The Spinney Day Nursery, Bell Meadow

Woodland exploration and a Sensory room give Bell Meadow two quite different ways to capture a child's curiosity. This rural nursery in Pulford combines indoor spaces for imaginative play with Forest School, an approach that takes learning into a natural environment through exploration and practical activities. Its own woodland site opened in January 2023, bringing preschool sessions closer to the nursery.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The important qualification was educational: activities needed clearer learning intentions, and children needed more opportunities to encounter cultures, religions and faiths beyond their own.

Children are accepted from one month to five years. Weekday opening runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm, with closures on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS gives the day its educational foundation: children learn through play, conversation and practical exploration, including observing plants, animals and changes around them. Bell Meadow's Sensory room provides a concrete example. Toddlers and preschool children have explored its lights and used a story about wind to discuss sounds and what happens when the weather changes. That connects a physical experience with language and an explanation of the world.

An Imaginative Playroom and Outdoor Classroom add different settings for play. These spaces matter because learning need not depend on one type of activity or one room. The sensory example centres on looking, listening and talking; woodland sessions move the emphasis towards exploring natural surroundings.

In July 2023, children practised handling tweezers while sorting objects by colour, while younger children investigated jelly and other textures. These were small, practical tasks with a clear purpose: using hands carefully, noticing differences and persevering with something unfamiliar. Activities drew on children's interests, although their intended next steps were not consistently precise.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School is the strongest thread in Bell Meadow's character. Weekly sessions for preschool children were introduced at the new woodland site in January 2023. The nursery also planned to continue visits to its sister nursery's woodland, giving children experience of different natural surroundings.

A February 2023 account gives substance to that offer. Children replenished bird feeders, investigated animal tracks using an identification sheet, and made feeders shaped like hearts for St Valentine's Day. Pancake Day brought cooking over a campfire. These examples turn seasonal change and wildlife into things children can observe and do, rather than subjects discussed only indoors.

In July 2023, children searched for insects, prepared hot chocolate over a fire and moved between trees in the garden's forest school area. Outdoor exploration included learning how to keep themselves safe. The setting offered room for energetic movement as well as close attention to nature.

Community activity has also extended beyond the building. For Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2021, preschool children made superhero masks and searched Bell Meadow Business Park for hidden symbols, with families and local businesses sponsoring the activity. It was a specific fundraising event, rather than a standing weekly outing.

In July 2023, relationships with staff were close, and everyday routines included reminders about sharing and waiting for a turn. Toddlers practised managing their shoes, while handwashing formed part of routines around eating and toileting. These examples show how social expectations and practical independence were built into ordinary moments, rather than reserved for a separate lesson.

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator worked with families and professionals, helped parents complete forms and directed them towards further advice. That finding describes practical support, including help with the administrative steps families can face when seeking assistance.

Communication also had a practical channel in July 2023: a secure online app carried information about children's learning and development. This gave parents material to respond to and contribute to, rather than relying entirely on brief conversations.

Bell Meadow's deputy manager holds the designated safeguarding lead role. This identifies responsibility within the team; the dated safeguarding judgement above remains the assessment of effectiveness.

Fresh meals are prepared by a cook in the nursery kitchen, with menus changing weekly and dietary requirements catered for. In the Spinney Bell Meadow Dining Room, siblings from different rooms can eat together, and staff join children at the tables: meals also create time for conversation.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for the week between Christmas and New Year; that Christmas closure week is not charged. For families whose work continues through school holidays, the annual opening pattern is an important practical consideration.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at infobm@thespinneydaynursery.co.uk or by telephone on 01244 577948. The nursery asks families to include their child's age and the type of care they are interested in, helping make the initial enquiry specific.

Getting There

The address is Handbridge House, Park Ln, Chester CH4 9EP, on Bell Meadow Business Park in Pulford. The site is approached from the old Wrexham road, with Grosvenor Garden Centre used as a landmark for families travelling from Chester.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with 30hrs Funding and funding for two- and three-year-olds identified in the fees information. Private childcare is also offered, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

The private fee includes meals, snacks and necessary toiletries, including nappies. Outings, Christmas parties and Halloween activities are covered by the same fee, rather than attracting separate small activity charges. This simplifies the everyday cost structure and reduces what parents need to pack.

Fees are reviewed each April. Discounts apply to siblings, twins and children in full-time care, so the relevant family circumstances belong in the quotation request.

• Purpose behind the play. In July 2023, activity planning needed clearer learning intentions. During a visit, ask how staff now connect a child's interests with the next skill they are helping them develop.
• A broader view of the world. July 2023 also brought a request for more learning about different cultures, religions and faiths. Ask for examples alongside the woodland and seasonal activities that feature strongly here.
• Your child's attendance and funding. The weekday opening window and annual closures are clear practical anchors. Ask which booking pattern would suit your child and how funded hours, meals and toiletries would be treated in your written quotation.

Bell Meadow suits families seeking childcare across the year who value woodland learning, sensory exploration and meals shared with siblings. Weekly preschool Forest School sessions give its outdoor offer substance, while the Sensory room brings a different kind of exploration indoors.

The July 2023 Good judgement supports consideration, with two useful questions to carry into a visit: how precisely activities advance learning, and how children encounter lives and beliefs beyond their own. Those questions help assess the educational substance behind an appealing practical offer.