Sheepwash Farm Day Nursery

A working arable farm gives Sheepwash Farm Day Nursery something concrete to build its day around: crops to tend, hens to visit and agricultural work to watch. Low-level windows bring views of the farm into the purpose-built nursery, while outdoor play extends into a sensory garden and a polytunnel used for learning. The countryside is part of the children's experience, rather than simply the backdrop.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, finding that children developed independence, strong relationships with staff and enthusiasm for learning. That judgement is a dated assessment. The current offer accepts children from 3 months to 5 years, with full-time attendance, single days and morning or afternoon sessions.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play, communication, physical development and learning about the world. Staff observe children's interests and use those observations to plan activities, combining opportunities to play independently with shared experiences. For parents, the useful distinction is between that common early-years framework and the farm experiences added here.

Growing vegetables gives children a practical connection between looking after plants and eating food. They tend a vegetable garden, collect eggs and take farm walks to observe animals and agricultural work. Shetland ponies are among the animals on site. These experiences give adults concrete things to talk about with children: how plants change, what animals need and what happens on a working farm.

In September 2023, children examined pumpkins, compared their appearance and discussed why some were decaying. An imaginary dinosaur search prompted them to listen, look for tracks and describe what they encountered. This was language learning built around an experience they could investigate, rather than a separate exercise in naming objects.

Outdoor and Community Life

The sensory garden, play dens and small nursery wood provide different settings for exploration. A large polytunnel greenhouse doubles as an outdoor classroom, while free-flow play connects indoor activities with the outdoor space. An all-weather soft play area adds another option. Together, these physical features make outdoor learning a substantial part of the offer.

Farm animals and machinery also supply changing subjects for observation. In September 2023, children watched agricultural workers handling potatoes and saw tractors and combine harvesters moving through the fields. Visits to pigs, ducks and chicks gave them opportunities to notice growth. These are dated examples of how the farm setting was used, rather than a timetable of current activities.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, with a buddy arrangement providing another contact when that practitioner is away. This gives families a clear person to speak to about development and day-to-day experiences. Staff share information at the end of the day, and a Learning Journal gathers observations, interests and moments such as trying a food for the first time.

The planning starts with the individual child. Observations inform activities around their interests and needs, rather than simply recording whether they took part. Babies' attempts to communicate receive a response, and staff use their own interactions to model patience and courtesy. These are practical mechanisms for connecting care, communication and learning.

In September 2023, staff gathered detailed information from parents before children started, then used continuing observations to shape activities. Communication included an online application, newsletters issued monthly and conversations at handover. For a family weighing the relationship with nursery staff, those examples show several ways information could move between home and nursery at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective, describing attention to hazards within both the nursery and surrounding farmland, staff understanding of child-protection concerns and children's opportunities to learn safe practices. The farm setting makes the detail about outdoor hazards especially relevant.

Staff receive training in first aid and child protection, alongside induction and continuing professional development. Management also supports practitioners through coaching, mentoring and supervision. These arrangements describe how staff practice is supported; they do not replace the dated safeguarding judgement.

Meals are prepared by qualified professionals, with menus developed under a dietician's guidance and vegetables grown by the children used when possible; self-service snacks include fruit and vegetables, with drinking water accessible during the day. In the Baby Unit, staff adapt food texture and portions to the baby, making feeding part of the relationship with their carer.

Sessions and Attendance

Normal opening hours are 8am to 6pm, with breakfast potentially available from 7:30am when an earlier start is needed. Attendance choices include full-time provision, single days, morning sessions and afternoon sessions. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing on bank holidays, so the offer extends beyond a school-term calendar.

The address is Sheepwash Farm, Fisherwick Road, Whittington, Lichfield, WS14 9JN. Nursery enquiries can be made by telephone on 01543 433822 or through the contact form. Four electric-vehicle charging points are on site, a useful practical detail for families travelling in an electric car.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision is offered for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds, with 15 or 30 hours delivered on a stretched basis. Eligibility remains a condition of that offer. Private childcare is also offered through the attendance patterns above.

Lunch is included with full-time and single-day fees. Session pricing distinguishes care from a meal-inclusive option: lunch accompanies the morning option and tea the afternoon option. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their chosen arrangement, keeping the attendance pattern and meal choice together.

• An earlier start is conditional. Normal opening begins at 8am; breakfast from 7:30am depends on an early start being required. Before committing, agree how that arrangement would work for your regular days.
• Farm learning needs practical routines. Walks, animals and crop-growing are part of the experience. During a visit, ask how those activities are adapted for your child's age and confidence outdoors.
• Funding and meals are separate decisions. Stretched funded hours and meal-inclusive session options both feature in the offer. Ask for one written breakdown covering your funded attendance, food and non-food consumables.

Sheepwash Farm suits families who want children's learning to draw on a working farm, with growing, animal observation and outdoor exploration giving the day recognisable content. It also serves different attendance needs: full-time care and single days sit alongside morning and afternoon sessions.

The key-person buddy arrangement and Learning Journal give that outdoor emphasis a useful counterpart in communication with home. The Outstanding September 2023 judgement adds a strong dated assessment, while the practical choice rests on how the farm experience, attendance pattern and meal arrangements fit your child and working week.