Pine Wood Nursery School

Woodland learning gives Pine Wood Nursery School its character: Forest School brings exploration, investigation and supervised risk into the final nursery year, while younger children have their own outdoor learning. Two large indoor rooms and free-flow access to an outdoor play area give children different settings for their play. This is a nursery where the outdoors forms part of the learning, rather than simply a break from it.

Based in Lower Bourne, Farnham, Pine Wood has capacity for 30 children aged 24 to 59 months. At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and safeguarding effective, and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress from their starting points. Those judgements belong to that visit.

Attendance is term-time only, Monday to Friday, with opening hours beginning at 9am and different finishing times according to age. The combination of woodland activity, a continuing key worker and shorter attendance options is the main practical attraction.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and development, with play and everyday activities helping them build skills. Pine Wood adds gardening, music, cookery and ICT to that day. These give children different ways to explore an interest: making something, investigating how it works or expressing an idea.

In the Moment Planning means activities respond to children's interests. It sits alongside provision for maths and writing, which has been expanded with equipment and materials. The useful distinction is between following an interest and leaving learning to chance: staff plan each child's next steps, so an enjoyable activity can also become a starting point for further development.

The two large rooms connect with an outdoor play area through free-flow access. Children can use different environments during their day, rather than having all their experiences centred on one indoor space. Daily outdoor access and woodland visits extend that choice beyond the rooms.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School uses exploration, imagination and supervised risk as routes into learning outdoors. Children in their final nursery year take part on Monday and Friday mornings; Outdoor Club serves children outside that group. Younger children also visit the woodland with staff, even when they are not joining the full Forest School activities. The age distinction matters: outdoor learning reaches beyond the oldest children, while the final-year programme has its own timetable.

Sportykids, a physical activity programme, takes place on Tuesday mornings. Moo Music is scheduled for Thursday mornings, adding another named club to the weekly pattern. Clubs can vary with demand, so the timetable is a useful part of choosing attendance days.

In May 2023, children tackled a balancing challenge using parallel ropes in the forest area. They also collaborated on puppet performances and enjoyed constructing marble runs. These examples show the different demands of the nursery day at that time: physical coordination outdoors, shared imaginative play and construction.

Community experiences had a practical purpose in May 2023. Children posted letters at the local post office and bought ingredients from shops; a visiting milk delivery float prompted learning about milk and its health benefits. These were concrete encounters with services children could recognise beyond nursery.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is allocated a key worker when they start, and that relationship continues until the move to school. Continuity gives families a familiar person with whom to discuss development, rather than having to rebuild that conversation as their child grows.

Tapestry holds children's online learning journeys, and parents can view their child's profile and add their own contributions. Regular parent consultations provide another opportunity to discuss progress, while daily conversations with the key worker keep communication closer to the child's immediate experience. The two routes serve different purposes: a continuing account of learning and a chance to talk through the day.

In May 2023, home visits helped staff learn about children's needs and interests before they started. Personalised activities sent home gave children opportunities to practise developing skills, including name writing. Preparation for school at that time included independence as well as learning: younger children learnt to put away their belongings, and older children managed handwashing without reminders.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The May 2023 inspection identified two improvements: more consistent responses to children's behaviour and more precise monitoring and feedback on staff teaching. Some children were unclear about expectations because adults did not always reinforce rules consistently, while feedback to staff needed to target improvements more closely. These are useful questions about everyday practice, alongside the positive overall judgement.

Sessions and Attendance

Pine Wood opens during term time on weekdays. For children aged two to three, opening hours run from 9am to noon, 1pm or 3pm; for children aged three and above, they run from 9am to 1pm or 3pm. The shorter and later finishing options give families different ways to fit nursery around the rest of the day.

School holidays are closures. This makes the calendar a significant part of the choice for families needing care throughout the year, rather than a detail to consider after choosing attendance hours.

Getting There

The nursery address is 83 Burnt Hill Road, Lower Bourne, Farnham, GU10 3LL; the office is at a separate address. Visitor parking on site is limited, with parking also possible on Burnt Hill Road.

Enquiries can be made through the nursery's contact form, by email or by telephone. These provide a direct route into the joining process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered on a term-time basis. Early Years Free Entitlement applies from the term after a child's third birthday, FEET funding is offered for qualifying two-year-olds, and working parent entitlement is offered from age two, including up to 30 funded hours. Eligibility conditions remain part of each entitlement.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Funding and the shorter attendance options are separate considerations: entitlement is one part of the decision, and the hours that fit a child's age and family routine are another.

• Consistency in everyday practice. The May 2023 improvement priorities concerned behaviour expectations and feedback on teaching. During a visit, ask how staff now agree their responses to behaviour and review one another's practice.
• Term-time hours. Two- to three-year-olds have a noon finishing option, while older children finish at 1pm or 3pm. Holiday closures mean families needing year-round care will need a separate arrangement for those periods.
• Clubs and the full cost. Sportykids and Moo Music fall on different mornings, and clubs vary with demand. What does Moo Music involve, and how are clubs, meals and non-food consumables treated in the quotation for funded and paid attendance?

Pine Wood suits families seeking term-time nursery care with either a shorter morning or attendance extending into the afternoon. Woodland exploration is the clearest reason to choose it, supported by indoor play, interest-led planning and a key worker who stays with the child through their nursery years.

The Good judgement from May 2023 gives a positive inspection position, with specific improvement priorities that deserve attention. For a family comfortable with the holiday closures and age-dependent finishing times, the combination of outdoor learning and continuing parent communication gives this small nursery a clear identity.