Highway Farm Activity Centre

Campfire snacks, timber classrooms and vegetables grown by the children give Highway Farm Activity Centre a clear identity. Little Explorers, its outdoor pre-school in Four Lanes, spends much of the day outside in every season. This is a setting where waterproof clothing belongs alongside the lunch box, and planting, den building and handling tools are part of learning rather than occasional additions.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, with Outstanding personal development, and found safeguarding effective; it also identified inconsistent support for language and engagement during activities. Those qualifications matter. An appealing outdoor setting does not remove the need for adults to give children time to think, respond and stay involved.

The centre has 41 places in total. Little Explorers accepts children approaching their third birthday, with a condition that those starting at two must turn three before their first term ends, and continues until children start school. Term-time morning, afternoon and full-day bookings sit alongside holiday care.

Rooms and Ages

Tevi Lodge and The Hive are the two named class spaces. Each uses mixed-age family groups, bringing together children nearly three with three- and four-year-olds. Children share a class across different stages of development.

Two timber buildings provide indoor space, with log burners for heating, compost toilets and an enclosed outdoor area surrounded by a field. The indoor spaces remain part of the day. During winter, children spend the first couple of hours in their classrooms before dressing for outdoor play; in the warmer parts of the year, the day begins outside. That seasonal rhythm makes the clothing requirements a practical part of attendance.

Learning and Activities

EYFS is the framework for children's learning and care, covering language, physical development, relationships and the foundations of literacy and mathematics through play. Highway Farm builds its outdoor curriculum around that framework. Nature supplies much of the material: children grow produce, prepare snacks, make dens for storytelling and use tools for purposeful tasks.

Watering, harvesting and preparing produce give children practical ways to explore change and take responsibility.

The Healthy Early Years Program adds an emphasis on physical activity, growing food and healthy habits. Trips also extend learning beyond the grounds, taking children to beaches, woodland and places associated with mining heritage. These outings connect learning with the surrounding area.

In April 2022, children used logs, tyres and wooden planks for climbing and balancing, and rolled eggs along guttering. The same dated account contains the important teaching caveat: some children lost interest when adults moved too quickly for them to formulate answers, and opportunities to extend language were missed. Practical exploration needs thoughtful conversation alongside it.

Outdoor and Community Life

The wider centre includes a Hobbit House Play area and an outdoor kitchen with a Cob pizza Oven. Campfire areas, picnic spaces and a football pitch give the grounds several different uses. Little Explorers also has its own outdoor space, so the pre-school offer is more specific than access to a general activity field.

Family Camp fire Sessions bring relatives into fire lighting and outdoor cooking. Family Den building days use woodland materials to create shelters together, while Community Beach cleans connect time outdoors with caring for shared places. Family activities are free, giving parents a way to take part in the centre's outdoor interests rather than only hear about them afterwards.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key worker who takes responsibility for learning and welfare and acts as the family's main contact. Learning Journeys bring together photographs, observations and children's work, with parents invited to contribute their own comments. Families can take the book home and share it with their child. This gives communication something concrete to work from: experiences, developing skills and the next steps in learning.

Settling can begin with an hour or two and increase gradually. Individual discussions with parents help shape that introduction around the child.

Children practise independence by putting on outdoor suits, peeling fruit, opening lunch packets and managing toileting, with help when needed.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified SEND promptly, worked with families and other professionals on individual learning arrangements, and prepared formal support plans for children's next stage where needed.

A designated safeguarding lead role forms part of the current staff structure. Staff also attend further training, bringing new ideas into their work.

Parents provide packed lunches and the first healthy snack; breakfast food can be purchased separately or brought from home, and a voluntary contribution supports additional snacks and campfire resources. Families also supply sun cream as part of the outdoor kit, so food and weather preparation remain shared responsibilities between home and the centre.

Sessions and Attendance

Little Explorers operates during term time, with opening hours of 8am to 4.30pm. Morning bookings run from 8am or 9am until 1pm. Afternoon bookings begin at 1pm and finish at either 3.30pm or 4.30pm. Full days are offered from 8am to 3.30pm or from 9am to 4.30pm, with additional hours at the beginning or end of the day.

Breakfast club runs from 8am to 9am in the main building. Its handover arrangements require children to be dropped off between 8am and 8.30am; the interval from 8.30am to 9am is reserved for moving children to their class spaces. Children starting later go directly to their class between 9am and 9.30am. That detail matters more than the opening time alone when planning the morning.

Holiday club has its own booking pattern: a full day from 8.30am to 5.30pm, or a half day from 8.30am to 1pm or 1pm to 5.30pm. Bookings require a non-refundable deposit. Cancellation requires 24 hours' notice, with full payment due if that notice is not given. Priority for holiday bookings goes to children attending the pre-school; this concerns holiday care, not school admissions.

Getting There

The address is Highway Farm Activity Centre, Loscombe Road, Four Lanes, Redruth TR16 6QA. The grounds include parking and turning space; staggered collection can help reduce congestion in the car park.

Pre-school enquiries use admissionshwf@sky.com, and the main telephone number is 07798630481. A contact form provides another enquiry route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Free entitlement funding is offered from the term after a child turns three, within the term-time pre-school arrangement. Sessions can also be paid for privately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Breakfast food is a separate charge unless parents supply it themselves. The contribution towards additional snacks and campfire resources is voluntary, and holiday deposits and cancellation terms apply specifically to holiday bookings.

• An outdoor day in every season. Children need waterproofs, suitable footwear and a full change of clothing. At a visit, explore how your child would manage the winter classroom-to-outdoors routine and the gradual settling sessions.
• Language alongside practical play. In April 2022, adults did not consistently allow enough thinking time or extend children's language fully. Ask how staff now sustain conversation and engagement during child-led activities.
• Morning handover has a fixed gap. Breakfast-club drop-off closes at 8.30am, with class drop-off restarting at 9am. Match that arrangement to your working morning before choosing a start time.
• Different finishing times. Pre-school bookings extend to 4.30pm, while other opening-hours information gives a 3.30pm finish and conflicting after-school endpoints. Confirm the exact collection arrangement for the pattern you intend to book.

Highway Farm suits families seeking morning or afternoon pre-school sessions as well as those choosing a full day, with holiday bookings providing a separate option. Its strongest character comes from the connection between growing, cooking, making and outdoor play, backed by timber classrooms for the indoor parts of the day.

The April 2022 judgement gives that character a balanced context: personal development was the strongest area, while adult interaction needed greater consistency and management needed to monitor staff practice more regularly to improve support for children's learning. For a child who enjoys practical exploration, and a family comfortable preparing clothes and food for an outdoor routine, this is a clearly defined choice. The handover rules and different collection times deserve equal weight alongside the campfires and growing beds.