adults sometimes supplied solutions too quickly, and individual learning plans were less consistent when a child's key person was absent. On a visit, ask how staff now share those plans and give children time to solve problems.
• Outdoor clothing. Woodland trails, fields and den building make waterproofs and wellies practical everyday kit. Families need to be comfortable with outdoor exploration and the clothing it requires.
• Funded days and food. Food charges apply on days using funded hours, while package prices include food, wipes and suntan cream. Compare the written quotation for your chosen sessions with the funded allocation and included items.

Over the Moon suits families drawn to outdoor exploration within a college setting, with morning sessions, afternoon sessions and full-day attendance serving different routines. Woodland trails and fields give that preference a concrete setting; the May 2025 account adds hands-on number work, gardening and local walks.

The balance is practical as well as educational. Refurbishment affects the immediate joining decision, while the May 2025 learning priorities make children's thinking time and continuity of planning useful subjects for a visit. For families whose timing works with the building programme, the appeal is clear: a small setting with substantial outdoor surroundings and attendance choices beyond a single full-day pattern.