Willow Childcare & Training

A parachute game became a lesson about static electricity; a sandwich became a chance to explore rectangles. Those July 2025 examples capture Willow Childcare & Training’s emphasis on making ordinary play count, with conversation and mathematical ideas threaded through the day.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding, finding highly effective teaching, strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and effective safeguarding arrangements. Based at Fairfield Bungalow in Edwalton, Willow has 50 places in total. Children attending at that inspection were aged 2 to 11, spanning preschool and out-of-school provision.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children’s learning, development and care: here, the July 2025 examples included language, number and social learning through everyday play. Staff encouraged conversations with younger children and demonstrated sentence structure, giving children opportunities to practise expressing their ideas.

Mathematics was similarly practical in July 2025. Children explored how triangles could form a rectangle and discussed the shapes of picnic sandwiches. Counting and ideas about capacity also featured in staff interactions. These examples give parents something more concrete than a promise of school preparation: children were using mathematical language while doing things they understood.

Physical and social learning overlapped in the garden. In July 2025, one child helped another balance on tyres before reaching a slide. Elsewhere, staff introduced a sand timer during play with pipettes and coloured water to support sharing and sustain participation. The detail matters: staff adjusted an activity rather than simply ending it when attention slipped.

In July 2025, staff and leaders got to know families before children started. Children also explored a Thai candle festival that mattered to some attending the setting, connecting learning with their families’ experiences.

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff recognised concerns about children’s development, worked with parents to obtain additional help and used additional funding effectively to support children and families. This gives the inclusion judgement a practical basis: identifying a concern was followed by partnership with parents and a route towards support.

Staff development also received attention in July 2025. Leaders provided training and guidance while taking account of workload, connecting support for practitioners with the work they did with children.

The address is Fairfield Bungalow, Wellin Lane, Edwalton, Nottingham, NG12 4AS.

In July 2025, Willow operated throughout the year on weekdays. Preschool sessions ran from 9am to 3pm; out-of-school sessions ran from 7.45am to 8.45am and from 3.30pm to 6pm. These are inspection-time arrangements, giving families a dated picture of the separate preschool and school-age provision.

The preschool provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four in July 2025.

• Attendance arrangements. The July 2025 timetable separated preschool sessions from before- and after-school provision. At a visit, how would the current booking arrangements fit your child’s age and your working day?
• Support before starting. Staff got to know families before children joined in July 2025. For a child who needs additional help, this makes the initial discussion about their development and family circumstances especially relevant.

Willow’s strongest evidence concerns the substance of everyday teaching: conversation during play, mathematics through practical examples and staff responses to children’s changing attention. The July 2025 Outstanding judgement supports that picture. It suits families drawn to this approach, with the inspection-time offer serving both preschool daytime attendance and before- or after-school care.