Oasis Community Childcare Centre

An on-site forest school area developed with Ludgvan Academy and Heart of the Woods gives Oasis Community Childcare Centre a practical connection to outdoor learning. This Ludgvan setting is within the grounds of Ludgvan Primary School. Its outdoor provision has a concrete foundation: the partnership helped create the area and train staff, bringing space and practitioner preparation together.

At its 20 April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, finding excellent progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and effective safeguarding. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of a recent visit. The current age range is three months to five years, with 82 places in total.

Ludgvan also operates a Holiday Club through the school holidays, with Christmas, bank holiday and annual summer closures to factor into family plans.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for daily learning, bringing communication, physical development and social development into play alongside early reading, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. It is the common foundation for early years provision. Daily experiences cover the areas of development, so learning belongs throughout the day. Play can involve talking, movement and creativity together; the framework gives these experiences an educational purpose.

In April 2022, preschool children mixed coloured water with flowers and pieces of wood, then invented stories around their creations. Babies explored pouring and filling through boats and containers in sand, while toddlers practised sharing through dinosaur play. These examples show how an apparently simple activity can carry several purposes: language, imagination, handling materials and learning to cooperate.

Language teaching was equally concrete in April 2022. Adults expanded children’s vocabulary during play, from action words used with play dough to the different jobs of an author and an illustrator. Numbers also appeared within ordinary activities, with counting, shapes and quantities brought into conversation. For parents, the useful distinction is between merely providing resources and using those resources to extend what children understand.

Outdoor and Community Life

The on-site forest school area was developed with Ludgvan Academy and Heart of the Woods, including staff training. Forest school here has included practical outdoor learning: in April 2022, children learnt about managing risks through cooking over fires, chopping wood and climbing trees. For families, those examples make the nature of the activities clearer than the programme name alone.

In April 2022, the garden and forest school supported climbing on slopes with ropes, practical woodwork and learning how to handle outdoor risks. Babies also practised body movements through yoga. These were experiences recorded at that time, but they give substance to the inspection judgement: physical learning involved coordination, movement and working with materials, rather than outdoor time alone.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2022, staff gathered detailed knowledge of children during settling and followed their individual routines. Parents also received updates about development and what children would work on next. The practical value is continuity: information from home can inform nursery care, and nursery experiences can inform what families do at home.

School preparation also had a practical emphasis in April 2022. Staff encouraged children to make decisions and manage tasks independently before moving on, while the manager worked closely with the local school on preparation for that next stage. The useful distinction is between practising everyday independence and treating school readiness as formal lessons.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In April 2022, parents of children with SEND described staff working collaboratively with outside agencies to support their children. Alongside the progress finding, that gives a concrete example of how support was organised at the time: nursery care involved cooperation beyond the setting. For a child needing additional help, the coordination of adults matters alongside the activities themselves.

Victor and Vicky, the Oasis puppets, help children discuss behaviour and feelings during daily circle time. The activity gives emotional language a concrete starting point: children can talk about how actions affect themselves and other people. It sits alongside the everyday social learning involved in sharing resources and becoming more independent.

Sessions and Attendance

The centre is at Lower Quarters, Ludgvan, Penzance, TR20 8EX, within the grounds of Ludgvan Primary School. It is open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Ludgvan operates Holiday Club through the school holidays, closing for Christmas, bank holidays and its annual summer break, usually the last two full weeks of August. Families relying on childcare across the year therefore need to plan around those closures. Holiday provision extends care beyond the school term, but the summer closure remains an important part of the annual calendar.

Enquiries can be made through the Ludgvan contact form, by email to admin@oasischildcare.org.uk or by telephone on 01736 741528.

Funding and Paid Extras

In April 2022, the centre received early years funding for children aged two, three and four. That describes its funding participation at the inspection date. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Sharing school grounds does not make a Reception place automatic. Nursery attendance does not guarantee admission, and families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Settling for younger children. Individual routines informed care in April 2022. On a visit, ask how your baby’s sleep and settling routines would be handled and shared with you.
• The annual calendar. Holiday Club operates through school holidays, but Christmas, bank holidays and the summer closure interrupt care. The break, usually the last two full weeks of August, needs to fit your family’s plans.
• Outdoor activities. The on-site forest school area was developed with Ludgvan Academy and Heart of the Woods. Ask how activities and support are adapted for your child’s age and stage.
• School grounds and admissions. Sharing Ludgvan Primary School’s grounds does not secure a Reception place. Families still need to apply through the local authority.

Oasis suits families seeking childcare in Ludgvan with an on-site outdoor learning area and Holiday Club provision through school holidays. The partnership with Ludgvan Academy and Heart of the Woods gives that outdoor space a clear practical basis, while the annual closures need to work for the family.

The Outstanding judgement dates to April 2022. Its strongest supporting detail lies in the teaching and care observed then: vocabulary extended through play, individual routines respected and outdoor activities used for physical learning. Those dated examples give parents substance behind the grade.