Sunflowers Nursery School

A baby sleep room with wooden cots and outdoor learning led by Wild in the Woods give Sunflowers Nursery School two clear points of character: space for individual routines and room to explore beyond indoor play. Based at Old School House in Saxilby, it serves babies through the preschool years and has 80 places in total. Those are whole-nursery places, rather than the size of any one room.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: in May 2023, toddlers investigated vegetables, older children helped younger children pedal tricycles, and books were positioned throughout the setting. These are dated examples of how practical exploration, relationships and language came together.

Today’s attendance choices include morning, afternoon and full-day bookings.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Room combines sensory exploration through instruments, rattles and different textures with a main play space, a separate sleep room and an outdoor area for younger children. Carpet supports floor play, while washable flooring accommodates messier activities and meals. The sleep room connects directly to the playroom and contains wooden cots, allowing rest to take place apart from active play according to each baby’s routine.

A changing room also connects to the main space, with individual storage for care items. Outdoors, age-appropriate equipment and sensory experiences encourage movement and exploration.

Nursery generally serves toddlers aged 14 to 32 months, while Little Pre-School combines child-chosen and adult-guided activities with areas set aside for games. Big Pre-School concentrates on independence, attention and listening in the year before primary school, using visual routines and boards that show the current activity and what follows. Its daily responsibilities include serving lunch, helping with small jobs, toileting and toothbrushing. These make preparation for school part of ordinary routines rather than a separate exercise.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS is the framework for children’s learning, development and care: here, play, conversation and practical exploration give children opportunities to develop those skills. It is the shared early-years foundation, with outdoor sessions and the nursery’s room-based activities adding the concrete experiences families can weigh.

In May 2023, toddlers cut vegetables with staff guidance and examined what was inside them, connecting their discoveries with earlier learning about seeds. Preschool children shaped dough insects using books as reference points and added buttons to represent spots. These examples linked hand control, observation and vocabulary within the same activity, rather than treating them as unrelated tasks.

Books also formed part of daily life in May 2023: toddlers brought stories to staff, while preschool children discussed a story about a dentist and contributed their own experiences. Another activity involved spraying paint over pebbles and considering the patterns underneath. The useful thread is experimentation: children could try something, notice what happened and respond to a question that extended the activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School brings regular, sustained outdoor learning through Wild in the Woods, the nursery’s external delivery partner. The sessions connect children with nature and complement indoor learning through repeated exploration.

A Big Pre-School outing to Lincoln Zoo marked the end of a preschool year. Children encountered primates, farm animals, birds and reptiles; walking in pairs and sharing lunch also made the trip a practical exercise in being together beyond nursery. This was a particular outing, rather than a promise of a fixed trip schedule.

In May 2023, outdoor play included climbing equipment with ropes and beams, a tricycle track and a garden intended for wellbeing and sensory exploration. Children considered footholds and jumping heights, while older children demonstrated pedalling to younger children. Those observations show the different purposes outdoor space served at that time: movement, decision-making and cooperation.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who gets to know their routines, development and family. For a baby, that relationship connects the practical details of sleep and care with everyday play. Ongoing conversations with parents help staff preserve familiar routines rather than expecting children to adapt to one uniform timetable.

Big Pre-School uses a notice board near its front door to keep families informed, alongside displays of curriculum information. That gives parents a connection with what children are working on, as well as the practical routines of the room.

In May 2023, staff used emotional vocabulary and a familiar colour-changing monster character to help children express feelings. Children also negotiated over toys, asked others to wait before dismantling a tower and agreed turns. These are concrete examples of practising social skills in the situations that arise during play.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that the manager and special educational needs coordinator worked with families and outside professionals, reviewing individual plans and assessing children’s progress. The important mechanism was targeted support that could be reviewed, rather than a general promise that every child would receive the same approach.

A deputy manager/SENDCO role remains part of the team structure.

School preparation includes listening, self-help and group activities in Big Pre-School. In May 2023, the last nursery term also gave families experience of school-style communication and collection arrangements following parental feedback. That dated example concerned the adjustment for parents as well as children; the current room’s everyday jobs continue to make independence a practical part of preparation.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Old School House, Church Lane, Saxilby, Lincoln, LN1 2PE. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

Morning bookings run from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, and Full Day from 8am to 6pm. An Early Bird booking covers 7.30am to 8am. Full Week follows the 8am to 6pm pattern from Monday to Friday. The half-day choices correspond to the morning and afternoon windows, so the opening time and the main day booking are different arrangements.

An online enquiry form provides the joining route; contact is also possible by telephone or email. Families can register interest through the form to arrange a look around and meet the team.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes working-family entitlement for eligible children from nine months through four years, universal funding for three- and four-year-olds, and two-year-old Early Learning Funding (ELF). Eligible codes can be used from the term after the child reaches the qualifying age. Eligibility conditions therefore matter alongside the nursery’s participation.

Working-family funding can be taken as 30 hours each week over 38 weeks, or stretched to 22.5 hours each week over 50.6 weeks. Universal funding provides 15 hours from the term after a child turns three. The two delivery patterns give families a choice between concentrating funded hours in term time and spreading them across more of the year.

Private session prices include meals, while funded bookings carry a separate meals-and-snacks charge except for children receiving two-year-old ELF, whose meals and snacks are free. Food provision spans breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea.

Funding covers childcare rather than additional hours or non-food consumables. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the funding and session terms explain the distinction between funded hours, private bookings and food charges.

• Baby routines. Baby Room has adjoining sleep and changing spaces, with rest organised around individual routines. During a visit, ask how the key person coordinates your child’s sleep, feeding and outdoor time.
• Outdoor participation. Wild in the Woods delivers regular Forest School sessions. Ask which room groups take part and how those sessions fit your intended attendance pattern.
• Funding and food. Meals are included in private session prices, while funded food charges depend on the entitlement used; two-year-old ELF is the stated exception. Compare the written quotation for your chosen pattern, including additional hours and arrangements for non-food consumables.

Sunflowers suits families seeking morning, afternoon or full-day care, with a clear contrast between the baby provision’s practical care spaces and Big Pre-School’s emphasis on everyday independence. Forest School with Wild in the Woods adds a named outdoor partnership; the separate baby sleep room offers a tangible feature for families whose children still need daytime rest.

The Outstanding judgement dates to May 2023. Families should weigh the care spaces and outdoor partnership against food charges and their intended attendance pattern.