Little Blossoms Nursery

Orchards, animal-feeding trips and preschool mudslides give Little Blossoms Nursery its character. This purpose-built, single-storey setting sits among Clive’s Fruit Farm’s orchards, with views towards the Malvern Hills. The rural surroundings are part of the children’s experiences, rather than simply a backdrop: younger children visit the farm, while preschool children explore bugs and mudslides through weekly Forest School sessions.

Little Blossoms accepts children from three months to five years and has capacity for 104 children. Its youngest room, Seedlings, has a maximum of nine babies, a useful distinction from the size of the nursery as a whole. At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that staff built secure relationships, supported communication for children including those with SEND, and maintained effective safeguarding arrangements.

The practical offer also extends beyond nursery age through Orchard Explorers, an after-school and holiday club. That is a separate provision with its own activities and age range.

Rooms and Ages

Seedlings serves babies aged three to 16 months, with a cap of nine, its own garden, a separate sleeping space and an area for exploring textures through paint, water and sand. Keeping sleep apart from busy play gives the room a clear practical advantage for families whose babies still need daytime naps.

Upper Seedlings covers children aged 16 to 26 months and has a maximum of 12 toddlers, combining music, movement, sensory experiences and outdoor play with an afternoon nap option. Both youngest departments use one adult for three children. For children under two, this meets the statutory minimum; the room caps, rather than that ratio, are the useful size measures for parents.

Saplings, for two- to three-year-olds, has three play spaces including a messy area, plus a garden equipped with slides, ride-on toys, a Playhouse and a giant sand-pit. Its emphasis is exploration guided by children’s interests, with fruit picking, orchard outings and farm visits extending that play beyond the room.

For three- to five-year-olds, Pippins combines imaginative play and growing independence with small-world resources, a cosy corner and separate gardens containing a Wendy House, mud kitchen and pedal bikes. Pippins Pears and Pippins Apples have separate staff teams and similar experiences; their names distinguish the preschool rooms rather than different educational approaches.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the educational framework, with children learning through play and experiences shaped around their individual interests. This is the common early-years foundation. Little Blossoms adds concrete experiences that make sense of its setting, including fruit picking, farm visits and regular opportunities to explore the orchards.

Write dance is a music-and-movement session for Pippins children. Weekly Forest School sessions add bug searches and mudslide play, and parents are welcome to join them. These are specific additions to the preschool day: music and movement alongside outdoor exploration, alongside stories, role play and everyday opportunities to practise independence.

In September 2022, children’s interests shaped immediate changes to activities: when an easel became crowded, staff put paper across a table to create more room for mark-making. Babies practised pulling themselves upright using a rail beside a mirror, then tried balancing while waving. These examples show what responsive teaching looked like at that time, with resources adjusted to what children were attempting.

Older children also used information books during woodland exploration in September 2022, connecting pictures and explanations about insects with their search for dead wood. Dough disco sessions combined songs and dancing with squeezing and shaping dough to exercise hands and fingers. The learning was attached to something children could do, investigate or handle.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor offer changes with age. Babies have a garden of their own; the under-two department also makes trips to feed farm animals. Saplings children explore the orchards and pick fruit, while Pippins has space in the orchard as well as its separate gardens.

In September 2022, outdoor experiences included climbing a steep slope with a rope for support and taking turns in an outdoor kitchen. Children followed instructions while tackling physical challenges and shared equipment during pretend cooking.

Relationships and Communication

Settling into Seedlings takes place gradually over several weeks. A key person supports the move from home, and the department’s open-door policy allows parents to telephone or call in for feedback.

In Upper Seedlings, the key person manages personal care, plans for development and speaks with parents after each session. That gives families a regular link between what happens at nursery and what they see at home. Saplings also uses settling sessions when children move into the department, so support is attached to internal transitions as well as the initial start.

School preparation in Pippins is practical. Children serve their own lunch, share stories with their key person and use role play alongside movement sessions. These experiences give them opportunities to practise doing things for themselves and participating with other children; they do not establish an admissions advantage at a school.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A nursery SENDCo provides support for children with additional needs. Around age two, nursery and health-visitor development checks can be coordinated through the key person when a family receives its appointment date.

In September 2022, staff gave children time to consider questions and respond, and kept their safeguarding knowledge current through training and procedures for raising concerns. The present support structure includes the SENDCo role, while the youngest departments provide either a separate sleeping space or an afternoon nap option.

Meals are cooked in the nursery kitchen using homegrown and local produce, with menus rotating over four weeks. Lunch is served at noon, tea at 4pm, and snacks between meals; the nursery caters for dietary requirements.

Sessions and Attendance

Little Blossoms opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm. It operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

Orchard Explorers serves children aged four to 11, with after-school collection from Hanley Swan Primary School and full-day holiday care during Worcestershire school holidays. Its garden includes a climbing frame with a swing and slide, and children can help prepare tea. Holiday activities include cooking, den building and farm visits.

Getting There

The address is Clives Fruit Farm, Upper Hook Road, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcester, WR8 0SA. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by emailing enquiries@littleblossomsnursery.co.uk or by calling 01684 592743.

Funding and Paid Extras

In September 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Its prospectus and fees page provides access to the prospectus and fee schedule.

• Room moves and settling. Seedlings introduces babies gradually over several weeks, while Saplings also uses settling sessions. On a visit, ask how a move through Upper Seedlings into Saplings is timed around your child’s development and existing relationships.
• Attendance and the written quotation. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, and funded early education was provided at the September 2022 inspection. Ask which nursery booking patterns and funded arrangements would apply to your child, including how meals and non-food consumables are treated in the quotation.
• Outdoor clothing and participation. Pippins has weekly Forest School sessions involving bug searches and mudslides, with parents welcome. Discuss the clothing children need and how family participation works alongside your own schedule.
• Dietary needs. Meals are cooked on site and dietary requirements are catered for. If your child has an allergy, confirm the current arrangements for ingredients, food preparation and communication before starting.

Little Blossoms suits families who want a rural nursery where orchard exploration and farm experiences sit alongside age-specific rooms. For babies, the nine-child Seedlings cap and separate sleeping space are the clearest practical attractions. For preschool children, weekly Forest School, Write dance and self-service lunches give the day a recognisable shape.

The September 2022 Outstanding judgement adds weight, but it remains a dated assessment. Orchard Explorers also suits families needing its after-school club or full-day holiday club for older children. The strongest reason to choose Little Blossoms is the combination of its farm setting, staged settling and concrete experiences for each age group.