Nära Charlbury Nursery School

Trees, open green space and Forest School sessions on a nearby estate give Nära Charlbury Nursery School its clearest character. Based at The Old Pill Factory in Charlbury, it combines outdoor exploration with an Icelandic approach to early years that places nature within children's daily experience. The appeal is practical: space to explore outside, alongside play and care indoors.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that teaching suited children's developmental stages, with a clear emphasis on communication. Two improvement points temper that picture: the organisation of some group activities and the arrangement of resources for younger children.

Children are accepted from three months to five years. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings give families different ways to organise attendance, rather than a single daily pattern.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing these together through play and everyday experiences. Charlbury's additional emphasis is nature-led learning, influenced by the Icelandic approach to early years. Trees and green space provide a physical setting for that emphasis; outdoor exploration is part of the offer rather than simply a break between indoor activities.

Forest School sessions take place on a nearby estate, adding outdoor learning beyond the nursery's own spaces. The approach gives children opportunities to explore nature through play. No particular frequency is attached to those sessions, so their value lies in the experience itself rather than a promised weekly timetable.

Cookery has a concrete place in the day too. Children handle ingredients and explore how food grows, connecting practical activity with curiosity about what they eat. Other activities include yoga, community trips and seasonal events. These are additions to the learning framework, not substitutes for it.

In July 2025, practitioners adapted homemade play materials for babies, including turning boxes into shape-sorting toys with an appropriate level of challenge. Photographs of the babies also appeared on play resources. These are useful examples of how familiar images and simple materials can make an activity personal to a very young child.

That same month, preschool children sustained conversations and explored sounds and rhymes. For parents thinking ahead to school, the relevant detail is the attention given to speaking and listening before formal phonics begins.

Relationships and Communication

Close relationships with families are part of Charlbury's approach. Taking time to understand each family helps connect children's experiences at home and nursery, giving staff a basis for responding to individual routines and needs.

In July 2025, babies received cuddles and reassurance as they became familiar with nursery life. Parents could borrow learning materials, and meetings helped them prepare for their children's move to school. These practical exchanges gave families ways to continue learning at home and discuss the next stage.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified developmental difficulties accurately and tailored support to specific needs, helping children make progress in language, play and social interaction. That is a dated assessment of the support children received, and a useful point for families whose child needs help in a particular area.

Mealtimes also had a social purpose in July 2025: children practised manners and eating together while staff stayed attentive to them. Today, an on-site chef cooks meals, using local ingredients where possible, and menus accommodate different dietary requirements. Cookery experiences link this part of care back to children's learning.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Old Pill Factory, Forest Road, Charlbury, Chipping Norton, OX7 3HH. Opening hours run from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with three booking patterns: full day from 8am to 6pm, morning from 8am to 1pm, and afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. The shorter sessions allow families to choose either side of the day without booking the whole opening window.

Attendance runs across the year, with Christmas week and two staff training days as closures. Planned closure days, including bank holidays, are accounted for when fees are set, so the monthly charge does not change in those months. Fees also remain payable when a child is absent through illness or other reasons.

Enquiries can begin through the nursery's online form. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with payment collected monthly. A deposit is applied to the first invoice; the registration charge is non-refundable, but children taking a funded-only place do not pay that charge.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children aged nine months and above can access the 15 Hours or 30 Hours funding offer. Funding is stretched across 51 weeks: the corresponding weekly amounts are up to 11.18 hours and 22.35 hours. These are year-round weekly allocations, rather than the term-time headline hours.

For the larger entitlement, the first 20 funded hours apply to two full-day sessions, with the remaining 2.35 hours used within another full-day or half-day booking. The smaller entitlement can be used across a mixture of full-day and half-day sessions. Up to 10 funded hours can be applied in a day; a different first-term arrangement applies when funding starts in the summer term.

Private fees include meals, snacks, milk and infant formula, together with nappies, wipes, nappy cream and sun cream. Funded sessions carry separate food, health and hygiene, and activity charges, with additional private hours charged separately too. The fees and funding information sets out that distinction, which matters more to budgeting than the headline funded entitlement alone.

• Younger children's play. In July 2025, an excess of resources sometimes distracted younger children from independent play. During a visit, ask how materials are now selected and arranged for your child's age.
• Group activities. Some group experiences needed clearer organisation in July 2025 so children understood what to do and stayed involved. Ask to see how a story or singing activity is introduced and adapted.
• Funded-session costs. Private fees include food and consumables. Funded-hours extras cover food, consumables and activities and add to the cost of attendance. Review the written quotation against your intended pattern, including any summer-term funding adjustment.
• Dietary requirements. Menus cater for different dietary needs. Families managing allergies should confirm the current arrangements for their child before joining.

Nära Charlbury suits families who value outdoor exploration and practical learning, whether they need full-day attendance or morning and afternoon sessions. Forest School on a nearby estate and hands-on cookery give that offer substance. The July 2025 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific questions about group activities and younger children's play spaces. For funded attendance, the separate charges deserve careful attention alongside the stretched hours.