Enya's Childcare

A private woodland, an outdoor classroom and projects shaped by children's questions give Enya's Childcare in Crowland a clear identity. Its Wilderness Pathway brings regular Forest School sessions to children aged three and four, with practical experiences including gardening, tool work and cooking over a fire pit. Outdoor learning has substance here.

At its 25 March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and found safeguarding effective. The strongest reasons to consider it lie beneath that judgement: thoughtful responses to individual children, sustained attention to physical development and adults who extend an interesting moment into a learning opportunity.

Enya's Childcare occupies 34 Hall Street, Crowland, Peterborough, PE6 0EW, and accepts children from 10 months to five years. Explorers, Adventurers and Dreamers organise the early years experience by age. Full Day and Short Day attendance sit alongside a flexible session option, giving families more than one way to fit childcare around their week.

Rooms and Ages

Explorers caters for the youngest children, with the room's age band running from 10 months to two years and an emphasis on recognising people and investigating sensory experiences. Adventurers covers two to three years, encouraging children to develop confidence through exploration and projects. Dreamers serves three- and four-year-olds, with preparation for moving beyond nursery forming part of its character.

The nursery's outdoor provision has a separate identity. Base Camp is an outdoor classroom used before and after woodland sessions and when high winds prevent the usual forest visit. This gives the Wilderness Pathway a practical alternative setting, rather than making its outdoor programme depend entirely on access to the woodland.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the required framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support learning alongside their physical and emotional needs. Enya's adds its Reggio-inspired approach, in which adults develop projects around the questions and interests children bring to them. Children help determine what they investigate.

Longer projects use photographs, written observations, voice recordings and video that practitioners revisit to understand children's thinking. This curriculum approach values the learning process alongside finished work, giving parents insight into what lies behind an activity.

In March 2024, a preschool discussion about a dragon became a woodland search and then an exploration of fire lighting. Staff introduced relevant vocabulary as children watched sparks being produced, while the children recalled the rules for working around fire. Imagination and practical investigation were connected within the same experience.

In March 2024, adults explained how magnetic pieces moved together and introduced vocabulary for the effect. Water pumping drew on an earlier experiment as children considered better ways to collect the water. Both experiences encouraged children to test and reconsider ideas.

Language also received sustained attention in March 2024. Each room used a book of the month, with songs and rhymes reinforcing familiar words and introducing new ones. Toddlers remembered the sequence of a bear-hunt story. Repeated encounters with a story gave them something recognisable to join in with and anticipate.

Outdoor and Community Life

Wilderness Pathway is a continuing programme of Forest School sessions, combining exploration and play with supported risk taking. For three- and four-year-olds, its settings are the private woodland in Crowland and the purpose-built outdoor classroom. Wildlife surveys, foraging and woodworking extend the programme beyond a simple walk outside; children encounter living things, materials and tools through practical activity.

In March 2024, physical development was a clear priority. Children tackled climbing structures and moved through woodland where they had to notice and avoid branches. Additional funding supplied outdoor clothing and wellingtons, helping children participate in the forest sessions. The physical setting asked them to make decisions about their bodies and surroundings.

Eco-Schools adds environmental responsibility to the nursery day. Preschool children participate in the Eco Committee, whose tasks include caring for plants, encouraging recycling and taking food waste to the compost bin. Circle-time updates take place once a week, and the committee undertakes regular community litter picking. Children have jobs with visible consequences.

In March 2024, care-home visits, learning about food banks and contributing to community garden pots gave children practical context for kindness and responsibility beyond the nursery.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is tailored to the child and family, with a separation process designed around individual needs. In March 2024, staff prepared familiar, engaging resources for children who found parting from parents difficult. That is a concrete response to distress: the child's interests helped shape the support offered.

Toileting support links home and nursery. Families supply nappies, and may also leave their preferred wipes; staff record changing and toileting through Famly, the nursery's communication app. A key person can suggest or create resources, such as an achievement chart, to support potty training consistently across both settings. Starting preschool does not require a child to have finished that transition.

Golden Rules gives behaviour expectations a recognisable form, using simple reminders about kindness, listening and safe behaviour. Adults model the expectations and discuss feelings with children individually or in small groups. Where needed, a Behaviour Plan is developed with parents so that responses can be tailored to the child and used consistently at home and nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff developed individual plans with parents for children with SEND and used specialist advice obtained through the special educational needs coordinator. The important detail is the mechanism: parental knowledge, individual planning and outside expertise informed the child's curriculum.

Current roles include a SENCO, SEN and individual support, and child protection responsibilities, giving families identifiable routes for discussing additional needs or concerns.

Uniform is optional; children can wear their own comfortable clothes. Clothing must suit messy play, allowing children to participate freely in sensory exploration and outdoor activity.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day attendance runs from 8am to 6pm. The Short Day runs from 8am to 3pm and is offered from age three on the enquiry form. Families can also select a mixture of sessions or flexible attendance, alongside their preferred days from Monday to Friday. The shorter pattern is a meaningful option for preschool families whose day ends earlier.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas holidays. Its address is 34 Hall Street, Crowland, Peterborough, PE6 0EW. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01733 686364; the form gathers the child's date of birth, preferred start date, days and session choice.

Funding and Paid Extras

In March 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That dated position establishes its experience of delivering funded provision, while a family's own arrangement needs to match the child's circumstances and chosen attendance pattern.

Parents provide nappies and, if they have a preferred type, wipes. These supplies are kept for the child, and staff let families know when replenishment is needed. This is a practical contribution from home alongside the nursery's changing and toileting support.

• The preschool timetable. The Short Day finishes at 3pm and the enquiry form reserves it for children aged three and over. At a tour, discuss how the chosen pattern fits your child's age and your working day.
• Woodland participation. Wilderness Pathway is for three- and four-year-olds and involves fire-pit cooking and tool work. Ask how enrolment, participation and clothing arrangements work for your child, including the use of Base Camp in high winds.
• Your complete childcare budget. Funded provision was part of the nursery's offer in March 2024, and families supply nappies. Request a current written quotation covering your chosen sessions, funded-hour delivery, meals and any additional charges before agreeing a booking.

Enya's Childcare suits families who want children's curiosity to influence their learning and who value a substantial outdoor programme as they reach preschool age. Child-led projects, the private woodland and the Eco Committee give that choice concrete meaning. The March 2024 Outstanding judgement adds weight to the nursery's educational character.

It also serves different practical needs: families using the 8am to 6pm Full Day, preschool families choosing the 8am to 3pm Short Day, and those seeking a mixture or flexible arrangement. The age threshold for the shorter day and enrolment in Wilderness Pathway are the details to weigh against your own child's stage and routine.