Apples & Pears Private Day Nursery

A converted cattle shed, farmland views and supervised access to fields give Apples & Pears Private Day Nursery a recognisable rural character. At Pear Tree Farm in Smallwood, the building connects nursery rooms with outdoor play, while visits to the animals add experiences that reach beyond the classroom. The countryside is part of the offer, rather than simply the backdrop.

The nursery has capacity for 115 children, accepting children from 3 to 59 months. At its August 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found effective safeguarding, good progress for children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and a carefully ordered curriculum. That is a dated assessment, rather than a judgement on today's practice.

Named rooms take children from Sandy Strawberries through Polly Pears and Andy Apples to the two Peaches Pre-School classrooms. Full-day and half-day bookings sit alongside an opening window of 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays. For parents, the strongest combination is practical attendance choice, age-based rooms and substantial opportunities to spend time outdoors.

Rooms and Ages

Sandy Strawberries caters for babies up to approximately 12 months, combining tactile play resources and a sleeping area with songs, baby sign and early communication activities. Supervised outdoor sleep is another option, subject to the weather and parental preference. This makes the room's offer relevant to care routines as well as play: rest has a place within the environment, rather than being treated as an interruption to learning.

Polly Pears covers approximately 12 to 24 months, with painting, baking and construction alongside walking-support toys and outdoor movement. Its activities give newly mobile children different ways to experiment: handling materials, trying movements and communicating with adults. Country walks and day trips require parental authorisation; pushchairs and reins support those outings.

Andy Apples serves children aged two to approximately two and a half, bringing together role play, early number and language work, pencil control and practice in sharing and listening. The emphasis moves towards participating alongside other children. Turn-taking and staying with a story matter here as much as recognising a colour or shape.

Peaches Pre-School 1 provides the next stage after Andy Apples, while Peaches Pre-School 2 serves older preschool children through age-appropriate activities and preparation for school. Moving between these classrooms keeps that progression within familiar nursery surroundings. The distinction is useful for families considering how a younger preschool child will move towards the expectations of school.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build communication, physical and social skills through play and adult-guided activities. At Apples & Pears, that includes baby sign in Sandy Strawberries, creative and sensory experiences in Polly Pears, and early language and number activities in Andy Apples. These are concrete ways the framework shapes the day, rather than a separate branded programme.

In August 2023, learning followed an ordered sequence, with staff checking children's understanding before deciding what to introduce next. Early writing began with fingers exploring materials such as oats and flour, then moved towards chalk, crayons and pens. That progression matters because handling and making marks precede more controlled writing; the activities gave children different routes into those skills.

Books also had a practical place in August 2023. Staff-made props accompanied The Tiger Who Came to Tea, turning a story into imaginative play. Songs and rhymes supported spoken language, while group conversations gave children practice in waiting and listening. The value was in using stories actively, alongside opportunities to speak and respond.

Outdoor and Community Life

The building has five classrooms and direct access to a rubberised outdoor play surface. Beyond that immediate play area, children can use the nursery's fields and footpaths under supervision. Regular visits to see and help care for animals take place with parental agreement. Those are different kinds of outdoor experience: space for movement close to the rooms, and opportunities to explore the wider farm surroundings.

In August 2023, outdoor activities included riding wheeled toys and practising balance, while music indoors encouraged dancing and movement. Visitors added another dimension: a firefighter visit let children explore equipment and learn about emergency services. These are examples from that period, rather than a recurring visitor timetable.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is assigned to each baby to track development and keep a record of progress, and the nursery uses this system throughout its rooms. In Andy Apples, key workers adjust activities to children's developmental needs. That gives care and learning a named role within the staff structure, with an adult responsible for following the child's progress rather than treating the room as one undifferentiated group.

In August 2023, parents and staff exchanged information through electronic communication, planned meetings and conversations at collection. Older children helped younger children and newcomers, while children practised independence and cooperation. Together, these details show how relationships operated at that point: communication connected home and nursery, and children were encouraged to take an active part in their room.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with families and outside professionals to identify SEND early and adapt provision, but asked leaders to connect observations more closely with staff coaching and training and improve everyday language to avoid gender stereotypes. The balance matters. Support mechanisms earned praise, while staff development and the messages children heard in conversation still needed attention.

Current security arrangements include a biometric entry system and staff monitoring of the main entrance. Collection by an unfamiliar adult must be arranged and documented beforehand. These are specific procedures for controlling access and handover; they are separate from the dated safeguarding judgement.

For babies, parents can continue breastfeeding at the nursery or supply labelled bottled breast milk; prepared formula is brought from home. Nappies and wipes are supplied for children under two, with parent-supplied alternatives accepted where the usual brand causes difficulties. The funded-hours terms separately place nappies with parents, so the child's attendance arrangement matters to what the family supplies.

Food and snacks are prepared on site, using produce from a local butcher, and children eat with their age-group rooms. Mealtimes also provide practice in feeding independently and using table manners, giving food a social role alongside its practical one.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Pear Tree Farm, Back Lane, Smallwood, Sandbach, CW11 2UN. Full-day and half-day sessions are offered; opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The opening window describes the nursery's operating day, while the two booking patterns give families a choice between longer attendance and shorter sessions.

The nursery opens for 51 weeks, with a Christmas-to-New-Year closure week that remains chargeable; bank holidays are also closures. Fees are paid a full month ahead. This is an across-the-year arrangement, so families need to account for closures as well as their child's usual attendance when assessing the commitment.

Enquiries and registration-pack requests can be made by telephone on 01477 500 253 or by email at applesandpearsnursery@gmail.com. The rural site is 2 miles from Junction 17 of the M6, giving a concrete reference point for families comparing its location with their daily route.

Funding and Paid Extras

In August 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Funding terms separate entitlement from meals, consumables, extra hours and additional activities such as trips. A funded entitlement therefore needs to be considered alongside the services a family chooses to use, rather than treated as covering every part of attendance.

Meals are purchased separately under the funding terms, and parents provide nappies for funded attendance and prepared formula for babies. Trips and additional hours sit outside the funded provision. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charge structure.

• Staff development and everyday language. The August 2023 improvement priorities concerned the connection between observation and staff support, and avoiding gender stereotypes in conversation. On a show-round, ask how coaching now addresses both priorities.
• Baby supplies and funded attendance. Under-two room arrangements include supplied nappies and wipes, while funding terms put nappies with parents and formula comes from home. Establish which supplies apply to your child's booking before agreeing the written quotation.
• Farm activities and permissions. Animal-care visits need parental agreement, and Polly Pears outings require authorisation. A show-round is a useful opportunity to discuss how these experiences fit your child's routines and any additional needs.
• The annual payment commitment. The Christmas closure week is chargeable and fees are payable a month ahead. Include that closure in your budget alongside the full-day or half-day pattern you choose.

Apples & Pears suits families seeking either full-day or half-day attendance in a rural setting, with a clear progression through named rooms. Its strongest practical features are the connection between classrooms and outdoor space, supervised access to fields, and animal-care experiences with parental agreement. Babies also have specific feeding and sleeping arrangements, while older children move towards school preparation within familiar surroundings.

The August 2023 Good judgement provides a useful reference point, with staff coaching and everyday language identified for further work. For a family choosing this nursery, the decision turns on whether its farm setting, room progression and across-the-year payment structure fit their child and household routines.