Park Farm Day Nursery

A farm setting with vegetables grown for the kitchen, animals to meet and an Atelier for making and baking gives Park Farm Day Nursery a recognisable character. Nature is part of the activity programme, rather than simply the backdrop. The baby and toddler annexe adds space for sensory exploration, soft play and sleep, making the youngest children's environment an important part of the offer.

At 1 Pont Park, Berwick Hill, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE20 0JX, the nursery has capacity for 98 children aged 1 to 60 months. Ofsted rated it Good on 12 September 2025 and found safeguarding arrangements effective. That judgement sits alongside specific improvements needed in activity planning, individual staff coaching and toddler mealtimes. Families should weigh both the opportunities and the consistency of their delivery.

Ten-hour and five-hour days provide different attendance options. The strongest reasons to consider Park Farm are its practical use of the outdoors, creative spaces and opportunities for parents to contribute to their child's learning.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room serves children from six weeks to two years, combining carpeted floor space, a climbing frame, soft play and a quiet corner with sensory materials. These give babies different ways to practise movement or take a break from busier play. Confident walkers can explore other nursery areas alongside their key person, so the room is a base rather than the limit of their day.

For children aged two to three and three to four, The Big Room brings together role play, construction, small-world activities and space for movement. Its layout supports changes of activity, including physical play indoors during cold or wet weather. The Creative Room / Wet & Messy Area accommodates painting and exploration with clay, soil, sand and water, while the Table Top Area provides smaller-scale tasks such as measuring, puzzles and cutting.

Sleep Room provides space for naps upstairs and can also accommodate quieter group activities. The baby and toddler annexe has its own dedicated sleep space, alongside sensory and soft-play provision. Its Atelier gives children opportunities to make things, prepare food and create, adding practical activity to the younger children's environment.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning, development and care: here, children explore through play, conversation, movement and practical tasks. It is the baseline for the nursery's work. Food preparation, creative materials and contact with nature give that framework concrete expression, rather than replacing it with a separate branded curriculum.

A group of children takes part in food preparation during each session. Counting fruit portions, weighing pasta or making biscuits links everyday food with early number work and handling materials. Creative activities follow a monthly theme, and the older children's programme becomes more structured as they approach school age. Free play sits alongside activities led by staff, giving children both choices and shared tasks.

In September 2025, toddlers explored the texture and sound of autumn leaves, while older children used vegetables for printing and recalled their names. Books, singing and the introduction of unfamiliar words also featured in daily learning. However, some planned activities were insufficiently tied to what individual children needed to learn next. The important distinction is between an appealing activity and one that deliberately builds on a child's existing understanding.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Park includes a vegetable garden whose produce goes into nursery meals, with children helping to sow, water, weed and harvest. That creates a direct connection between growing food and eating it. Rabbits, chickens and guinea pigs occupy the pet area, and outings into the field bring children closer to the animals.

The Ride-on-toy patio provides vehicles and trikes; other patio spaces support chalk, water and sand activities as well as climbing. Each session includes opportunities for child-led outdoor play and a planned outdoor activity. In September 2025, children practised cycling and climbing on wooden equipment, while babies worked on crawling and walking. The outdoor offer therefore serves different stages of physical development, rather than being reserved for older children.

Relationships and Communication

A key person accompanies younger children as they begin exploring beyond their base room. In September 2025, new children received prompt comfort from staff, and established relationships helped them settle. Staff also gathered information from parents about children's earlier experiences and learning, giving them a starting point for planning care and activities.

Famly is the online learning journal used for photographs, videos and observations. Parents can respond to entries and contribute examples from home, making communication a two-way exchange. This is useful when a child's interests or achievements differ between home and nursery: parents can add information rather than only receive updates.

Communication has a paid enhancement option as well as a standard service. Digital Updates Plus adds photographs and longer daily updates, while Extended Parent Meetings provides longer termly appointments. Families who decline these extras retain verbal handovers, standard meetings and the required development checks and summaries. The distinction matters when deciding how much additional reporting a family wants.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefited from shared individual learning plans and collaboration with external partners, supporting progress towards their own targets. These are concrete support mechanisms, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

In September 2025, staff encouraged children to manage shoes and coats, feed themselves and begin serving their own food. Toddler lunchtime arrangements were less consistent: some children remained seated for too long while staff attended to other tasks, reducing opportunities for conversation and learning. This is an important counterweight to the emphasis on independence.

A full-time cook prepares meals on site using fresh ingredients, with a five-week menu cycle. Food preparation also forms part of children's activities, connecting what they handle and make with mealtimes.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, with early starts from 7.30am. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Attendance options include a ten-hour day and a five-hour day, giving families a choice between longer attendance and a shorter daily pattern.

A visit can be booked through the nursery's contact form, and enquiries can also be made by telephone or email. The address is 1 Pont Park, Berwick Hill, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE20 0JX. These routes provide a straightforward starting point for joining discussions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can use government-funded early education, including provision from nine months onwards. Depending on entitlement, funded hours can be stretched to up to 22.8 hours over 50 weeks. These hours cover core education, care and supervision; purchasing extra services is not a condition of taking them up.

Meals are a separate optional charge outside the funded entitlement. Nursery-supplied personal-care consumables, including wipes, creams and nappy sacks, are also an optional paid service; parents may supply their own instead. These choices should be considered separately from the funded hours themselves.

The Enrichment & Care Package combines optional services and activities beyond core provision. Animal & Nature Experience covers such additions as visiting animals and wildlife workshops, while Wellbeing & Specialist Extras includes specialist-led activities such as yoga and music with movement. Ordinary outdoor exploration, daily music and movement remain part of the core offer. The package also includes enhanced communication and conveniences connected with bookings and events.

Families can choose the package or consider its individual components. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the optional extras page explains the charge structure and alternatives. The useful question is which additions serve the child or family, rather than treating the package as part of funded education.

• Planning and staff development. In September 2025, activities did not consistently address individual next steps, and targeted coaching and monitoring of teaching were not embedded. Ask how staff now connect activities to your child's learning and review their own practice.
• Toddler lunchtime. In September 2025, some toddlers waited too long while seated, with fewer interactions from staff. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how meals are organised and how children remain engaged during the routine.
• Youngest children's groups. The annexe adds sensory play, soft play and dedicated sleep space, while confident walkers also explore other areas with their key person. On a visit, ask what group size your baby would join and how movement between spaces is organised.
• Attendance and extras. Five-hour and ten-hour days suit different schedules, while meals, consumables and enhanced communication involve separate choices. Agree the daily pattern and selected extras together so the quotation matches the care you intend to use.

Park Farm suits families seeking either five-hour or ten-hour attendance who value practical outdoor experiences, creative activity and a connection between growing, preparing and eating food. The garden, animals, Atelier and younger children's annexe give those priorities tangible form.

The September 2025 Good judgement provides a positive overall assessment, but the weaknesses in individual planning, staff coaching and toddler lunchtime deserve attention. This is a nursery to consider for its environment and hands-on experiences, with a clear conversation about how consistently those opportunities become purposeful learning and attentive care.