The Learning Tree Kindergarten & Nursery School

A fully enclosed garden, practical projects and a clear emphasis on language give The Learning Tree Kindergarten & Nursery School its character. At 115 Thorpe Road in Peterborough, this family-run nursery combines room-based care with cooking, woodwork and trips for older preschool children. Its current age range runs from birth to five years.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 28 February 2023 and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision. The current offer puts communication, independence and relationships alongside the practical business of eating, resting and playing outdoors.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions provide different attendance options across the year. The important qualification is the usual minimum booking: four sessions a week, with an exception for funded-only places. Families choosing occasional care or a changing weekly pattern need to weigh that structure carefully.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room uses muted colours and soft natural materials, with familiar practitioners supporting relationships and exploration at each baby's pace. For a family choosing first childcare, the emphasis is on continuity of care rather than a busy programme of activities.

Treehouse serves children aged 18 months to two years, combining movement, early interaction with other children and growing independence within reassuring routines. This is the next stage after baby care, with attention to the physical and social changes of early toddlerhood.

The Toddler Room centres on sensory investigation for two-year-olds, with textures and materials supporting problem-solving while children practise choices and self-help. Pre-School adds early phonics, local exploration and projects, alongside listening, turn-taking and familiarity with routines. Those are concrete forms of preparation for school, rather than an admissions advantage.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and development, covering language, physical development, relationships and wider learning through play. Here, the curriculum gives extra attention to conversation, vocabulary and stories, with activities shaped around children's interests and stages of development.

Practical enrichment includes dance and sport as well as cooking and woodwork. Activities change between terms and involve both nursery staff and external specialists. This matters for parents who value learning through making and doing: children have opportunities to handle materials, try physical activities and work through practical tasks alongside their everyday play.

In February 2023, babies experimented with sound by striking different surfaces with wooden spoons, then trying other objects introduced by staff. The example captures a simple learning sequence: start with a child's interest, change the materials and explore what happens. It brings listening into physical play.

Storytelling had a similarly active form in February 2023. Children used The Three Billy Goats Gruff as the basis for building a bridge and taking roles in play. A lending library and visits from a professional storyteller extended the work with books. These examples show how stories could lead into construction, shared play and spoken language, rather than remaining only something children listened to.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden has room for digging, climbing and running, with natural materials and resources children can use in different ways. Quieter areas sit alongside space for energetic play. Outdoor activity continues through the seasons, with suitable clothing helping children use the garden throughout the year.

Older preschool children take day trips each term, with pumpkin picking and pond dipping among the examples. These give children experiences beyond the nursery itself, connecting practical discovery with their understanding of the world.

In February 2023, outings included harvesting strawberries and pumpkins at farms and frequent walks to nearby woodland. Seasonal plants, including bluebells and wild garlic, gave children things to observe and discuss. The value was specific: food could be traced to where it grew, and changes in nature could be seen directly.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with sessions in which children meet their room team and staff learn about familiar routines, preferred play, sleep and dietary needs. Each child has a key person in every room. That gives families an identified practitioner to work with as their child develops and moves between stages.

FAMLY is the nursery's app for communication, developmental observations and invoicing; parents can also contribute photographs, videos and observations from home. For younger children, it includes records of meals, sleep and nappy changes. Daily conversations at collection complement the app, so communication has both a written record and a personal exchange.

SchoolCloud hosts parent consultations twice a year, providing time to discuss progress and next steps. Written reporting includes a developmental check around ages 24–36 months and a school-transition summary shared with the receiving school. Together, these arrangements give parents several ways to follow development: daily information, scheduled discussions and written summaries at important stages.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND benefited from targeted small-group work and individual plans developed by the special educational needs coordinator with families and other professionals. The finding matters because it describes an actual support mechanism, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

There were also two clear development points in February 2023: monitoring staff practice needed a sharper emphasis on improving teaching, and some practitioners lacked knowledge of children's home languages. For multilingual families, the latter is a practical discussion about how the languages heard and spoken at home become part of everyday communication.

Sleep follows the individual child's routine, with staff present while children rest and checks made regularly. The settling process gives parents a chance to explain those routines before attendance begins. This links care at nursery to the habits a young child already knows.

Meals are cooked daily by a chef working on site, and the nursery operates a published nut-free policy with procedures for dietary requirements. Mealtimes also give children opportunities to practise independence and conversation.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 115 Thorpe Road, Peterborough, PE3 6JQ. Core opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, excluding bank holidays and the Christmas closure period.

Morning sessions run from 8am to 12.30pm; afternoon sessions run from 1.30pm to 5.30pm. A full day is 8am to 5.30pm. Children aged three to four who receive government funding and attend full days can use the preschool extended day, from 7.45am to 5.45pm. A separately charged early start at 7.45am must be booked ahead and is subject to availability.

The normal minimum is four sessions each week, which can mean two full days or four half days; funded-only places are excepted. Attendance is across the year, with neither term-time-only places nor weekly changes to match shift work offered. This is a regular booking model, so the fit depends on a family's recurring timetable.

When applications exceed places, the waiting-list order favours staff families, then current siblings, former siblings and full-time bookings; full days take precedence over half days, and application date also counts. Interest can be registered through the contact form, email or telephone. Visits can be booked, and settling sessions follow as part of preparing a child to start.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through the universal entitlement from the term after a child turns three and working-parent entitlements, subject to the relevant eligibility conditions. Funding is stretched across the year: the 30-hour entitlement becomes 22 hours weekly, and the 15-hour entitlement becomes 11. Private paid childcare is also offered, with current prices supplied in the nursery's written quotation.

For full-fee bookings, enrichment, outings and trips are included, alongside nappies, wipes and formula milk. Drinks, breakfast, snacks and afternoon tea are included according to attendance times; cooked lunch is included for full days and morning sessions for children aged zero to three, while extra lunches for half days are subject to availability and carry a lunch charge plus the cost of any extra time required.

A registration charge and deposit apply to ordinary bookings, with deposit refunds dependent on attendance for at least three months, a clear account and one month's written notice. Funded-only bookings have no registration charge, and their deposit is returned after the first four weeks if the place is taken up. Leaving or permanently changing sessions requires one month's written notice. Bank-holiday closures remain chargeable, which affects the overall cost of a regular weekly booking.

• A fixed weekly commitment. The usual four-session minimum and year-round attendance suit a recurring timetable. At a visit, discuss how the morning, afternoon or full-day pattern would work for your child and household.
• Teaching and home languages. The February 2023 development points concerned monitoring teaching and staff knowledge of languages used at home. Ask how these are addressed now, especially if your child grows up with more than one language.
• Movement between floors. In February 2023, children used several flights of stairs to reach the garden, sleep room and dining room. Discuss the current routes and support if stairs are relevant to your child's needs.
• Funding and dietary arrangements. Funding is stretched, while meal inclusions depend on age and session. Request a written quotation separating funded hours, paid hours and extras, and confirm current dietary practice if your child has an allergy.

The Learning Tree suits families seeking a regular year-round morning, afternoon or full-day arrangement, with practical learning, daily outdoor play and structured communication about their child's development. The funded preschool extended day broadens that choice for qualifying children.

Its strongest current details are tangible: a garden used through the seasons, activities involving making and movement, individual settling routines and communication through FAMLY and scheduled consultations. The February 2023 teaching and home-language development points deserve attention alongside those strengths. The decision rests on whether this combination of care, learning and fixed attendance fits the child and the family's week.