Farley, Steeple Langford Outdoor Nursery School

Langford Lakes, village outings and learning outdoors give Farley Steeple Langford its character. Nature is part of the nursery’s educational approach, rather than simply a setting for playtime: children explore outside, use their imaginations and visit places in the surrounding community throughout the year.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 26 August 2022, recognising the quality of its education and ambitious learning for children with different needs. That is a dated judgement, but the current outdoor emphasis gives families a clear reason to consider this particular nursery.

Farley, Steeple Langford Outdoor Nursery School cares for children aged 2 to 60 months in Steeple Langford, Wiltshire. Full days, mornings and afternoons offer different ways to organise attendance, with an early-start option alongside them.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care, with play supporting their growing communication, physical skills and relationships. Farley’s outdoor approach gives that learning a practical setting: children have room to explore and use nature in imaginative play.

In August 2022, children spent much of their day in the grounds. A treehouse provided a setting for pretend play, while the hill and outdoor activities encouraged movement and exploration. These were substantial parts of the nursery day, rather than occasional outdoor breaks. For families who value active play, that account helps explain the nursery’s outdoor identity.

Cookery adds another hands-on experience to the current offer. Children investigate ingredients, practise skills through preparing food and explore how ingredients grow. The connection between growing and cooking gives them something concrete to discuss and investigate, rather than treating food only as something served at mealtimes.

Outdoor and Community Life

Langford Lakes is a named destination for outings, alongside the village park and the community centre care home. Visits take place throughout the year. This extends children’s experiences beyond the nursery grounds and connects their learning with the village around them; it does not imply a weekly trip schedule.

In August 2022, the learning timetable also included visits to an allotment, a church and a care home. At Harvest, children collected food to give to families in need. That example brought a community occasion into children’s experience through something they could actually do.

The outdoor emphasis is therefore worth considering as an everyday preference. Families choosing Farley should be comfortable with nature and outdoor play having a substantial place in their child’s early learning, rather than seeing the grounds only as an extra facility.

In August 2022, babies were helped to settle through a calm, familiar-feeling atmosphere. Staff also supported children in recognising emotions and finding words for them. The practical value is easy to understand: emotional expression belongs alongside activities and exploration, especially when a young child needs help explaining frustration or seeking comfort.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and recognised prompt identification of SEND needs, support involving families and professionals, and careful management of moves between rooms. These findings describe care at that visit, rather than guaranteeing how an individual child will be supported now.

School preparation had a practical element in August 2022: the manager and SENCo visited local schools to understand the next stage for children leaving nursery. This was transition work, helping staff understand what children would encounter, rather than a claim to an admissions advantage.

An on-site chef prepares meals, using local ingredients where possible, and menus accommodate different dietary requirements. Cookery sessions complement that food provision by letting children explore ingredients themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is School House, Salisbury Road, Steeple Langford, Salisbury, SP3 4NQ. Attendance can be booked as a full day from 8am to 6pm, a morning from 8am to 1pm, or an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. Early starts run from 7.30am to 8am.

These patterns serve different routines. A morning gives families an earlier finish, while an afternoon starts after the morning session has ended; the full day spans both. The early-start option is a separate practical addition for families needing an earlier beginning.

Farley operates across the year, with Christmas week and two annual staff training days identified as closures. Monthly invoices are set at the same amount each month, and planned closures, including bank holidays and training days, are accounted for when fees are set. Fees remain payable during a child’s absence, including illness.

The nursery has a branch enquiry form for starting the joining process. Current prices come in its written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children aged 9 months and above can access the 15 Hours or 30 Hours funding offer. Farley stretches the entitlement over 51 weeks: up to 11.18 hours a week for the 15 Hours offer, or 22.35 hours for the 30 Hours offer. This spreads funded childcare across the nursery year rather than concentrating it in school terms.

Eligible working families can apply the first 20 funded hours to two full-day sessions, with the remaining 2.35 hours used in a full-day or half-day session. The 11.18-hour arrangement can be used through a combination of full-day and half-day sessions, and the daily funding limit is 10 hours. A child first accessing funding in the summer term has a different arrangement for that initial term.

Private fees include meals and snacks, milk and infant formula, together with sun cream, wipes, nappies and nappy cream. Funded sessions carry separate charges for food and health and hygiene consumables, plus activities for over-twos only, with no activity charge for under-twos. Additional unfunded hours are charged separately too. Charges are adjusted proportionately for half-day and partly funded sessions, so the funded entitlement and the total bill are different things.

A non-refundable registration charge applies to reserving a place, and a deposit is credited against the first invoice. The fees and funding information explains the attendance options and charge structure.

• Outdoor routines. Nature-led play and outings to Langford Lakes are central to the offer. On a visit, ask how outdoor time and rest fit together for your child’s age and needs.
• Funding pattern. Eligible working families using the stretched 30 Hours offer can apply the first 20 weekly funded hours to two full days, with the remaining 2.35 hours used in a full-day or half-day session. Consider whether that option fits your working week, and include food, consumables, applicable activity charges and private hours when comparing quotations.
• Dietary requirements. The chef and menus accommodate different needs. Families managing allergies should confirm current preparation and mealtime arrangements before joining.
• The nursery year. Christmas week and two staff training days are closure points, while planned closures are included in fee calculations. Factor these into family childcare plans rather than expecting the monthly invoice to fall during closure months.

Farley suits families who want outdoor exploration to shape early learning, with Langford Lakes and village visits adding experiences beyond its grounds. Its August 2022 Outstanding judgement gives the educational account substance, while the current emphasis on nature and hands-on cookery makes the offer recognisable.

The attendance choices matter too. Families seeking morning or afternoon sessions can consider it alongside those needing full days and early starts. The main practical calculation is how that preferred pattern works with stretched funding and the separate charges attached to funded sessions.