Cherry Tree Nursery & Preschool

A converted house, a private garden and language sessions for preschool children give Cherry Tree Nursery & Preschool a recognisable character. This Worcester Park setting takes children from 3 months to 5 years, combining creative play with Dance & Movement and Music classes included in monthly fees. Its appeal is practical as well as educational: direct garden access gives outdoor play a place alongside indoor activities.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with children settled and closely attached to their key person. That is a dated judgement. The present offer includes daily updates for parents, catered meals and full-time or flexible booking patterns.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care here: in everyday terms, play and adult support help children develop communication, physical skills and relationships. Cherry Tree adds Dance & Movement and Music classes for children of all ages throughout the year, plus foreign language sessions each week for preschool children. These activities are included in monthly fees, giving families organised sessions alongside creative play.

The converted house has spacious indoor areas and a private garden, with direct access outside. Sensory and creative activities are part of the day, and clothes that can get messy are a practical necessity. This is an offer to weigh through the activities themselves rather than through a branded curriculum name.

In March 2022, children explored emotions by drawing faces and discussing feelings. Stories, songs with actions and imaginative dinosaur play provided other ways to join in. Those examples show different routes into communication: a child could talk, draw, listen or act something out.

In March 2022, questioning sometimes gave the most able children insufficient challenge. The improvement actions called for more thinking time and broader outdoor learning opportunities. Both points matter when judging how activities extend children who are ready for more, or who learn best outside.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden access is a substantial part of the physical offer. Outdoor clothing therefore matters: children need named wellies and warm waterproofs, with spare clothes for wet or muddy play. Wellies can remain at nursery or come in each day.

In March 2022, outdoor play included wheeled toys and climbing apparatus. Children had also collected sticks and twigs to build a bug hotel, then talked about its possible inhabitants and what they might eat. That example brought physical activity and conversation together. It sits alongside the dated improvement point about widening outdoor opportunities, rather than cancelling it out.

Following an August 2022 regulatory visit, Ofsted required staff whose suitability checks were incomplete to remain supervised. An April 2024 visit led to a welfare requirements notice covering supervision, staffing and access to records. Both outcomes record satisfactory action, but the repeated supervision concerns make this history relevant to families.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2022, staff used information from parents to adapt settling sessions to children's interests and needs. They also monitored speech and understanding when children started, sharing that information with families. For a parent, the useful detail is the link between what happens at home and the support planned during the nursery day.

At that time, key-person relationships included sensitive responses when younger children became unsettled. Staff also modelled play, sharing and turn-taking for children needing help with social interaction. These are inspection-era examples of care, rather than a promise about each child's current experience.

Daily updates are part of the current offer, covering activities and development. The manager holds SENCO and designated safeguarding lead qualifications. These identify relevant responsibilities and training; the practical question for families is how those roles connect with their own child's support.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Freshly cooked meals follow weekly menus developed by an offsite chef, using seasonal and local ingredients. Cultural, religious and dietary requirements can be accommodated, and catered meals, snacks and milk or dairy-free alternatives for older babies and children are included in the nursery's package.

Food and care supplies make a difference to what families pack. Nappies and wipes are included in the package, and creams are also presented as included; the starting instructions separately require families to bring nappies or pull-ups, wipes and a named cream if it is to be applied. This needs resolving before a child starts.

Sessions and Attendance

Cherry Tree is at 2 Grafton Road, Worcester Park, KT4 7QP. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full-time and flexible booking patterns are offered, so the choice is broader than a single fixed attendance arrangement.

The nursery operates across 51 weeks, with a Christmas closure and closures on public and bank holidays. Christmas Eve has an earlier finish at 1pm, and there are also two to three staff-training closure days during the year, with advance notice planned. Those training days remain chargeable, so families need to account for both childcare cover and the normal payment.

One-to-one family tours can be booked, and a virtual tour offers another way to view the nursery. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by email at info@cherrytreenurserypre.school.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered to eligible families, including the 15- and 30-hour arrangements. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks, using fewer funded hours each week than a term-time arrangement. That makes the attendance calendar important: the entitlement and the weekly booking pattern are separate decisions.

Private fees are paid monthly in advance, by the first of the month. Charges are spread evenly across the year, with the Christmas closure already accounted for; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Dance & Movement, Music classes and weekly preschool language sessions are included in monthly fees.

A non-refundable registration charge and a deposit are required to secure a booking. The deposit is returned when a child leaves, provided no fees remain unpaid. Families with two children attending receive a fee discount for the eldest child.

• Outdoor learning and challenge. The March 2022 improvement points concerned outdoor opportunities and how questioning extended children's thinking. During a tour, ask how the garden and adult-led activities now serve children with different learning needs.
• Care supplies and funded charges. The inclusive package and the starting instructions give different directions about nappies, wipes and creams. Ask for written confirmation of what to bring and how meals and consumables are treated within your funded booking.
• Closures and securing sessions. Staff-training closure days remain chargeable. Plan childcare cover for these days and for the Christmas and bank-holiday closures; the Christmas closure is already accounted for in monthly fees. Review the written booking terms before paying the deposit and non-refundable registration charge.
• Repeated supervision concerns. The August 2022 and April 2024 regulatory outcomes both recorded satisfactory action. Ask how supervision arrangements now address the issues raised on those visits.

Cherry Tree suits families choosing either full-time attendance or a flexible booking pattern, especially those who value a converted-house setting with garden access. Included movement and music classes, weekly preschool language sessions and catered meals give the offer concrete substance.

The March 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference, while its improvement points give families useful questions about outdoor learning and challenge. The strongest decision will connect those questions with the child's age, support needs and proposed attendance pattern, with care supplies and funded charges agreed in writing.