The Strawberry Patch

An old strawberry patch gave this nursery its name; a log-style cabin on a retired farm gives it its character. The Strawberry Patch, at Becketts Farm in Hempstead near Holt, makes substantial use of its surroundings, with an orchard, growing spaces and a paddock extending children's play beyond the rooms. Outdoor learning has a practical purpose here: children can investigate natural materials, grow food and test their physical skills.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, finding excellent progress, strong support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and effective safeguarding. Those findings give weight to the offer, especially for parents seeking purposeful play rather than activities that simply fill the day.

The accepted age range is three months to five years, although the Baby Room's age band begins at nine months. Attendance choices include half days, full days and a shorter Schooldays pattern, so families can choose between substantially different lengths of day.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for nine months to around two years, combines sensory trays, a baby gym and role play with a separate sleep room, allowing active play and rest to occupy different spaces. Stories, music and messy activities sit alongside efforts to follow the routines children know from home. A covered deck and garden extend the room outdoors. The Baby Room's staffing ratio is one adult to three children. This matters for babies whose day still revolves around changing needs for sleep, movement and familiar care.

From around two until between two-and-a-half and three, the purpose-built Transitional Room emphasises communication and everyday independence through rhymes, stories, sensory activities and outdoor exploration. Moves between rooms depend on readiness as well as age. That gives the transition a developmental purpose, rather than treating a birthday as an automatic instruction to move.

The Main Room, serving children from around two-and-a-half to four, divides a large space into smaller play areas and combines creative, musical and sensory experiences with preparation for greater independence. Children have room to explore different interests while practising the everyday skills needed for their next stage.

In the Pre-School Room, play prepares children for primary school through routines such as recording their own attendance and managing coats and bags. The emphasis is on taking responsibility for small tasks. These are concrete steps towards managing a school day, rather than an admissions advantage.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, including language, physical skills and social development through play. Here, children choose resources from low trolleys, helped by pictures and labels on the boxes. Staff observe their interests and develop planned activities from those choices. The arrangement gives children a meaningful role in deciding what to explore, while adults keep learning moving forward.

Craft materials are accessible indoors and outside, including recycled and natural materials. Quieter spaces allow a child to pause with a puzzle or a story. Choice therefore includes both making and doing, and time away from busy play. The curriculum page explains this relationship between children's interests and adult planning.

Orchard Friends adds outdoor exploration with natural resources, including den building, tool use and vegetable growing. It gives children things to manipulate and investigate, rather than relying only on discussion about nature. The Outdoor Classroom, in the paddock, provides another setting for small-group work, including yoga and art therapy, as well as stories and snacks outdoors.

In September 2025, children experimented with bottles containing different amounts of water, listening to the changing sounds when they tapped them. A grasshopper discovered during play prompted discussion about its features, new vocabulary and returning it to its habitat. These examples show how an ordinary discovery can become a language or science activity when an adult develops the child's curiosity.

Outdoor and Community Life

A water chute gives children a problem to investigate; balancing boards and a grassy mound offer physical challenges. The patio accommodates riding toys, while the sensory garden and digging area provide different kinds of exploration. These are useful contrasts: outdoor time can involve energetic movement, careful observation or messy investigation.

The vegetable patch and orchard also connect play with food. Children collect produce, and crops contribute to meals and snacks. In September 2025, regular nature walks included noticing seasonal changes, identifying wildlife and discussing animals in nearby fields. Those experiences put the farm surroundings to educational use, with real things to observe and questions to pursue.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child begins, with a key buddy providing another familiar contact when that practitioner is absent. The key person supports settling, maintains developmental records and shares information with parents. The practical benefit is continuity: families have a usual point of contact and a backup, rather than starting each conversation with someone new.

Settling generally involves four sessions, increasing from an hour towards two hours and including lunch, with additional sessions where needed. Parents initially remain with their child, then gradually spend time apart. For children starting longer attendance patterns across two or more days, shorter days are introduced before the full pattern begins. Families should allow for that gradual start when planning work commitments.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, records observations and photographs and lets families contribute experiences from home. The key person policy uses it for developmental records, so communication can connect what happens at nursery with a child's interests elsewhere. Informal conversations are also supported, with appointments for discussions that need more time or privacy.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes SENCO roles, providing identified contacts for special educational needs support. At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff monitored development, responded promptly to gaps and worked with external agencies to secure targeted help. For families whose child needs additional support, the useful detail is the combination of monitoring and outside collaboration.

Medical conditions and allergies require an individual care plan. That gives a child's specific needs a written place in the arrangements, rather than leaving them solely to verbal exchanges. Parents can also discuss concerns privately with staff, and nursing mothers can be offered a space with privacy.

Sleep has its own space in the Baby Room, with cots and prams separated from play. Staff work towards routines that reflect home, helping families connect the nursery day with familiar sleep patterns. Outdoor sleeping is possible when the weather permits.

The nursery cook prepares meals and snacks fresh each day, using a three-week menu and home-grown produce when available. Dietary, medical and cultural requirements, as well as parental preferences, are taken into account.

Sessions and Attendance

Half days run from 8am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6pm; full days run from 8am to 6pm. Schooldays run from 9am to 3.30pm. A full-week pattern covers Monday to Friday, and a 7.45am start can be arranged where required, with an additional charge. The shorter day is a meaningful alternative for families who do not need the full opening window.

The nursery operates across the year and closes for bank holidays and Christmas. It also sets out a summer closure in its parent agreement. That makes the annual calendar an important part of planning care, alongside the daily session choice.

Applications enter a waiting list ordered by application date, subject to space for the child's age. Joining the list does not guarantee a place. One month's notice is required to reduce sessions or cancel a place, so changes to working hours need planning ahead.

Getting There

The address is Becketts Farm, Hempstead, Holt, Norfolk NR25 6LB; enquiries can be made by telephone on 01263 711229 or by email to info@strawberrypatch.co.uk. A car park serves the site, reached along an access road with a 10 mph limit and large speed bumps.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid attendance are offered. A registration charge covers administration and the first four settling sessions, with funded children exempt under the admissions policy. This distinction matters when comparing the initial arrangements for different types of place.

Consumables are charged separately by attendance pattern, while parents bring nappies and any special creams or wipes their child needs. The session structure therefore matters to the total bill as well as to the length of care. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page provides access to its fee and charging documents.

Preparation for school includes independent routines in the Pre-School Room. A child's Tapestry journal can be transferred to their school, supporting continuity of information about learning and development.

• Starting with a younger baby. The accepted ages begin at three months, while the Baby Room description starts at nine months. During a visit, ask how a younger baby's care, sleeping arrangements and gradual start would work.
• The annual calendar. The contact information gives 50 weeks of operation, while the parent agreement includes a summer closure as well as Christmas and bank holidays. Confirm the exact closure calendar before matching attendance to work commitments.
• The funded-place bill. The general consumables tariff sets separate charges by session pattern, and parents supply nappies. Ask for an individual written breakdown of funded attendance, meals and consumables before deciding whether the arrangement fits your budget.
• Individual dietary care. Medical conditions and allergies require a care plan. Families affected by allergies should confirm current food-handling arrangements and how their child's plan will be used during meals and snacks.

The Strawberry Patch suits families seeking outdoor exploration backed by a clear progression through rooms, familiar key-person relationships and practical preparation for school. Orchard Friends, the growing spaces and the Outdoor Classroom give that character substance. The September 2025 Outstanding judgement supports the educational case.

Its attendance choices suit both half-day families and those choosing Schooldays or full days. The decision rests on how the room arrangements fit the individual child, how gradual settling fits the family's timetable, and how closures and additional charges fit the household's plans.