Daffodils Outdoor Nursery

Real tools in the Woodwork Shed, a private woodland and an outdoor dome give Daffodils Outdoor Nursery a clear identity: children have space to build, experiment and spend substantial parts of their day outside. In Arthingworth, the nursery cares for children from nine months to five years. The outdoor approach shapes both the learning and the practical demands on families.

At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The strongest examples involved children making things together, tackling physical challenges and learning to manage familiar routines. There was also a specific improvement point concerning younger children's language development, which matters when weighing the provision for babies and toddlers.

Indoor spaces are part of the offer too. The Baby Barn provides a base for the youngest children, while The Art Studio has materials for creative exploration. Full-day attendance sits alongside term-time and afternoon-only patterns; the details and minimum booking requirements deserve attention before choosing a timetable.

Rooms and Ages

The youngest groups are Sunshines and Clouds: the first runs to approximately 18 months or walking, and the second from that stage to two years, with their own enclosed garden; Raindrops covers ages two to three, while Rainbows is for children aged three and over, with two large rooms and extensive outdoor space serving the older groups. These are developmental stages rather than a promise that every child moves on at an identical point.

The Baby Barn emphasises relationships, individual routines and sensory exploration, using treasure baskets and open-ended materials alongside easy access outside. Staff use simple Makaton signs to support early communication. Visits from other practitioners and planned settling sessions in the main building help children become familiar with adults before moving between spaces.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS connects learning through play with communication, physical development, relationships, early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. At Daffodils, in-the-moment planning means practitioners respond to children's interests rather than working through a predetermined sequence of themes. A child's idea can become the starting point for an activity, with adult input extending what happens next.

Woodwork makes that approach tangible. In the Woodwork Shed, children learn to handle saws and hammers with adult support, then develop plans and choose tools as their experience grows. Drawing and labelling a proposed creation gives pencil work a purpose: it helps turn an idea into an object. This is practical making, with opportunities to practise coordination and solve problems along the way.

Outdoor Cooking brings preparation and observation together. Children help assemble fires within agreed boundaries, combine ingredients and notice what changes as food cooks. Reading or writing ingredients can become part of the activity. Older children can also choose outdoor phonics sessions as they prepare for school, giving early reading work a place within the outdoor day.

The Art Studio provides a different pace. Sand and playdough sit alongside painting, construction from reused materials and opportunities to explore music. Children can work with their hands, make large marks or express an idea through movement. It gives creative activity a dedicated indoor setting rather than making everything depend on the weather.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Woodland is a private, fenced area with logs to balance on, trees to climb and a slack line. Building shelters introduces shared decisions as well as physical work: children have to discuss what to use and how to proceed. Natural materials also support imaginative play, so the same space can accommodate construction, movement and storytelling.

The daily rhythm includes a group gathering, time for children to pursue their ideas, lunch and rest, followed by further play and reflection. Children can share their creations on the golden carpet. The routine can change with their needs, so these gathering points provide structure around a day that leaves room for choice.

In March 2024, children worked together on a pretend house, gathered materials and persisted with fastening fabric to wood. Older children also moved tyres and timber to assemble an obstacle course. These examples show how the outdoor environment was being used for cooperation and practical challenges, rather than simply providing space to run.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person. Families can contribute observations, photographs and artwork to their Learning Journey, a record of experiences and development. Focus Weeks take place once a term, concentrating the recording of learning into a particular week; a parent sheet beforehand brings information from home into that process. Three parents' evenings each year provide another opportunity to discuss development.

Famly carries day-to-day information, alongside spoken handovers at collection. This combination lets parents follow what their child has been doing while keeping a direct conversation with staff available for important messages. As children approach school, material from the Learning Journey can be passed on to help the next teacher understand their development.

