Rowan Tree Day Nursery, Welwyn Garden City

Wednesday music, Friday football for children over two and daily garden access give Rowan Tree a recognisable weekly rhythm. Environmental learning adds another strand: the nursery has earned its Green Flag Eco Schools Award twice, recognising its work on helping children care for their surroundings.

At its May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Rowan Tree Outstanding and found that staff used their knowledge of children and careful assessment to support excellent progress. That judgement gives the nursery a strong inspection foundation, with concrete examples of children investigating, talking and testing ideas rather than simply completing activities.

Rowan Tree has 75 places in total and accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. Its address is 9 Guessens Road, Welwyn Garden City. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays, across the year apart from public holidays and inset days.

Learning and Activities

EYFS guides the activities here: children learn through play, with experiences that develop their language, physical skills and understanding. The useful distinction is how those experiences are handled. In May 2022, younger children experimented with spinning toys, trying different movements and watching the results. Staff supported children in investigating how the toys moved.

Older children used natural materials to make pictures of themselves in May 2022, drawing on their earlier learning about the body. Their explanations included how food travels through it. This made the activity more than an exercise in making a picture: children had an opportunity to recall ideas and explain them in their own words.

Mathematics and hand control also came together in May 2022. Children sorted pom-poms into pots marked with numbers, then used tweezers to move them into bottles. Different openings changed the difficulty. It is a practical example of one activity serving more than one area of learning, with a challenge that could be adjusted as children worked.

Tiny Mites Music adds a music session each Wednesday. Football Focus runs on Friday mornings for children over two. These give families two specific activities to weigh alongside the everyday play programme; the football age condition matters for parents choosing care for a younger child.

Outdoor and Community Life

Every child has daily access to the garden, making outdoor play part of the ordinary day. The Green Flag Eco Schools Award recognises environmental education, with children learning to care about the world around them. For families who value that emphasis, it adds a clear theme to the nursery's activities.

In May 2022, babies could move freely into a rooftop garden and explore a ramp in ways that matched their physical abilities. Adults allowed them time to try before helping. Elsewhere, duck eggs hatching prompted children to share their excitement and discuss what had happened, connecting observation with conversation.

Relationships deserve as much attention as the activity timetable. In May 2022, babies had close connections with their key persons and separated comfortably from parents. Settling arrangements helped children build confidence, while photographs of children and their families connected nursery life with home.

Communication was adapted to children's development in May 2022. With the youngest babies, staff used vehicle sounds during play; with older babies, they introduced words and simple counting. Older children were given questions and time to think. The practical value was in changing the conversation to match the child, rather than expecting everyone to respond in the same way.

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, with staff understanding how to recognise and report concerns, and effective settling and parent partnerships supporting children's confidence. These are dated findings, relevant to the nursery's inspection judgement.

Home and nursery learning connected in a tangible way in May 2022: children took sunflower seeds home for a growing competition. Staff also exchanged information with other settings attended by the children. For a family using more than one provider, that example shows why communication between adults matters as well as communication with parents.

Sessions and Attendance

Rowan Tree opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6.30pm, for 52 weeks of the year, with public holidays and inset days excluded. Those closures matter when arranging care around working hours: the year-round opening pattern still needs to be read alongside the days when the nursery closes.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01707 334715 or by email to rowan.tree@childbase.com. A callback enquiry form provides another route to contact the nursery.

Getting There

The nursery is at 9 Guessens Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL8 6QW, close to the town centre and train station. That location is useful to consider alongside the weekday opening window when planning a regular childcare journey.

Funding and Paid Extras

A fully inclusive package is offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which should be considered against the family's intended attendance pattern.

In May 2022, Rowan Tree provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. For parents weighing funded childcare against paid care, the important distinction is between the funded education and the complete package they intend to book.

• The inclusive package. Rowan Tree offers a fully inclusive package. At a visit, ask how meals and non-food consumables are treated within your proposed paid or funded booking, so the written quotation answers the same questions as your childcare plan.
• Activities and age. Tiny Mites Music takes place on Wednesdays, while Friday morning Football Focus is for children over two. The chosen days and your child's age affect which of these sessions forms part of their week.
• Baby care and outdoor play. The May 2022 baby experience included close key-person relationships and rooftop garden access. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how your baby's routine and outdoor time would work now.

Rowan Tree suits families seeking weekday, year-round childcare with daily outdoor play and identifiable music and football sessions. Its May 2022 Outstanding judgement is supported by memorable examples of investigation, conversation and practical learning.

The strongest reason to consider it is the combination of that inspection foundation with a current garden-based day and environmental emphasis. Families should weigh the activity days, age condition for football and closure pattern alongside their intended booking.