The Old Station Nursery Oxford

In July 2024, sensory play for babies and planetary exploration for older children characterised the day at this Oxford Science Park nursery. The Old Station Nursery Oxford has capacity for 77 children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 10 July 2024, with an improvement needed in how leaders monitor staff practice. That distinction matters: the overall judgement was positive, but the consistency of adult-led teaching needed attention.

In July 2024, babies explored spinach, oats and water, with small animals to discover among the materials. Texture bags gave children who were hesitant about touching the mixture another way to participate. Staff introduced descriptive vocabulary during the activity, connecting sensory exploration with early language.

Toddlers used a sandpit arranged as a pretend seaside, drawing on recent holiday experiences in their conversations. Older children explored the solar system, naming Jupiter and Venus, and used imaginative volcano play alongside counting. Preschool children also sang individually during a music activity, giving each child a turn to perform for friends.

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent terms, this brings learning and everyday care together: play becomes an opportunity to practise communication, explore ideas and develop physical skills.

Physical play in July 2024 included a mud kitchen, a construction area and water play involving pouring and scooping. These offered different ways to move, experiment and build.

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding and strong key-person relationships, alongside very good progress for children with SEND or long-term medical needs, supported by individual plans and collaboration with families and other professionals.

Communication had concrete forms in July 2024. Staff shared children's learning with parents and offered ideas for continuing it at home. For children learning English as an additional language, support included multilingual pens, signs, pictures and useful words. These provided several routes into communication rather than relying entirely on spoken English.

Food and activity were linked to everyday wellbeing in July 2024: children ate a balanced diet, and staff encouraged healthy habits around exercise, rest and eating.

The address is The Sadler Building Nursery, Heatley Road, Oxford, OX4 4GE, on Oxford Science Park.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. Those closures matter for families arranging continuous weekday childcare.

In July 2024, the nursery received early-education funding for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated account of its funding participation.

• Consistency in group teaching. In July 2024, some adult-led activities did not sufficiently extend children's existing knowledge, and monitoring did not reliably identify these weaknesses. On a visit, ask how leaders now observe teaching and support practitioners to improve it.
• Matching care to the working day. The weekday opening window runs from 7.30am to 6pm, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures. Ask which booking patterns would fit your child's routine and your working hours.

For families seeking weekday childcare on Oxford Science Park, the location and opening window are practical attractions. The July 2024 examples also give substance to the nursery's educational character: sensory exploration, individual singing and imaginative science play.

The decision turns on consistency as well as variety. The July 2024 recommendation to strengthen staff monitoring deserves attention.