Willow Tree Pre School

An upstairs play space at Manor Farm, a secure garden and surrounding land give Willow Tree Pre School a recognisable character. Children can choose activities indoors and explore outdoors in wet weather as well as sunshine. The emphasis is on learning through play, with visiting teachers adding organised lessons to the day.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical detail behind that judgement includes sustained pretend play, physical challenges and routines that help children take responsibility for small everyday tasks. There was also a clear improvement priority: more deliberate support for vocabulary and conversation.

Willow Tree has capacity for 40 children. Its current offer covers ages 0–5, and attendance is term-time, with morning sessions and additional hours rather than a single fixed-length day.

Rooms and Ages

Manor Farm’s top floor combines two former rooms into an open-plan play space, alongside another large room. A purpose-built kitchen and children’s toilets are part of the accommodation. Children can access the activities set out for them, making choice part of the day.

Outside, a secure, purpose-built garden provides space for play in different weather conditions. The surrounding 22 acres are also used for exploration. That gives outdoor activity two settings: the nursery garden and the wider land around Manor Farm.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children’s learning and development, with play used to build skills and understanding. Willow Tree’s approach emphasises children choosing and directing their activities, alongside developing independence, social confidence and readiness for school.

Visiting teachers deliver Sports, Eco Warriors/forest school and dance lessons on set days. These are additional organised sessions within the preschool experience. Their value for a family lies partly in the mix: children have time for their own play as well as activities led by an external teacher.

In April 2025, younger children repeatedly practised balancing on indoor stepping stones, while older children returned to dressing-up games that continued across several days. Those examples show how sustained play worked at the time: children could revisit a challenge or continue a shared story, rather than starting afresh with every activity.

Other April 2025 activities used simple materials for precise movements. Threading uncooked spaghetti through a colander exercised finger control; riding bikes called for balance and awareness of other children. Books prompted discussion of characters’ feelings, while preparing snacks introduced counting in a useful context. Learning was woven into play and daily tasks.

In April 2025, the improvement priority was more carefully planned opportunities to develop children’s vocabulary and conversational skills, especially for younger children. Enjoyable spontaneous exchanges were happening, but these did not consistently replace planned language work. This is the main educational question for families weighing the setting.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a Key Worker who develops a relationship with them, follows their development and acts as the family’s contact. That gives parents a specific person with whom to share changes at home or discuss how their child is getting on. The role brings relationship-building and developmental observation together.

A former team member also returns regularly for reading, craft and baking with the children. These visits add another familiar adult to shared activities, rather than making every visiting session a formal lesson.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A designated safeguarding lead provides a contact for welfare concerns, supports staff and maintains safeguarding training and procedures. This is an organisational role; the dated safeguarding judgement is given above.

In April 2025, predictable routines helped children understand what was expected. At lunch, they waited until everyone was seated before opening their lunch boxes. Staff supported turn-taking on bikes and recognised patience and kindness. Such routines made social expectations concrete instead of relying only on verbal reminders.

During the same month, children practised changing their own footwear for indoor and outdoor play, and staff encouraged drinking water. Independence was built through manageable tasks. The setting employed six childcare staff at that time, including one with a level 5 qualification and four with level 3 qualifications; these are inspection-time staffing details.

Sessions and Attendance

Willow Tree operates during term time, opening from 8am to 3pm on Mondays and Fridays, and from 8am to 4pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Morning Session runs from 9am to noon, with early attendance from 8am and later collection options at 2pm, 3pm or 4pm within the relevant day’s opening hours.

Children must attend at least two morning sessions each week. This makes the core arrangement a recurring weekly commitment, while additional hours allow a morning to extend into the afternoon. The nursery closes on bank holidays and during school holiday breaks.

The address is Manor Farm, Ridgeway Road, Timperley, WA15 7HE. Families can make enquiries through the contact form, by telephone or by email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can access 15 and 30 hour funded places within the term-time provision. Private morning sessions and additional paid hours are also offered, with invoices issued before each half term. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

The 2025–2026 fee arrangements include a monthly preschool fund for a care package covering toiletries, snacks and activities delivered by outside providers, and state that funded hours have no top-up fee. The care package is therefore a separate charge for those items, including on funded attendance; it is distinct from the funded childcare hours themselves.

Families supply a packed lunch when children stay over lunchtime; breakfast cereal and morning and afternoon snacks are provided, with snacks covered by the charged care package. Milk or water is offered to drink.

• Language development. April 2025’s improvement priority was planned vocabulary and conversation work, especially for younger children. A visit is a useful opportunity to ask how staff now build those opportunities into child-led play.
• The top-floor layout and youngest children. The offer spans ages 0–5 in accommodation combining an open-plan space with an additional room. Ask how the youngest children’s care and rest fit alongside older children’s activities.
• Term-time hours. Morning sessions can be extended, but Mondays and Fridays finish earlier than the other weekdays, and holiday closures remain part of the arrangement. Match the weekly pattern to work commitments before choosing attendance days.
• Funding and the care package. Funded childcare and the separately charged package are different parts of the bill. Request a written quotation covering the intended hours, the monthly fund and what it includes.

Willow Tree suits families seeking either regular preschool mornings or mornings extended into the afternoon during term time. Its open-plan accommodation, secure garden and exploration around Manor Farm give children several ways to spend their day, while a Key Worker provides a consistent family contact.

The April 2025 picture includes absorbing play and practical independence, balanced by a specific language-development priority. Families who value child-led activity and visiting lessons have clear reasons to consider it, provided the term-time calendar and different weekday finishing times fit their needs.