The Old Station Nursery Faringdon

Dinosaurs, water experiments and a climbing wall gave this Faringdon nursery a practical, playful character in May 2023. Children explored numbers by predicting how much water a bowl would hold, while physical challenges offered opportunities to persist and help one another.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 24 May 2023 inspection, with teaching pace and the evaluation of teaching identified as areas for improvement. The Old Station Nursery Faringdon cares for children aged three to 60 months and has 138 places in total.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care: play supports learning alongside everyday care. In May 2023, practitioners used children's interests to shape activities, including introducing vocabulary about what dinosaurs eat. Familiar interests gave children a reason to join conversations and explore new ideas.

Water play made mathematics tangible. In May 2023, children scooped water into bowls, counted spoonfuls and discussed their predictions with practitioners. Songs and rhymes created opportunities to practise listening and conversational turn-taking, with gestures and signing used alongside speech.

Outdoor and Community Life

In May 2023, a climbing wall provided a physical challenge, with practitioners nearby to assist children who needed help. Large spinning tubs also encouraged cooperation: children supported each other's balance and took turns setting the tubs moving. These were opportunities to practise movement and consideration for others together.

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, recognised the relationships between young children and their key people, and described support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through work with other agencies. This combined attention to relationships and coordinated support mattered for children's security and participation.

In May 2023, key people understood individual children's development and their next steps. Practitioners gathered information from parents about children's starting points, connecting planning with what families already knew about their child. When children struggled with their emotions or behaviour, adults helped them respond more appropriately.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 7 Park Road, Faringdon, SN7 7BP. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas, so those closures matter when matching childcare to a working calendar.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2023, the nursery received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated funding position, separate from the nursery's current opening hours. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

• Time to think. In May 2023, practitioners sometimes introduced information too quickly for children to formulate answers, and leaders needed better ways to identify teaching weaknesses. On a visit, ask how staff now give children time to think and how teaching is evaluated.
• Care for the youngest children. The nursery accepts children from three months. Ask how your baby's sleeping and settling routines would be organised, and which room they would join.

This nursery merits consideration by families seeking care across the year in Faringdon, with an opening window that extends from early morning into the evening. Its May 2023 experiences combined practical learning, physical challenges and close relationships with key people. The teaching improvement point gives parents a useful, specific subject to explore during a visit.