Henshaw Nursery

Weekly Forest School sessions give Henshaw Nursery a clear outdoor identity: children investigate nature, follow their interests and learn practical skills through play. The shared primary-school site also makes school life a familiar part of the surroundings. This is a nursery where outdoor exploration and preparation for the next stage sit alongside each other.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Henshaw Nursery Outstanding and found exceptionally strong support for communication, with staff deliberately extending vocabulary through play and encouraging children to develop their answers. The useful detail is the teaching behind that judgement: conversation was woven into activities rather than reserved for a separate language exercise.

There are 24 places in total. Nursery attendance starts at 18 months and continues to 4 years 11 months, while breakfast, after-school and holiday care serve school-aged children up to 9 years old. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, across 49 weeks of the year.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, care and development; here, play gives children opportunities to practise language, movement, early reading and independence. Activities are planned around individual interests and characteristics. That makes a child's fascination a starting point for learning, rather than an interruption to a fixed activity.

Forest School adds weekly outdoor sessions, planned by a qualified lead around children's current interests. The approach uses exploration of the natural environment, including sensory investigation and opportunities to develop practical skills. Learning about tools and lighting fires forms part of the nursery's outdoor approach, alongside environmental and personal safety rules. The attraction is purposeful exploration, with adults creating further possibilities from children's play.

In February 2024, everyday materials carried much of the learning. Younger children explored foam through touch and smell, while staff encouraged predictions. Elsewhere, children worked out how to shift a water container and transfer its contents. These examples show how a practical problem can bring together talking, experimenting and testing an idea.

Early literacy also took different forms in February 2024. Younger children experimented with marks using mud, paint and foam; older children made drawings at an easel. Books were distributed around the environment, and stories and rhymes were selected for different ages. This gave children several ways into reading and writing before conventional written work.

Outdoor and Community Life

The physical setting supported both energetic and quieter activity in February 2024. Wooden stepping stones and slopes challenged younger children's balance, while climbing equipment, yoga and movement sessions extended older children's physical activity. Indoors, lamps placed low in the room and comfortable retreat areas helped create calmer spaces for learning.

Nature was something children could observe and help care for. In February 2024, they examined plants, watched sheep in a neighbouring field and helped look after chickens. Firefighters visited to explain their work, giving children another concrete way to learn about the people and world around them. These experiences brought learning beyond the nursery's immediate activities without relying on abstract explanations.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who plans activities for their allocated children. The practical value is continuity: responsibility for planning sits with someone who knows that child's interests and development, rather than belonging only to the group as a whole.

In February 2024, families were invited to play sessions, to read to children and to join annual outings to the coast. Children could borrow books from the nursery library to share at home. Apples picked from trees became crumble for families to taste, linking a children's activity with something parents could enjoy too.

Stories and puppets helped children talk about feelings in February 2024. When disagreements arose, adults encouraged children to consider possible solutions and another child's feelings. Independence was also practised through ordinary routines: toddlers used open cups, while older children poured drinks and cut fruit. Small tasks gave children opportunities to do more for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager is a qualified SENCO and is a mental health first aider for adults and children. A Forest School and wraparound lead provides a separate point of responsibility for those parts of the offer. These roles give families concrete structures to discuss when considering their child's support.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and strong collaboration with other professionals for children with special educational needs and disabilities, with additional funding used to provide extra help. That dated finding provides substance beyond a general statement about inclusion.

School preparation was tangible in February 2024: older children shared daily lunches with Reception children in the school hall and became familiar with the school environment. Familiar routines and spaces can make the next stage less unfamiliar. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at the on-site school.

Sessions and Attendance

Henshaw Nursery shares a site with Henshaw Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Henshaw, Hexham, NE47 7EP. The contact address also identifies Bardon Mill. Families can enquire using the contact form, email or telephone.

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6pm. It operates for 49 weeks, closing for two weeks over Christmas, one at Easter and bank holidays. This is an across-the-year offer rather than provision confined to school terms.

Breakfast and after-school clubs serve the adjoining primary school, and holiday care is offered for school-aged children. These are separate from the nursery's opening window: the overall hours should not be read as the clock times of each club.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, starting in the term after their third birthday; up to 30 hours for eligible working families; and 15 hours for eligible disadvantaged two-year-olds. Hours can be stretched over the nursery's 49-week year. The working-family entitlement's reference to children from 9 months does not change this nursery's stated admission age of 18 months.

Additional hours and attendance without funding are charged privately. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their intended attendance and extras.

For funded attendance, food is charged separately, covering snacks and meals according to the hours attended; families who choose not to pay can send healthy snacks and a packed lunch. Lunch is also charged separately for children attending without funding.

Parents supply nappies and wipes. Educational trips and visits carry charges that depend on their cost, so these belong alongside attendance and food when considering the overall arrangement.

Attending this nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at the on-site school. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Outdoor learning. Weekly Forest School sessions include practical exploration, while the outdoor approach encompasses tools and fire lighting. During a visit, discuss how activities and safety routines are adapted for your child's age.
• Food and everyday supplies. Funded attendance has a separate food charge, with a home-provided alternative; parents also supply nappies and wipes. Include both arrangements when comparing the practical cost and daily preparation.
• Nursery attendance and school clubs. The nursery welcomes children from 18 months, with breakfast, after-school and holiday care for older children. Ask how your intended nursery attendance fits within the weekday opening window.
• School transition. Sharing the school site offers opportunities for familiarity, but attendance does not guarantee Reception admission. Treat the school application as a separate decision and process.

Henshaw suits families who want outdoor learning to be a regular part of nursery life, with activities built around children's interests and a key person responsible for individual planning. The February 2024 Outstanding judgement adds a strong dated assessment of quality, while the concrete examples explain what that assessment meant in practice.

Its range also serves families seeking breakfast care, after-school care or holiday care for school-aged children. For nursery families, the across-the-year opening pattern and food arrangements are practical considerations alongside the educational offer. The school setting brings familiarity with the next stage, while leaving Reception admissions firmly separate.