Rebeccas Day Nursery

Farm animals, shared meals and children of different ages learning together give Rebeccas Day Nursery its rural character. Based at Goodwill Hall near Nantwich, it accepts children from birth to five, with a separate baby area alongside its mixed-age provision. Siblings can spend part of their day together. For families who value relationships across ages, that is a meaningful part of the offer.

At its 9 April 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged the support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) positively. That judgement came with specific improvements to make in language teaching and the organisation of activities involving different ages. Both matter when weighing the mixed-age model.

The outdoor surroundings include fields and a working farm, while a kitchen used for children's food preparation brings practical learning indoors. Funding can be used over the nursery's term-time allocation or spread across its opening year, subject to its booking conditions.

Rooms and Ages

The separate baby area gives the youngest children their own space within a setting that otherwise brings ages together. The mixed-age arrangement allows siblings to share experiences and children to build friendships beyond their immediate age group. It makes the way activities are organised especially important: something engaging for an older child may need adapting for a toddler.

In April 2024, babies sought staff out for affection, songs and stories, and practised taking turns with a rocking horse. Adults also supported balance and core strength, while older children practised controlling a ball with their feet. These examples give a concrete picture of physical learning suited to different stages, rather than a single activity expected to serve everyone.

Learning and Activities

The nursery works to the EYFS, the framework for children's learning, development and care: its activities cover communication, early reading and writing, physical development, creativity and social skills. Topic-based activities also encourage children to think through problems and explore the world around them. Observations of each child's development help shape what comes next, so planning has an individual element alongside group activities.

Makaton Signing adds signing to communication provision. Another named connection is the rural arts mini network, which brings professional theatre aimed at young children. These offer different ways to participate: communication through signing and an introduction to live performance. The nursery also maintains links with local toddler groups and schools.

In April 2024, Ofsted found that vocabulary teaching was inconsistent and that mixed-age activities did not always account sufficiently for individual needs, with two-year-olds sometimes becoming distracted. These are precise limitations, rather than a criticism of every activity. A useful visit would explore how staff now introduce unfamiliar words and adapt a shared activity for younger children.

Outdoor and Community Life

Open fields, cows and tractors make the rural surroundings part of the children's experience. The nearby farm also has ponies and donkeys that children can visit and feed, and the village common provides another connection with the local area. This gives learning about animals and the natural world a practical setting beyond pictures and stories.

In April 2024, children helped care for fish and guinea pigs. They also gathered eggs from the nursery's hens, Woody and Buzz, and used them in cooking activities with staff. The sequence matters: looking after animals, collecting food and preparing it connects experiences that might otherwise remain separate topics.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key worker who follows their interests and development and uses that knowledge in planning. This gives families a particular adult connected with their child's experience, while helping activities reflect the child rather than just their age. A learning journey brings together photographs, observations and examples of work, with a summary each term.

In April 2024, staff shared information about children's development and ideas for learning at home, while a regular newsletter covered nursery activities and events. Daily routines also supported increasing independence: babies practised drinking from open cups, younger children poured water from jugs and older children prepared snacks. These were small, practical opportunities to do things for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In April 2024, the manager also held the special educational needs coordinator role. Staff adapted learning into smaller steps for children with SEND, and the manager arranged additional help promptly. For a family considering support needs, the practical question is how those smaller steps would be planned for their own child and shared with them.

The April 2024 findings also included a failure to act promptly on a safeguarding concern about a colleague and a failure to notify the regulator of the significant event. Procedures had been revisited and staff understanding addressed; the breaches had not affected children's safety or welfare. This detail belongs alongside the effective safeguarding judgement, rather than being lost behind the overall grade.

Meals are cooked on the premises by the nursery's cook, and staff eat alongside children to encourage conversation and eating habits. Children help serve their own food and drinks, and the nursery accommodates dietary requirements; families managing an allergy should discuss the arrangements for their child.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Goodwill Hall, Wrexham Road, Brindley, Nantwich, CW5 8HY. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with bank holidays and a week at Christmas excluded. This gives families the opening window for planning work and travel, while funded attendance has its own conditions.

For the full funded entitlement, bookings must cover at least three sessions on three separate days each week. Grant sessions are subject to availability. This condition matters for families hoping to concentrate the entitlement into fewer days: the full allocation comes with a spread across the week.

Enquiries can be made through the nursery's contact form, by email or by telephone. Parking is available at the setting. Its rural position and the three-day funding condition are worth considering together when deciding whether the attendance pattern fits the family's routine.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery's funding arrangement offers 15 hours a week over 38 weeks, from the term after a child's second birthday. It also allows the allocation to be spread over its 50 opening weeks, giving 11.5 hours each week; these are attendance arrangements, not a guarantee of eligibility or a funded place.

For funded sessions, meals and snacks are charged separately, with sugar-free packed food accepted as an alternative. Although the charge is labelled a consumable charge, its components are lunch and a morning snack, then tea and an afternoon snack. Current prices should form part of the nursery's written quotation, so families can assess their chosen attendance and food arrangements together.

• Mixed ages and language teaching. The April 2024 findings identified inconsistent vocabulary work and activities that sometimes lost the attention of two-year-olds. On a visit, ask how an activity is adapted for toddlers and how staff help children recognise and use new words.
• Safeguarding response. In April 2024, procedures had been revisited after delayed action on a concern about a colleague and a missed notification. Ask how concerns are escalated promptly and how staff understand their responsibilities in practice.
• Funded attendance and food. Taking the full entitlement requires at least three sessions across three days. Food carries a separate charge during funded sessions, with sugar-free packed food as an alternative, so the timetable and food choice both affect the family's arrangements.
• Individual care in a shared setting. A separate baby area and a key worker sit alongside mixed-age activities. Discuss settling and how your child's rest, dietary requirements or additional support would fit into that shared day, including current allergy arrangements where relevant.

Rebeccas Day Nursery suits families drawn to rural surroundings, practical activities and a mixed-age day in which siblings can spend time together. The farm, children's involvement with food and the rural arts mini network give that character substance. Families considering funded attendance can choose between a term-time allocation and an allocation spread across the opening year, within the nursery's conditions.

The April 2024 Good judgement supports that appeal, but the language-teaching and mixed-age activity findings deserve attention, as does the safeguarding response described above. The most useful visit will explore those specific practices alongside the child's individual care needs. The decision turns on how well the shared day works for that child.