The Willows Day Nursery, March

A refurbished house, a cabin for older preschool children and separate outdoor areas for younger and older children give The Willows Day Nursery, March a recognisable shape. Care starts from three months, with babies, toddlers and preschool children using spaces suited to their stage. The setting combines everyday play with a gradual settling process that gives children time to build a relationship with their key person.

At its October 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall, with strengths in children's emotional development and two priorities: sharing learning next steps with parents and improving conversations that stretch children's thinking. Those priorities matter alongside the grade. A reassuring daily handover and a useful explanation of what a child should learn next are different things.

Attendance can be arranged as full days or flexible five-hour sessions, with additional hours also sold. That gives families more than one way to organise the week; the practical detail belongs alongside the funding and meal arrangements below.

Rooms and Ages

The house accommodates younger preschool children downstairs, while older preschool children use a cabin. Younger babies occupy a self-contained upstairs area, and the Toddler Room serves children from around 14 months to around 26 months. These are stage-based arrangements rather than a single shared room for the whole age range.

Two enclosed outdoor areas separate younger children's play from preschool provision. An all-weather play area supports physical activity, while garden access allows indoor and outdoor experiences to sit within the same day. Parents provide named wellington boots to keep at nursery, making outdoor clothing part of the everyday kit rather than something brought only for a special outing.

Room moves deserve attention because the toddler age boundaries are approximate. The physical arrangement also changes as children grow: upstairs baby care, downstairs preschool provision and the older children's cabin are different environments. For a family choosing care for a baby, the relevant discussion is how staff manage those transitions around the individual child.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the common framework: children develop language, movement, relationships, early reading and number skills through activities and play. It is the baseline for early years provision, rather than an extra programme unique to this nursery. Here, planned activities sit alongside children's choices, with the key person system supporting small-group work and individual attention.

The curriculum includes storytelling and conversation, exploration of objects and quantities, imaginative play, music and creative materials. These experiences connect different areas of learning: talking through a story practises language, while handling materials and tools gives children opportunities to develop control and coordination. The emphasis is on experiences appropriate to the child's development.

In October 2023, babies explored boards with switches and lights, while older children searched for insects outside and talked about what they needed to survive. Hairdresser role play brought children and adults into shared imaginary situations. These examples show the breadth of the inspection-era day, from investigating cause and effect to using conversation within play.

There was a limit to that practice. In October 2023, some adult interactions did not take children's thinking far enough, despite activities being adapted to different developmental needs. An interesting activity alone is not the whole educational experience; the adult's questions and responses determine how far a child can take an idea.

Outdoor and Community Life

Occasional outings to a park or library require written parental consent. These trips introduce environments beyond the nursery, with the emphasis on broadening children's experiences rather than following a fixed weekly schedule. In October 2023, recent excursions had included a pumpkin patch and a sea life centre.

Outdoor play also has a place in the ordinary day, weather permitting. Children can play outside or go for a walk, and contact with nature forms part of their exploration of the environment. The enclosed grounds and all-weather surface give this work a physical base at the nursery itself.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is gradual. Parents first spend time with their child and the staff, then a short separation is introduced and extended during later sessions. Settling sessions are free, and further visits or a temporary adjustment to hours can be arranged when parents or staff feel these would help.

The Unique Booklet gathers information about family background, individual needs and interests during the first settle. This gives practitioners something concrete to work from when getting to know a child. The nominated key person provides a continuing relationship as the child becomes familiar with nursery life.

Daily written updates accompany opportunities to talk with staff. Parent evenings take place twice a year, normally in January and July, creating a separate occasion for discussing progress. In October 2023, however, learning next steps were not communicated effectively enough for parents to build on them at home. The practical question is how the daily update connects with that longer-term learning conversation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described coordinated SEND support involving parents and other professionals. Current support arrangements include a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator working with families, support workers and an early years special needs adviser to plan provision and seek additional support where needed.

The five to thrive model is used for emotional regulation, alongside age-appropriate wellbeing activities such as baby massage, yoga, music and movement, and mindful time. Children also learn about consent and respectful refusal. Preschool children take part in the NSPCC pants campaign as part of work on intimate care and consent, giving this aspect of wellbeing a named practical strand.

Younger children can sleep after lunch, and toilet training is approached jointly with parents, with progress shared so routines can continue at home. Staff hold current certificates covering paediatric first aid, food hygiene and safeguarding. These are arrangements for care and staff preparation, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

Food is prepared fresh in the nursery kitchen, with a weekly menu displayed for parents; younger babies receive the milk and weaning food supplied from home at times suited to their needs. Families receive daily information about what their child has eaten, making food part of the handover as well as the nursery routine.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 50 Knights End Road, March, PE15 9QA. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with provision across 52 weeks and closure on bank holidays. Full-day bookings use that same window; flexible five-hour sessions and hourly additions provide shorter attendance options.

The nursery also describes full-time and part-time attendance and wraparound care. The contact route offers telephone, email and an enquiry form. A nursery viewing precedes the settling process, so joining involves familiarisation with the setting as well as agreeing attendance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes entitlement from nine months for eligible families, vulnerable two-year-old funding, and funding for three- and four-year-olds. The options include 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, subject to their respective criteria, with term-time delivery or a stretched arrangement. Additional private hours can be purchased when attendance exceeds funded entitlement.

Meals and snacks are included in the priced sessions, while meals used alongside funded education can attract separate charges. Parents supply nappies and sun cream, as well as milk and weaning food for younger babies. These items therefore belong in the household's planning alongside any paid additional hours.

There is no registration charge. A deposit is required when registering and is refundable at the end of the contract if the account is clear and one month's written notice has been given. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page sets out the session and deposit structure.

• Learning conversations. The October 2023 priorities concerned sharing next steps and extending children's thinking. During a visit, ask for an example of how staff explain a child's next learning goal and build on it during play.
• Funding and absence terms. Funding descriptions use both 50-week and 51-week stretching, while bank-holiday charging differs between the prospectus and fees page. Have the agreed funding calendar, holiday terms and charges set out together in the written quotation before committing.
• Baby-to-toddler moves. Babies use an upstairs area, and the Toddler Room age boundaries are approximate. Use the viewing to discuss how a move is decided and how familiarity with the next room is built.
• Food arrangements. The food policy restricts packed lunches to exceptional agreed circumstances, while the prospectus also gives packed-lunch instructions. Allergy-affected families should confirm the current food arrangements and how their child's needs will be handled.

The Willows suits families wanting either full-day attendance or shorter flexible sessions, with gradual settling and a key person relationship built into joining. Its house-and-cabin layout, separate outdoor areas and emotional wellbeing activities give parents concrete features to weigh.

The October 2023 improvement priorities keep the judgement balanced: daily communication needs to help parents understand learning, and engaging activities need conversations that move ideas forward. Funding and absence terms also merit a clear written agreement. This is a setting to assess through those specific questions, alongside the attendance pattern that fits family life.