Settling sessions introduce the child and family to the environment before regular attendance begins. Their role is especially practical here: children need time to become familiar with the outdoor spaces, routines and boundaries, while staff learn about their interests and care needs. The initial accompanied settling session is free; extra sessions can carry a charge.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used small targets to support children with SEND, but asked for teaching and resources to match younger children's developmental stages more consistently, especially when building speech and vocabulary. Some younger children's activities required repeated intervention, limiting useful conversation. The concern was specific enough to make the quality of everyday interactions an important decision point for families with younger children.

An Inclusion Lead works with families where additional support is needed. Plans can involve shorter sessions, referrals or applications for staffing support before a child can attend their intended sessions. This makes discussion of an individual child's needs part of arranging attendance, rather than assuming one settling pattern will suit everyone.

Rest is built into the day. In warm weather, children can sleep on mats or in hammocks beneath the trees; indoor space provides a place to rest in poor weather. Toilet training is supported, and children can attend before they are toilet trained; indoor toilets and changing facilities support those routines.

Families supply lunch and formula milk, while privately paid hours include breakfast, snacks and snack tea. Nappies, wipes and sun cream are included with privately paid hours; for funded hours, food and non-food consumables are separately charged optional extras, with parents providing them if they opt out.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at Office 1 The Estate Office, Braybrooke Road, Arthingworth, LE16 8JT. Usual opening is Monday to Thursday, from 8am to 5pm. Full Day sessions run from 8am to 5pm, with a minimum booking of two full days; additional days or ad hoc sessions can also be booked.

Term-time places are offered for children aged three and over, and afternoon-only attendance is another pattern. These choices matter for families matching childcare to different routines, although the minimum full-day booking remains a central part of the nursery's arrangements. Enquiries use Famly, and visits can be arranged by contacting the nursery.

Daffodils opens for 48 weeks, with bank-holiday closures, two weeks at Christmas and two weeks at the end of August for grounds maintenance. Booked sessions remain payable when a child is absent, including for illness or holidays. Families cannot combine attendance here with another nursery or preschool, although a childminder or nanny can be used alongside Daffodils.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the working-family entitlement for eligible children from nine months, additional-support funding for two-year-olds, and universal and additional working-family hours for three- and four-year-olds. Funding is stretched across 47.5 weeks. That spreads the annual entitlement across more weeks rather than increasing it.

Funded hours themselves are free at the point of delivery. Enhanced Provision is an optional, separately charged package covering additional activities, food and non-food consumables. Families who decline it supply food, drink and consumables; the nursery provides alternative EYFS activities using its resources. Privately paid hours include the package. Families receive current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

A registration charge applies to privately paid hours and includes waterproof clothing, a lunchbox and a wet bag; funding-only attendance has no registration charge. For private bookings, a deposit applies when the start date is more than two weeks after registration and is credited to the first invoice; fully funded sessions require no deposit.

Getting There

A car park serves staff and families, but has unmarked bays and can become busy at collection times. There is an unfenced pond beside it, so the approach requires close supervision of children.

• Outdoor kit is an attendance requirement. Children need suitable clothing every day and cannot stay if inadequately equipped. Waterproofs, spare footwear and winter layers mean families need to plan for wet clothing as well as outdoor play.
• Younger children's language. The March 2024 improvement point concerned matching interactions and resources to younger children's development. During a visit, ask how staff now adapt vocabulary and activities for children in Sunshines and Clouds.
• Combining childcare. Attendance alongside another nursery or preschool is prohibited, while a nanny or childminder is permitted. This rule matters if the intended arrangement involves more than one provider.
• Settling arrangements. Accompanied sessions help children learn the outdoor routines, and additional support can affect the route into regular attendance. Discuss the proposed settling sequence and any individual support plan during a visit.

Daffodils suits families who actively want an outdoor childhood: woodland play, supported tool use and cooking give children concrete things to do with their ideas. Indoor creative space, rest arrangements and a separate base for babies add flexibility to that outdoor emphasis.

Its attendance range serves families seeking full-day care, term-time attendance for older children or afternoon-only sessions. The equipment requirements, restriction on combining nurseries and optional funded extras all have practical consequences. For younger children, the March 2024 language-development concern should remain part of the decision alongside the nursery's appealing physical environment.