The Willow On The Farm Nursery

Farm animals, nature rambles and classroom learning give The Willow On The Farm Nursery its character. Based at Nill Farm near Hook Norton, it combines outdoor experiences with a Montessori-inspired environment that encourages children to concentrate and do things independently. The farm is part of the learning offer, rather than simply the backdrop.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 24 June 2025. It has 32 places in total, a whole-setting capacity rather than a class size. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance sit alongside optional lunch and after-school arrangements, giving families several ways to organise their child's time here.

Rooms and Ages

Goslings and Swallows are the named classes, with different session clocks. Their morning and afternoon sessions can be combined with a lunch hour to make a full day. These are useful distinctions for families organising siblings or work commitments: the two classes do not start and finish together.

Indoor and outdoor learning spaces support the Montessori-inspired approach. Independence and sustained attention are explicit aims, alongside creative play and projects undertaken with other children. This gives the approach practical substance beyond its name: children have opportunities to make choices, work together and stay with an activity.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the everyday framework, covering seven areas of learning through activities, play and individual planning. Montessori teaching sits alongside it, including phonetic reading materials used to help children recognise letters and sounds. Small-group work and individual teaching complement opportunities to choose activities such as puzzles, painting and modelling.

Mathematics uses games and simple challenges, with a personal progress record for each child. Daily music and drama include singing, instruments and imaginative play. Circle time gives children opportunities to share an idea or explain something to a group, making spoken communication part of the routine rather than reserving it for formal lessons.

In June 2025, children connected stories and discussions about insects with observations outdoors, then drew on that knowledge to build models during forest school activities. They also practised practical skills individually before using them in their own play, including pouring and handling screwdrivers. The connection matters: learning a technique gave children something useful to apply independently.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular farm outings and nature rambles bring the surrounding countryside into the nursery day. In June 2025, children explored farmland across changing weather and ground conditions, giving them direct experiences of the natural world and opportunities for physical activity.

The Optional Enrichment Programme is a separate choice, charged termly. It includes Forest School sessions, visiting dance teachers and Tractor Trailer rides on the farm. Forest School here adds outdoor sessions led by a practitioner; it should be distinguished from the indoor and outdoor learning that forms part of ordinary attendance. Children whose families decline enrichment continue with the usual educational provision and staff.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child starts. That practitioner acts as the family's main contact, works with parents on an individual care and learning plan, and shares developmental records. The arrangement gives parents a consistent person with whom to discuss both nursery experiences and what is happening at home.

Settling is planned jointly with parents. The usual starting point is two hours on each of the first two days, with time increased according to the child's ability to manage separation. The nursery reserves the right to decline attendance if separation causes a child distress, especially for very young children. If a child remains mildly unsettled after a parent leaves, the policy provides for contact within 30 minutes. It also rejects leaving children to cry as a settling strategy.

In June 2025, regular parent workshops explained how early literacy and mathematics were taught. These gave families practical ways to connect learning at nursery with activities at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found teaching exceptionally effective and safeguarding effective, with activities helping children recognise emotions, express feelings and respond thoughtfully to others. That is a dated assessment of practice, rather than an assurance based on a policy alone.

The progress check at age two uses My Montessori Child, the child's developmental profile. Concerns are discussed with parents, the SENCo and the manager, with activities planned around the child's needs and other professionals involved where appropriate. Designated safeguarding lead roles and staff safeguarding training form part of the nursery's arrangements.

Toileting is approached in partnership with families. Children do not have to be potty trained to attend, which removes an entry condition that can otherwise complicate a preschool start.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Nill Farm, Tadmarton Heath Road, Hook Norton, Banbury, OX15 5DQ. Enquiries and show-around bookings can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01608 730143.

Goslings has a morning session from 8.50am to 11.50am and an afternoon from 12.50pm to 2.50pm; its optional Lunch Club runs from 11.50am to 12.50pm. Swallows mornings run from 9am to noon, afternoons from 1pm to 3pm, and Lunch Club from noon to 1pm. A full day combines morning, lunch and afternoon. After School Club is optional and runs from 3pm to 4pm, Tuesday to Thursday.

Families purchasing additional sessions typically book at least four sessions a week in Goslings or six in Swallows. These are typical paid booking patterns, rather than a requirement imposed on funded-only attendance: children using just their entitlement can attend for those funded hours.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers Universal 15 Hours (3–4-year-olds), Extended 30 Hours (Working Parent Entitlement) and the 2-Year-Old Working Parent Entitlement. Funded hours are free to access, and families do not have to buy extra hours or services to use them. Additional paid sessions and selected optional services are separate charges; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Lunch Club purchases an additional hour of attendance, with families supplying the food, including when using funded hours. Enrichment and After School Club are optional, separately charged services.

The registration charge is non-refundable and secures a waiting-list place, but does not apply to funded-only children. For children using funding for some or all attendance, the deposit is returned by the headcount date in their starting term; for wholly private attendance, it is credited against the final term's invoice. A deposit is not a condition of accessing funded hours.

• Settling needs time. The usual start involves short attendance on the first two days, extended as the child becomes comfortable. The nursery may decline attendance if separation causes distress, especially for very young children. Discuss how this policy and the settling period will fit around work and who can remain available during the transition.
• Outdoor extras are a separate choice. Forest School sessions, visiting dance teachers and Tractor Trailer rides sit within optional, termly charged enrichment. During a visit, discuss how an ordinary session and an enrichment session differ for your child.
• Paid attendance carries termly commitments. Withdrawal from paid sessions requires a full term of written notice, and illness, holidays and other absences do not attract refunds. Consider those terms before committing to additional sessions.
• Lunch comes from home. Lunch Club provides time rather than food. Ask which non-food supplies your child should bring for their sessions.

The Willow suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as those combining them into a full day. Its appeal is concrete: farm outings, Montessori-inspired independence, individual teaching and a planned key-person relationship. The June 2025 Outstanding judgement adds weight to that combination.

The practical decision is how much attendance and optional enrichment to purchase. Funded-only attendance remains a separate route, while paid sessions bring termly financial commitments. Families who value countryside experiences and preschool learning, and whose routines fit the class clocks, have clear reasons to consider it.