Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Adderbury

A Secret forest garden and a separate sleep room give Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Adderbury two useful points of difference: space for outdoor discovery and somewhere apart from play for babies to rest. The nursery occupies The Hub at Twyford Mill in Adderbury, with provision spanning babies, toddlers and children preparing for school.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and identified improvements needed in coaching newer staff and supporting the youngest children's communication. That dated judgement is the starting point for assessing quality, rather than a guarantee about today's practice.

Children can start from three months, and the nursery has 57 places in total. Flexible sessions sit alongside opening hours of 8am to 6pm on weekdays; the garden, age-specific spaces and included everyday supplies give families practical reasons to consider it.

Rooms and Ages

Babies, labelled for 6–18 months, offers learning opportunities suited to varied developmental abilities and has a separate sleep room. Separating rest from the activity space matters for families whose baby still needs daytime sleep.

Rising 2s covers 18–24 months, combining resources suited to that stage with opportunities to explore other spaces and practise larger movements in the garden. Toddlers, for children aged 2 to 3 years, uses the main room with free-flow garden access, while activities allow children to develop at their own pace.

Pre-school serves ages 3 to 5 years, with an emphasis on independence and activities that prepare children for starting school. A floor dedicated to babies and younger children adds a physical distinction between the needs of the youngest children and the older groups.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development: practitioners follow children's progress and plan experiences across the areas of learning. In parent terms, play and activities are shaped around what a child can already do and what they are ready to practise next. This is the shared early-years foundation, rather than an extra programme unique to Adderbury.

In September 2023, planning drew on children's interests and observations of their development. One practical example involved activities arranged on tables to encourage children learning to stand. The detail matters: an everyday play arrangement was being used to support a specific next step.

Reading also featured in September 2023. Children selected stories, discussed pictures and anticipated what would happen on the next page. These exchanges gave books a conversational role, with children contributing rather than simply listening to an adult read.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Secret forest garden is open to every age group for practical exploration. Alongside it, a sensory area adds another setting for children to investigate their surroundings. Garden access is attached explicitly to the Rising 2s and Toddlers descriptions, making outdoor movement part of those rooms' arrangements.

In September 2023, the preschool children's council helped plan changes to the garden, choosing plants and flowers they wanted to grow. Children also helped one another balance while climbing a garden hill and shared turns on the slide. Those examples combined physical play with opportunities to contribute ideas and cooperate.

Relationships had a clear place in daily care in September 2023: children had a key person, and staff talked with parents about the day's learning and ways to continue it at home. For a family, that connects the nursery day with the child's experience outside it, rather than leaving learning as something that happens only in the setting.

Ashbourne's group-wide settling arrangements are tailored to the individual child. Its group-wide communication system uses an app for care and activity updates, with the child's educational plan accessible there too. These arrangements give parents a way to follow both everyday routines and planned learning.

The September 2023 findings also identified an important weakness for babies: routine care tasks sometimes distracted staff from responding promptly to children's attempts to engage. Newer staff had not all received the full benefit of coaching, affecting how they supported learning. Both points deserve attention when judging the youngest children's daily experience.

Seasonal lunches and snacks are served daily, with dietary needs accommodated and support for babies during weaning. Food, milk, wipes and nappies are included in the fee package, reducing the supplies parents need to organise separately.

School preparation in September 2023 included sharing children's progress with their future schools and using school uniforms in play. That offered familiarity with the next stage through information and everyday experience; it did not establish an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Flexible sessions provide an attendance option within that opening window, so the hours should be read as the nursery's operating day rather than the times of a particular booking.

The nursery opens for 51 weeks of the year and closes for bank holidays and over Christmas. That matters for families organising year-round childcare: the holiday closures need to fit alongside their own working arrangements.

Getting There

The address is The Hub, Twyford Mill, Oxford Road, Adderbury, Banbury OX17 3SX. New-parent enquiries can be made through the Adderbury enquiry form or by telephone on 0800 699 00 44; visit booking is also offered.

Funding and Paid Extras

The all-inclusive fee package covers food and milk together with nappies and wipes. Those are separate budgeting categories, even though they are brought together in this package: meals and the named non-food consumables are both included in the fee.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Families comparing arrangements should compare the attendance pattern and what it includes, rather than treating opening hours as the booking itself.

• The youngest children's conversations. In September 2023, staff sometimes missed babies' attempts to engage while occupied with routines. On a visit, ask how practitioners now protect responsive conversation during care tasks and how newer staff receive coaching.
• Starting age and room placement. Children can join from three months, while the Babies label starts at six months. Ask which space and settling arrangement would be used for your child's starting age.
• Flexible attendance and holiday cover. Flexible sessions are offered, with 51 weeks of opening and closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Discuss a concrete weekly booking and how those closures fit your family's childcare needs.

Adderbury suits families seeking flexible attendance, age-specific spaces and outdoor exploration, with food and everyday supplies included in the fee. The Secret forest garden and separate sleep room give that offer substance. For parents of babies, the decisive consideration is how current practice addresses the September 2023 weaknesses in responsive communication and staff coaching.