The Old Station Nursery High Wycombe

In June 2024, a sensory garden, signs alongside spoken words and learning that reached into the local community gave this Hazlemere nursery its character. The Old Station Nursery High Wycombe has capacity for 30 children, accepting ages from 3 to 60 months. That is a whole-nursery figure, rather than the size of an individual group.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 5 June 2024, with strengths in activities built around children's interests and two priorities: keeping older children engaged during planned activities and developing mathematical understanding. For parents, the useful distinction is between enjoyable experiences and how consistently those experiences extend learning.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: play, communication and everyday routines all contribute to their development. In June 2024, children's interests helped shape activities, while conversations about what they had enjoyed informed the following week's stories and vocabulary. Children had a say in what came next.

Makaton, a signing system used alongside communication, featured in garden activities that month. Younger children practised signs connected with birds and asking for help. Singing with babies and toddlers also took place outdoors, bringing language into active play rather than keeping it solely for organised indoor sessions.

Books prompted discussion and exploration of related objects. Older children could talk about pictures and connect stories with things they could handle. However, in June 2024 some became distracted during group activities, missing the intended learning. Counting and size vocabulary featured in play, but staff did not consistently develop other mathematical ideas. Parents of older children should weigh those teaching priorities alongside the broader Good judgement.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2024, the sensory garden provided stepping stones, soil to search for insects and an empty robin's nest to investigate. These physical features gave children something concrete to move across, examine and discuss. A teddy accompanied children as they searched the garden for potential hazards, making risk awareness part of play.

Community experiences that month included collecting litter, buying ingredients at a supermarket and visiting a library and park. These connected learning with ordinary places and environmental responsibility. Parents also read stories in their home languages; photographs of family celebrations and foods explored with chopsticks brought children's cultural experiences into nursery activities.

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, positive relationships between staff and children, and communication support through signing that benefited younger children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These findings give substance to the care judgement, rather than relying on a reassuring label alone.

During that month, babies received cuddles and reassurance, personal care was handled sensitively and staff kept routines close to those followed at home. Familiar routines mattered alongside the activities: settling involved responding to the child, rather than expecting every child to adapt in the same way.

Communication in June 2024 combined an online app with daily conversations. Home-learning packs included activities for making scones and different kinds of dough, giving families practical ways to continue play together. School preparation also involved parents: online support sessions shared advice from local teachers, while children practised dressing, toileting and serving themselves at snack time. The emphasis was on everyday independence.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm, and operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. Its address is Manor Farm Junior School, Rose Avenue, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, HP15 7PH.

Applications use the High Wycombe registration form. Exact attendance days must be confirmed at least six weeks before a child's start date, and a non-refundable registration charge applies to every new application. That makes the timing of a family's working arrangements relevant before the start date arrives.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible families, with the application terms referring to 15 or 30 funded hours a week. Private payment applies when a child starts before their funding becomes active; funded entitlement and privately paid care therefore need to be considered separately.

For funded care, an additional service charge covers food and snacks, alongside nappies, wipes, suncream, other consumables and additional services. Funding does not cover extra hours or additional activities. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, so families can assess the total cost of their intended attendance rather than the funded hours alone.

• Older children's learning. In June 2024, sustaining attention during group activities and extending mathematical ideas were improvement priorities. On a visit, ask how current activities address both points.
• Funding and the application commitment. Funded care carries a service charge, while new applications require a non-refundable registration payment and attendance days must be fixed six weeks ahead. Consider these terms together before applying.
• Your baby's daily routine. Following home routines was part of care in June 2024. Ask how settling and sleep would work for your child now.

This nursery suits families seeking year-round weekday care in Hazlemere who value learning through everyday experiences and practical links between home and nursery. The June 2024 picture combines outdoor exploration, communication work and preparation for independence. Its clearest reservation concerns the consistency of teaching for older children, especially mathematics and group engagement. Those are specific points to weigh against the broader strengths in care and play.