The Trees Day Care Nursery, Oxford Road

Climbing walls and children serving their own meals give this Oxford Road nursery a practical character: physical challenge sits alongside learning to manage everyday tasks. At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The useful detail lies beneath that judgement, in how children played, made choices and took responsibility.

The Trees Day Care Nursery, Oxford Road caters for children aged 3 to 60 months and has capacity for 62 children. Its address is 114 Oxford Road, Swindon, SN3 4HD. Apples, the preschool room, combines preparation for school with stories, creative activities and space for movement.

For parents, the central balance is between adult guidance and growing independence. In July 2025, older children managed everyday routines and helped themselves to meals, but staff sometimes stepped in too quickly when a task became difficult. That distinction matters: encouraging independence also means giving children time to work something out.

Rooms and Ages

Apples serves the 3–5 age group, with areas for storytelling, small-world activities, role play, water play and movement; its learning emphasis includes letters and sounds through rhyme and song. These different spaces give preschool children several ways to participate, rather than making preparation for school depend entirely on adult-directed activities.

Weekly planning includes either an activity guided by an adult, such as cooking or counting, or work tailored to a child's next steps. Walks and outdoor play also feature in that planning. This connects shared experiences with individual development: children can take part together while practitioners plan for what each child is ready to try next.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing play and everyday care into their education. Apples makes that concrete through songs, rhymes and practical activities, alongside learning about numbers, shapes and writing.

In July 2025, a sensory activity developed from children choosing to put sprinkles into foam. Their comparison with a cupcake led to conversation about flavours and preferences. The example shows how an ordinary play choice became an opportunity to recall experiences and put ideas into words.

Outdoor experiences also varied with children's development at that visit. Older children used climbing walls to practise coordination and build strength, while outdoor play formed part of the daily routine. Physical challenge was therefore part of the nursery day, alongside conversation and creative play.

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that the key-person arrangements helped children settle and build trusting relationships, with practitioners using their knowledge of individual children to plan learning. This gives parents a concrete point of reference for care: someone who knows their child, rather than simply a rota of adults.

During that month, communication with families covered both everyday experiences and children's development. Practitioners also worked with parents on toilet training, giving children encouragement while allowing them to manage the toilet themselves when they could. Care and preparation for school were connected through these ordinary routines.

Families using additional languages helped staff understand children's home language while developing their English vocabulary. Observations and assessments informed changes to activities and the support children received. These were practices observed in July 2025, rather than a promise about an individual child's future progress.

Mealtimes contributed to self-care at that visit: older children served their own food and handled familiar routines independently. During disagreements, adults helped children express what they needed and work towards an agreement. The emphasis was on practising useful skills in the course of the day.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year. Those closures matter for families whose work continues through holiday periods.

Getting There

The nursery is at 114 Oxford Road, Swindon, SN3 4HD. Enquiries go directly to the Oxford Road team by telephone on 01793 832222 or by email at oxfordroad@thetrees.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2025, the nursery offered government-funded childcare. Current prices should be obtained in the nursery's written quotation, with the intended attendance arrangement set out alongside the charges.

• Language modelling. In July 2025, staff did not consistently demonstrate words clearly enough to support pronunciation and vocabulary. Ask how practitioners now model language during conversation, songs and play.
• Time to persevere. Staff sometimes intervened before children had enough time to finish a difficult task themselves in July 2025. During a visit, discuss how adults decide when to help and when to wait.
• The complete quotation. The opening day runs from 7.30am to 5.30pm, and funded childcare was offered in July 2025. Ask which booking patterns and funded entitlements apply to your child, and how meals and non-food consumables are handled within the quotation.

This nursery suits families who value practical independence and a preschool day combining creative play with preparation for school. Apples provides the clearest current picture of that offer, with songs, rhymes and activities planned around children's next steps. The July 2025 observations add useful examples of outdoor challenge, familiar care routines and relationships with families. The two improvement points deserve attention: clear language and enough time for children to persevere are small daily practices with real consequences for their experience.