Poppies Nursery

A Spinney and a large adjoining wood give Poppies Nursery its strongest calling card: space for children to explore nature alongside their everyday play. This Stotfold setting, on the St Mary's school site in Rook Tree Lane, takes children aged two to five and the nursery says it has 74 places. Outdoor learning is a substantial part of its character, rather than an occasional change of scenery.

Ofsted rated Poppies Outstanding on 9 May 2022, finding that staff extended children's thinking through carefully chosen interactions and learning built on existing skills. That is a dated judgement. The current offer combines nature-based play with a key-person system, communication through Dojo and support for children's language development.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside a nursery day and wraparound care, giving families several ways to organise attendance. Funded hours operate during term time; holiday provision depends on viability.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the common foundation: play develops communication, physical skills and relationships, alongside literacy, mathematics, creative work and exploration of the world. Poppies combines children's choices with adult-led activities, balancing individual interests with planned learning.

The group's Poppies Learning Journey records children's development and next steps. Staff also track schemas, repeated play patterns such as carrying or lining up objects, to extend children's interests.

A group lending library connects nursery reading with home. Its reading challenge gives families a book each term for sharing their reading experiences. Books are stored indoors and outdoors, keeping reading within reach of play.

In May 2022, children made wooden hedgehogs using nails and hammers, compared nail lengths and explored the difference between animals active by day and those active at night. Other play included building cars from boxes and tyres and investigating pretend fossils. These examples show the substance behind learning through play: handling materials, testing ideas and using increasingly precise words within an activity that interests the child.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Spinney and adjoining wood are the clearest physical reasons to consider this branch. They give nature-based learning a setting of its own, with space beyond the indoor provision. Forest School, the group's structured nature-learning offer, adds practical exploration through activities such as growing plants, looking for insects, working with natural materials and using tools.

Balancing, climbing and woodwork make participation active and sometimes messy. Spare clothes and a change from outdoor boots into indoor footwear suit this offer.

In May 2022, children spent substantial time outside, tried yoga movements and used a tyre swing. Their outdoor play included opportunities to make decisions and practise managing risk.

Relationships and Communication

A key person connects care and communication with home, with working sessions matched to the child's attendance as closely as possible. Other staff contribute observations too, keeping information shared.

Dojo, the group's two-way app, shares daily play photographs and descriptions, plus a weekly activity story. Parents can contribute too. Termly updates and the Learning Journey's photographs, assessments and work samples give a longer view of development.

An outdoor settling area lets parents stay with their child and keyworker. A photographic timeline explains the day's sequence; gradually extended separations accommodate different settling speeds.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised support for children with SEND, including staff advocacy with other professionals and work to help children progress from their individual starting points. That assessment belongs to the inspection date, rather than providing a present-day guarantee.

The current group arrangements include trained special educational needs coordinators, consultation with families and liaison with outside professionals. Language support is tailored to individual needs. Small-group work and individual teaching are used when a child needs additional help, with families informed about the support and its next steps.

Sail into Sounds, Lift Off to Language and Wellcom are group programmes used for communication support and assessment. Families help decide when to change teaching strategies or involve another professional.

Toilet learning is supported in partnership with parents, including children who are not yet using the toilet independently. For children learning English as an additional language, the group gathers information about the language used at home and learns key words. These are concrete mechanisms for responding to individual needs, rather than a blanket promise about outcomes.

Sessions and Attendance

Poppies Nursery is based at the St Mary's school site, Rook Tree Lane, Stotfold, SG5 4DL. The main offer runs Monday to Friday during term time, with some school-holiday care dependent on viability. Enquiries go to the branch's administrative team by email or telephone.

The nursery day runs from 9am to 3pm. Separate morning sessions run from 9am to 11.30am, with afternoons from 12.30pm to 3pm; a lunch session bridges the middle of the day. Breakfast Club runs from 7.45am to 9am, and After School Club extends care from 3pm to 6pm. Flexible hours and full-day care are also offered, and sessions require advance booking.

Wraparound care in partnership with St Marys Academy takes Reception children to and from their school day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 or 30 hours for children from the term after their third birthday, subject to the relevant entitlement, and 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds, including those meeting vulnerable-family funding criteria. Funding is delivered during term time, with up to 30 hours a week and no stretched arrangement. Additional private hours can be purchased beyond a child's funded entitlement.

Chargeable services are separate from the funded hours themselves. They include refreshments, nappy disposal, bedding and laundry, a photographed learning record and activities such as cookery, music and Forest School. These extras are not a condition of taking a funded place; families who decline particular extras can discuss the alternative arrangements. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees and additional charges page explains the structure.

Families supply packed lunches; refreshments are included in paid session fees, while refreshments during funded hours fall within the separate services charge. The group's food policy excludes nuts and eggs, and its allergy arrangements include information gathered at induction and an allergy file used when preparing food and activities.

Non-food services, including nappy disposal and bedding or laundry, are separately charged within the funded-hours extras arrangement. Fees can be paid in advance weekly, monthly or termly; ordinary sickness and holiday absences remain chargeable, while absences for religious festivals or prolonged hospital stays are waived.

Moving on to School

The nursery describes itself as a feeder for St Marys, Roecroft and Fairfield. Attending nursery does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process. The school-site location and these relationships should therefore be understood as support for transition, rather than an admissions advantage.

In the spring 2026 transition cycle, planned activities covered future school routines, uniforms, staff and friendship groups, with transition records intended to be shared with receiving schools and families. St Marys staff were scheduled to share stories twice weekly, while staff from Roecroft and Fairfield were invited to meet their future children. This preparation helps make the change tangible before the nursery stage ends.

• Outdoor participation. The Spinney, wood and practical nature activities make this an active choice. At a visit, discuss how your child would use the outdoor provision and what clothing makes participation comfortable.
• Term-time funding. Funded hours are term-time only, and holiday care depends on viability. Families needing cover through school breaks should consider how those two arrangements fit their working year.
• Extras and food. Funded hours have a separate services arrangement, and families bring packed lunches. Discuss the alternatives to chargeable extras and, for a child with allergies, confirm current food-handling practice.
• School-site expectations. Links with St Marys, Roecroft and Fairfield support preparation for school, but attendance does not confer a Reception place. Keep nursery choice and the local authority application as separate decisions.

Poppies suits families seeking morning or afternoon nursery sessions as well as those combining a nursery day with breakfast or after-school care. Its strongest reasons for consideration are the Spinney and adjoining wood, practical nature learning and a detailed link between key-person observations and communication with home.

Balance the May 2022 Outstanding judgement and outdoor offer against practical needs: term-time funding, separately charged funded-hours services and packed lunches.