Clifton-Upon-Teme Nursery

Twice-weekly Forest School, a natural garden and an all-weather playground give Clifton-Upon-Teme Nursery a clear outdoor identity. Its preschool children explore beyond the indoor play spaces, while activities built around their interests leave room for ideas to develop. This is a community charity with a practical emphasis on hands-on learning.

At its 9 December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that language teaching and support involving the SENCo and outside professionals helped children develop their knowledge and skills. That is a dated judgement. The detail beneath it is useful: children manipulated clay, explored insects and explained why slippery outdoor equipment was unsafe to use.

The current age range is two to five years. Toddlers and preschool children share an open-plan main room, with separate areas for books, construction, imaginative play and creative work; there is also a dedicated baby area with its own facilities. Early drop-off and term-time before-school care serve different family routines.

Rooms and Ages

Babies have a dedicated play area with sensory resources, a room containing cots, a separate space for physical development and covered outdoor access, allowing rest, movement and exploration to happen in different spaces. These are substantial physical arrangements rather than a corner of the main room. Families considering infant care should use the starting-age question below when planning a visit.

From age two, children join the Toddler section of the main room, where creative play, construction, books and role play sit alongside a separate changing room and outdoor equipment for riding and balancing. The shared layout brings different kinds of play together. Settling sessions support the move into this stage, so a room change has its own preparation rather than being treated simply as a birthday milestone.

Preschool caters for three- to five-year-olds in the shared main room, combining independence and child-chosen play with planned activities, a natural garden and outdoor access when free-flow arrangements are possible. Children can make marks, build, explore materials or spend quieter time with books. Waterproof clothing supports daily outdoor experiences, making the garden part of the learning day rather than an occasional extra.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, including communication, movement, relationships, early reading, mathematics and creative expression. Construction, drawing, imaginative play and messy materials let children practise these skills.

Enable, Thrive, Nurture is the nursery's named approach: it combines opportunities for independence, hands-on outdoor experiences and support from an allocated key person. Activities follow children's interests through in-the-moment planning. For parents, the useful distinction is how staff connect an interest with a child's next learning step, rather than whether every child completes the same activity.

Forest School adds child-led exploration outdoors, with preschool sessions twice weekly. The natural garden and all-weather playground give children further space for outdoor learning.

In December 2022, older children worked clay into candle holders, while younger children shaped play dough into insects. These activities exercised their hands through pressing, rolling and moulding. Outdoor play included balancing, running, climbing and crawling through tunnels, giving physical learning both small-scale and whole-body forms.

Outdoor and Community Life

The toddler outdoor equipment includes trikes and balance bikes, alongside a builders site role-play area for mixing and making. That combination gives movement and imaginative work space alongside one another. Preschool children also investigate the natural garden, linking their outdoor experiences with the world around them.

In December 2022, children searched for hidden insects in the wintry garden and explained the danger of using the snowy slide and climbing frame, combining observation with awareness of risk.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, while room leaders use developmental observations to plan subsequent activities. What staff notice about a child's learning shapes what comes next.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, gives parents photographs and observations through each child's private account. Baby care also includes daily communication and support for changing routines.

Settling sessions support toddlers, babies receive help moving into the toddler stage, and older children prepare for primary school. Each change has its own preparation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staff structure includes a SENCO, a designated safeguarding lead and practitioners trained in paediatric first aid. A safeguarding trustee works with the designated lead on concerns.

In December 2022, staff used visual prompts to help children understand the next part of the day, but some activity changes involved lengthy waits before outdoor play. Reviewing the routine to make those changes quicker and smoother was the improvement priority. It is a useful point for a visit because the transition between two enjoyable activities can still be difficult for a young child.

Ofsted's compliance action dated 12 June 2023 recorded a notification on 5 June 2023 that a child had left the premises unsupervised, subsequent security changes, and suitability checks initiated after a required registration-change notification had been missed. By that June outcome, risk assessments and collection procedures had been changed, and staff and parents had been reminded about security policies; the published position on the suitability checks was that they had begun.

Food is home-cooked and prepared fresh each day. The example daily rhythm includes meals, indoor play, rest, outdoor exploration and an afternoon snack, placing food and downtime alongside activity.

Sessions and Attendance

Core hours run from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Early drop-off starts at 7.30am, with later collection arranged according to family requirements; a separate opening window runs from 7.30am to 6pm. These are opening hours, with early drop-off and later collection arrangements.

The nursery operates across the year, with closures on bank holidays, for a week in August and for a week at Christmas. Those breaks matter for families planning care through school holidays. Funded hours can be spread across the year or used during term time.

Before-school care serves children aged four to eleven from 7.30am to 8.30am during term time, when requested. Children are accompanied to the school playground afterwards. This is a separate service from the nursery day, with a defined morning handover.

Getting There

The address is Pound Lane, Clifton upon Teme, Worcester WR6 6DE. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01886 812380 or by email to manager@cliftoneyc.co.uk, and visits can be booked.

Grounds are shared with Clifton-Upon-Teme Primary School. The nursery describes a close relationship with the school, including reports for preschool children, while school preparation includes visits for sport and to meet a new teacher. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

The 15 hours funded and 30 hours funded entitlements can be used in term time or spread across the year. Eligibility does not guarantee a particular booking pattern.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. A useful quotation should make the chosen attendance pattern clear, particularly where early drop-off or later collection is involved.

• Infant care and starting age. The dedicated baby area includes cots, physical-play space and covered outdoor access. For a baby-care visit, what starting age applies, and how would the child's home routines be carried through the nursery day?
• Security and registration checks. The June 2023 compliance outcome followed a child leaving unsupervised and recorded changes to security and collection procedures. Ask how those procedures work now and what outcome followed the suitability checks initiated at that time.
• Changes between activities. Lengthy waits before outdoor play were the December 2022 improvement point. During a visit, ask how staff now organise these changes for children who find waiting difficult.
• The attendance quotation. Core hours, early drop-off, later collection and term-time before-school care are different arrangements. Request a written breakdown covering the intended pattern, food and non-food consumables before committing.

Clifton-Upon-Teme Nursery suits families seeking outdoor learning with early drop-off, and those needing term-time before-school care alongside nursery provision. Twice-weekly Forest School, the natural garden and Tapestry give its educational and parent-communication arrangements concrete substance.

The Good judgement belongs to December 2022. The later security incident and the June 2023 position on suitability checks deserve direct discussion, while the shared toddler and preschool room will matter to families choosing between mixed-stage spaces and more separated arrangements. A visit should concentrate on those practical decisions as much as the outdoor setting.