Oasis Nursery

Bird feeders, bicycles and apples from a community garden give Oasis Nursery's April 2023 nursery day a practical, outdoor character. At its 5 April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest detail is the connection between play and everyday responsibilities: feeding birds, taking turns and sharing harvested fruit with families.

Based in Wisbech, Oasis accepts children aged 24 to 60 months and has 38 places in total. These are whole-setting places, rather than a measure of the size of a child's daily group.

In April 2023, children could choose between indoor activities and the garden. Water play invited them to explore sensations, while bicycles gave them practice in steering and coordination. A sand timer helped children manage turns on the bicycles, making sharing something they could see and understand.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the April 2023 examples included exploring shapes while cutting fruit and talking about the seeds used to feed birds: everyday activities became opportunities to learn.

Makaton signing supported communication in April 2023. Staff also used words from children's home languages and allowed time for replies. Visits included supermarkets and police stations, and visiting animals introduced caring for living things. Children collected apples in the community garden and took some home, connecting nursery experiences with family life.

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found exceptionally effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including visual communication aids, coordination between staff and the special educational needs coordinator, and work with families on school transitions.

In April 2023, children turned to familiar staff for comfort. Book and sensory corners offered quieter alternatives to active play, giving children somewhere to pause when they needed calm.

Health routines also had a practical emphasis in April 2023: children brushed their teeth, and staff helped families access dental care. Children grew vegetables with plans to turn the harvest into soup, while flexible snack and meal arrangements let them choose when to eat.

The address is The Oasis Village & Childrens Centre, St. Michaels Avenue, Wisbech, PE13 3NR. Opening hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays, Easter, Christmas and one week in August.

In April 2023, funded early education was provided for two-, three- and four-year-olds. That dated provision is separate from deciding which funding and attendance arrangement fits a family's needs today.

• Conversation during play. In April 2023, staff sometimes missed opportunities to help children explain their ideas and develop solutions. On a visit, ask how questioning now extends children's thinking during activities such as fruit preparation or garden play.
• Holiday cover. Easter, Christmas and a week in August are closure periods, alongside bank holidays. Families needing care across the year should account for these breaks.
• Funding and attendance. Funded early education formed part of the April 2023 offer. What would your child's proposed attendance pattern include, and how would meals and consumables be handled?

Oasis merits consideration by families seeking care for children aged 24 to 60 months who value practical play, outdoor experiences and communication support. Its April 2023 strengths were concrete: signing, visual aids and opportunities to explore the surrounding community. The improvement point matters too. Conversations that encourage children to explain their ideas should be a central part of a visit discussion.