The Old School House Day Nursery

A converted Victorian school building, an onsite Forest Garden and a black-and-white Sensory Room give The Old School House Day Nursery a recognisable character. In Stetchworth, near Newmarket, its offer combines outdoor exploration with spaces for sensory play. The building matters, but the opportunities within it matter more: children can investigate natural materials outside and explore light, sound and texture indoors.

The nursery has capacity for 106 children, with an age range of three months to five years. At its May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated it Outstanding and found that its carefully planned learning supported rapid progress. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of today's practice. The current physical offer gives families concrete reasons to consider it alongside that inspection position.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing learning through play together with everyday care. Here, Allotment Sessions add gardening, cooperation and exploration of the natural world. Working with the allotment patch gives children opportunities to investigate cause and effect while taking part in practical tasks.

Sensory Room describes a black-and-white space equipped for exploring sound, visual effects, lighting and textures. It offers a different kind of activity from gardening: materials and effects to investigate indoors, alongside the outdoor opportunities. These are tangible parts of the offer, rather than a curriculum name standing alone.

In May 2022, babies explored coloured rice and made marks with crayons, while older children developed pretend café play using toy phones. Children also devised their own physical challenges with cones and digging. Those examples show how the day then allowed children to develop their own ideas, rather than simply follow adult instructions.

Learning also returned to familiar ideas. In May 2022, babies revisited animal sounds during stories, and older children used an addition symbol in number problems. Letters found in the sandpit became material for writing names. For parents, these examples make the connection between play and early language, writing and mathematics easier to understand.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest Garden is an onsite natural space where children explore leaves, mud and insects and direct their own imaginative play. It gives outdoor learning a different emphasis from the practical gardening of Allotment Sessions. Children have both a place to investigate nature and a patch where they can work together.

The wider garden has been renovated and provides space for creative activity and learning about the natural world. Outdoor provision is therefore a substantial part of this nursery's character. Families choosing between settings can weigh these specific spaces against what their child enjoys, rather than relying on a general promise of outdoor play.

Settling begins with sessions that introduce a child to their Key Person. That gives the early days a relationship to build around, as well as a new place to explore.

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding, strong relationships between children and staff, and settling arrangements adapted to individual children. In May 2022, staff comforted upset babies through stories and playful distraction, while toddlers approached adults for affection. Parents' transition information was used to shape settling sessions. The useful detail is the attention to the individual child, although these observations belong to that period.

Communication had practical support too. In May 2022, staff used sign language and chatter sacks with children who had limited spoken English. Everyday conversations introduced additional vocabulary, including discussion prompted by a bird making a nest. Children also practised independence through tasks such as handling coats, washing hands and clearing plates after lunch.

Meals are cooked on the premises by two chefs, with menus rotating to give children different choices; vegetables come from a local greengrocer. Food and snacks are supplied during the day, and menu planning involves a paediatric dietician.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 69 High Street, Stetchworth, Newmarket, CB8 9TH. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Those closures matter when planning care across the working year.

A one-to-one visit can be booked, and the nursery can be contacted on 01638507178. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

In May 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That describes the offer at that time.

• Settling and the daily pattern. Introductory sessions help children get to know their Key Person. During a visit, ask how settling, attendance arrangements and the written quotation would fit your child's routine.
• Time since inspection. The Outstanding judgement dates to May 2022. Give the current care arrangements weight alongside those earlier observations when making your decision.
• Holiday cover. Bank holidays and a week at Christmas fall outside the opening calendar. Families needing care through those periods will need to account for those closures.

The Old School House Day Nursery suits families who value gardening, child-led outdoor exploration and sensory play within a converted school building. Allotment Sessions, Forest Garden and Sensory Room give that preference something concrete to rest on. Its May 2022 Outstanding judgement adds a strong historical inspection position, while the Key Person introduction gives settling a clear starting point. The year-round opening calendar will matter to working families, with the Christmas closure factored into their plans.