Loversall Farm Day Nursery

A working farm, a historic barn and gardens where children grow vegetables give Loversall Farm Day Nursery a recognisable character. The outdoor offer goes beyond space to run: children can collect eggs from resident hens, investigate plants and use tractor and trailer climbing equipment. These are concrete ways to connect play with the world around them.

At its February 2020 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good. That is a dated judgement, rather than an assessment of today's daily practice. The setting has capacity for 60 children, with a current age range of three months to five years. Its address is The Courtyard, Loversall Farm, Loversall, Doncaster, DN11 9DD.

For parents of younger children, the Baby Room's maximum of 12 children and separate sleep area deserve attention alongside the farm setting. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions give families different attendance patterns, while funded hours are stretched across the nursery's opening year. The practical distinction is between care and education covered by funding and the separately charged meals and consumables.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room accommodates up to 12 children and combines sensory activities with a separate sleep area, milk kitchen and changing area, bringing play, rest and everyday care into the same room arrangement. The room's approach recognises individual routines and continuity between nursery and home.

Older room names are 2-3's Room and 3-5's Room. Across the indoor environment, neutral decoration and natural resources accompany opportunities for conversation, creative activity and exploration. That gives the indoor offer a different character from the tractor equipment and animal encounters outside, while keeping language and discovery part of both settings.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the shared early-years framework: children's learning includes communication, physical development, relationships, early reading and number, creative expression and understanding their surroundings. It is the common foundation for early-years provision. Here, practitioners use observations of what children can already do, together with their interests and experiences, to plan subsequent learning.

The farm and gardens supply concrete material for that work. Watching plants grow makes change visible; tending vegetables gives children something to care for and return to. Physical sessions led by outside agencies are offered to children from age two. These sit alongside the nursery's own opportunities for movement and outdoor play, rather than replacing them.

Outdoor and Community Life

An acre of grounds contains Organic Gardens, where children grow vegetables and flowers for use within the nursery. This is an opportunity to take part in the process, rather than simply look at planting. Caring for plants also gives children a shared task, with something tangible to observe as it develops.

Sensory Gardens bring together herbs, flowers, mirrors, a bird table and a water feature. Those resources offer different things to notice, hear and examine. Elsewhere, a covered play area supports messy, construction and creative activities outdoors in different weather, while the soft play area includes tractor and trailer climbing equipment.

The grassed area overlooks a paddock with sheep and hens, and children can visit to collect eggs. Grassed spaces also accommodate singing, role play, group games and den making. The combination matters: the outdoor day can include quieter investigation as well as movement and shared imaginative play. It is the most persuasive reason to consider this setting for a child who enjoys being outside.

Relationships and Communication

Continuity with home is explicit in the Baby Room approach. During weaning, staff work with parents on food provision so that nursery and home can follow a consistent approach. That is a useful practical link for families managing a changing routine, alongside the room's arrangements for sleep, milk preparation and changing.

The Parent Portal concentrates administrative information in one place. Parents can view allergy, dietary and medical details, booked sessions and session history, together with invoices, payments and credit notes. Its Communicate feature allows them to flag corrections and request changes or additional sessions. Access is through an individual username and password.

The Parent Feedback Form lets families propose improvements or share what they appreciate. Responses are reviewed monthly.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Collection arrangements use a visual intercom and identification checks. For an unfamiliar collector, staff contact the main carer and seek identification; an agreed family member or friend uses a password. Visitors remain accompanied by staff, and CCTV covers the rooms and outdoor play area. These are specific arrangements, rather than a current inspection judgement about safeguarding effectiveness.

A nursery cook prepares meals on the premises, using local produce and vegetables from the nursery garden where possible. The nursery offers to accommodate dietary requirements and preferences, with discussion of individual needs forming part of its food arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery opens for 51 weeks, with a one-week Christmas closure, and also closes on bank holidays. Families arranging regular attendance therefore need to accommodate both the Christmas break and those additional closure days.

The booking patterns are specific. Morning sessions run from 7.45am to 1pm and include breakfast, a mid-morning snack and lunch; afternoon sessions run from 1pm to 6pm and include a snack and tea. Full-day sessions cover 7.45am to 6pm, with all meals included. These are genuinely different options, rather than a single day length under different labels.

Private session fees include meals and drinks.

Applications use a form that collects the child's date of birth, proposed start date and parent or carer contact details. The team then follows up. General enquiries can also be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01302 311000.

Getting There

The nursery is at The Courtyard, Loversall Farm, Bubup Hill, Loversall, Doncaster, DN11 9DD. Its setting is a historic barn on a working farm, with the A60 providing the road reference for families planning their route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including 15 hours of funded childcare each week from the term after a child's third birthday and the working-parent entitlement from nine months, subject to eligibility. The funding is stretched over the 51 weeks that the nursery opens, rather than confined to the usual term-time delivery. Families need to match that annual pattern to the sessions they intend to book.

For funded sessions, care and education are free, while meals and consumables/resources are charged separately. That distinction matters when comparing a funded booking with a private session: meals and drinks are included in the private session fee, but meals have their own charge during funded hours. Consumables/resources also carry a separate charge for funded sessions.

The nursery contacts parents with children in the relevant age group and helps them through the funding application process. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the sessions, fees and funding page explains the charge structure. A funded entitlement and the complete cost of an attendance pattern are separate considerations.

• Later concern record. Ofsted's records list a concern dated 9 March 2023; its outcome is not published, so families may want to ask the nursery about it.
• Your baby's starting point. The current age range starts at three months, while the Baby Room description starts at six weeks. Before arranging an earlier start, clarify the accepted starting age and use a visit to discuss settling and sleep routines.
• Funded-session costs. Meals and consumables/resources are charged separately during funded sessions, although private session fees include meals and drinks. Compare a written quotation for your intended morning, afternoon or full-day pattern.
• Dietary arrangements. The nursery offers to accommodate individual dietary needs. Families managing an allergy should confirm current food preparation and handling arrangements for their child.

Loversall Farm Day Nursery suits families seeking a farm-based setting with morning or afternoon attendance as well as full days. Its strongest practical features are easy to identify: growing spaces, animals, covered outdoor play and a Baby Room with designated care and sleep areas. The Parent Portal adds a useful way to manage bookings and personal information.

The February 2020 Good judgement is historical, and the later concern record belongs in the decision. Families should also weigh the stretched funding arrangement against the separate funded-session charges. The appeal is concrete: everyday learning with plants, animals and outdoor resources, supported by several attendance patterns.