The Townsend Nursery

A farm, a walled kitchen garden and a woodland programme give The Townsend Nursery its character. At Townsend Farm in Stretton Grandison, near Ledbury, children can follow the seasons through growing, cooking and outdoor play rather than treating nature as an occasional topic. The setting has 26 places in total for children aged 24 to 60 months, with entry from the term children turn two.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 8 July 2022, praising its ambitious teaching and children's engagement in learning. That dated judgement sits alongside a current offer built around farm experiences, French and opportunities for children to choose and develop their own ideas. Attendance runs during term time.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning: language, physical and social development sit alongside early mathematics, literacy, creative expression and understanding the world. Here, those areas take practical forms. Number work includes programmable toys and counting games, while songs, storytelling and word games give children reasons to listen, speak and experiment with sounds.

Reggio Emilia is the nursery's named approach to learning, alongside opportunities for children to help select topics and develop their own play. Children contribute ideas, build imaginative settings and use materials such as drain pipes, crates and blocks.

French takes place on Wednesday mornings. Other additions include drama on Tuesday afternoons, music on Wednesday afternoons and ICT on Thursday afternoons. These sit alongside the everyday learning programme, giving families a reason to consider the days their child attends as well as the length of attendance.

Books extend beyond nursery hours. Children take books home daily to share with parents, with the emphasis on enjoying stories together rather than following a reading scheme. Within the nursery, acting out stories and joining songs connect early literacy with movement and conversation. A Christmas play or concert usually gives children an opportunity to perform for their families.

In July 2022, bread-making brought several areas of learning together: children used scales, recognised numerals and worked the dough with their hands. Conversations connected the activity to wheat they had seen growing. A visit to a calf and a cheese-making visitor also linked food with its origins.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds a weekly morning in the farm's designated woodland, with Thursday identified as the programme day. Children wear protective outdoor clothing and boots, practise using tools, make dens and climb trees.

Daily outdoor play also uses the farm and its apple orchards. Children watch crops being grown or gathered, plant seeds and bulbs, and work in the walled kitchen garden. Picking apples and preparing fruit for snacks connect growing with eating. There are things to handle and changes to notice across the year.

The courtyard and grassed play space contain a mud kitchen, swings and a climbing frame, as well as a fairy house and playhouse for imaginative games. On warmer days, stories can take place beneath apple trees, while water play and pavement chalk bring other activities outside.

Indoors, the nursery occupies a Victorian wing of a listed farmhouse. A retained range cooker and two bread ovens give the building physical links with its earlier use. The orangery adds a heated floor and a window seat overlooking the bird table, creating another space for play and observation. An interactive white board and computers provide a different kind of resource alongside the garden and construction materials.

Relationships and Communication

Parents contribute entry profiles to help key people get to know their children and establish relationships from the start. Daily conversations are part of that exchange. This gives staff information about home life as well as giving parents a way to share changes that could affect the nursery day.

Learning observations become individual online journeys that parents access through their own log-in details. Formal reports follow the autumn and summer terms, with informal parent sessions during spring.

In July 2022, staff sought words from children's home languages when gathering information from parents, then used them to support understanding. Older children also helped younger children with everyday routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding and prompt, individual support for children with SEND, including learning plans developed with parents and other professionals. A SENCo role is part of the current team structure, while safeguarding lead responsibilities sit with management roles. Staff have paediatric first aid training. These are specific arrangements for care and support, rather than a general promise about every child's experience.

School preparation includes sharing learning information and supporting transition visits. The nursery describes an early years partnership with Ashperton county primary school, including visits from teachers and accompanied visits for children. Attendance does not guarantee a school place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. The value of the relationship lies in helping children become familiar with the next setting, rather than securing admission.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Townsend Farm, Stretton Grandison, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 2TS. Opening begins at 9am, with Tuesday to Friday ending at 3.45pm. Longer term-time days run from 9am to 3.45pm, Tuesday to Friday, and children can stay for an afternoon session on those days.

The nursery closes for school holidays, and its term calendar includes staff training closures. This makes the holiday calendar part of the practical decision, especially for parents whose work continues throughout the year. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01531 670426.

A full term's written notice is required when ending attendance. Missed days through illness or holidays are not refunded, and reducing an agreed day can still incur a charge if the place is not filled. Those terms make the initial attendance agreement consequential: families should choose a pattern they can sustain.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered during term time, with an entitlement described as 15 hours and up to another 15 hours for eligible working-parent families. Private hours are also charged, including attendance after the funded day ends. The funding policy describes both set funded-hour windows and flexibility towards selected attendance, so the written agreement matters when matching funding to a chosen pattern.

Lunch comes from home in a packed lunch with a cool pack, while invoices separately charge for food and cookery activities; the nursery publishes a no-nuts policy. This separates responsibility for lunch from charges for other food-related provision.

A recommended voluntary contribution is requested alongside chargeable elements. The invoice categories include gardening, farm walks, French and Forest School, as well as food and cookery. Families need to distinguish the voluntary contribution from the separately charged items and private hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the funding and charges policy explains the structure.

• Funding agreement. The policy combines funded-hour windows, flexible allocation, separately charged activities and a recommended voluntary contribution. Ask for a written breakdown showing how these apply to your chosen days and what happens if you decline the voluntary contribution.
• Monday and holiday cover. Opening information gives conflicting Monday closing times of 12.30pm and 3.45pm. Confirm Monday's finish before agreeing attendance, and compare the term-time calendar, including holiday and training closures, with the cover you need.
• Outdoor clothing and allergies. Woodland activities involve protective clothing and boots, while lunch is brought from home under a no-nuts policy. At a visit, discuss current allergy practice and the outdoor kit your child will need.
• Commitment to agreed days. A full term's written notice and the charging terms for missed or reduced attendance can affect changing plans. Read those conditions alongside the attendance agreement.

Townsend suits families seeking term-time nursery education with substantial farm and woodland experience, with term-time days and afternoon sessions on Tuesday to Friday. The garden, orchards and practical food activities give its setting educational purpose, while online learning journeys keep parents involved. Its Outstanding judgement dates to July 2022. The deciding practical issues are Monday's closing time, school-holiday closures and the detail of the funding agreement, especially where contributions, activities and private hours sit together.