Forest Nursery

Cosy rest spaces in The Nest, direct garden access from Willow Room and a Sensory Room built around light, sound and texture give Forest Nursery a recognisable character. This Pewsham setting combines places to be active with quieter spaces for babies and children to explore at their own pace. The physical offer matters: rest, sensory exploration and outdoor play each have a place in the day.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged Forest Nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and reported good progress across children’s differing backgrounds and abilities. The detail behind that judgement is useful. In September 2024, babies sought reassurance from familiar adults, toddlers practised playing together and older children talked confidently with staff about experiences they remembered.

Forest Nursery accepts children aged six months to five years. Flexible hourly childcare and term-time funded attendance provide different ways to use the setting, rather than requiring every family to follow the same session pattern.

Rooms and Ages

Maple Room supports babies and toddlers with a smaller-feeling, homely space and routines carried over from home, helping nursery care fit around familiar habits. The Nest provides babies with comfortable places to rest and gentle sensory activities, making quieter experiences part of the room’s purpose. Willow Room has more space for activities and opens straight onto the garden and play area, giving children an immediate connection between indoor exploration and outdoor movement.

In the Sensory Room, children investigate textures, sounds and lighting, with the materials themselves providing the starting point for exploration. Treetop Room activities include movement, dance and outdoor play, so physical activity also has a place within the older children’s experience.

These spaces offer different kinds of stimulation. For a baby, a calm place to pause can matter as much as an engaging activity; for a child keen to move, direct garden access makes the outdoor environment a practical part of the room rather than a separate destination.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: everyday play supports communication, physical development, relationships and growing independence. Forest Nursery adds child-led exploration, with monthly topics adapted through activities that follow children’s interests. Books in a cosy corner and dressing-up resources give quieter storytelling and imaginative play a place alongside more energetic experiences.

Three named strands explain the nursery’s approach. Lively Little Ones centres on active play and movement; Well-Being Warriors brings together mindfulness, understanding emotions and healthy habits; Curious Creators emphasises imagination and practical exploration. These are useful descriptions of what the nursery wants children to experience, rather than separate substitutes for the early years framework.

Additional activities include French classes, cooking, P.E and music and Movement, without an extra activity charge. Their value is the variety of experiences children can encounter within nursery attendance: language, food preparation and movement broaden the day beyond a single style of play.

In September 2024, staff paired simple signs with spoken words for babies and used stories and collected natural objects to prompt children’s memories. Mathematical ideas also emerged through play: babies heard number songs, toddlers explored size and length while shaping dough, and older children compared objects and recognised shapes. That gives parents a concrete picture of learning woven into activities rather than detached from them.

Outdoor and Community Life

Willow Room’s garden access supports outdoor play in different weather conditions. The garden and play equipment offer room for physical exploration, while the indoor sensory spaces provide a different pace of activity.

In September 2024, children also visited nearby parks and fields, using apparatus and open space to develop larger movements. A visiting company led singing and dancing each week. Those experiences extended the day beyond the nursery rooms, combining community outings with opportunities to practise movement and join shared activities.

Relationships and Communication

Home routines are part of Maple Room’s settling approach. Staff follow the patterns families use at home, which gives a practical starting point for discussing a baby’s care rather than treating nursery routines as fixed. The Nest’s rest spaces provide another concrete provision for the youngest children.

Daily conversations with families are supplemented by EYLOG, the online system used to share children’s learning journeys. This gives parents two forms of communication: immediate information about the day and an ongoing account of learning. The manager also offers parenting advice and informal conversations, providing another route for discussing concerns.

In September 2024, staff kept pace with changes to babies’ routines and supported increasing independence across the age groups. Babies practised feeding themselves, toddlers used cutlery and open cups, and older children managed outdoor clothing and toileting. These were practical steps towards doing more for themselves, with support suited to their stage.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The deputy manager also holds the SENCO role, giving additional-needs support a defined place within the team. At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff checked learning regularly, identified gaps and worked with external agencies to arrange support, while identifying inconsistent help with turn-taking and insufficient partnership with some parents over children’s personal needs.

Those improvement points deserve attention alongside the positive findings. In September 2024, some children waited too long while others struggled to take turns, and work between home and nursery on self-care did not consistently begin early enough. Both issues concern everyday experiences families can discuss concretely: sharing an activity, managing personal needs and using compatible approaches at home.

Meals are cooked in the nursery kitchen, and children are encouraged to choose their food and pour drinks themselves. Eating therefore provides another opportunity to practise independence, alongside the room activities and daily care routines.

Sessions and Attendance

Forest Nursery is at Forest Lane, Pewsham, Chippenham, SN15 3QU. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with year-round operation and closures for Bank Holidays and Christmas. That opening window gives the boundaries of the day; the hourly booking arrangement determines how families use it.

Families can arrange flexible hours instead of choosing fixed sessions. This is a useful distinction for parents whose work does not fit a standard day: the childcare package can be shaped around the hours required. Telephone, email and an online enquiry form provide contact routes, and nursery tours can be arranged.

Funded attendance has its own structure. The year-round arrangement uses 4.5 funded hours each day, totalling 22.5 per week. The term-time option uses 15 funded hours, spread over three days with five funded hours on each day. These are different attendance arrangements, so the distinction matters when matching nursery care to a working week or school-term calendar.

Funding and Paid Extras

Forest Nursery accepts working parents funding. Hours beyond the funded allocation are charged privately at the hourly rate, so funded attendance and additional paid childcare need to be considered separately. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees page sets out the charge structure.

Hot meals and snacks are included in all fees, as are nappies and wipes, including the funded-session fees. French classes, cooking, P.E and music and Movement carry no additional activity charge. These inclusions make food, routine changing supplies and the listed activities part of the fee structure rather than separate categories of spending.

Fees increase annually in April, and late collection attracts a charge for each child. For families comparing packages, the useful comparison is therefore the complete attendance arrangement, including any hours outside funding and the collection time, rather than the funded allocation alone.

• Turn-taking and self-care. The September 2024 improvement points concerned consistent help with waiting and stronger home-nursery cooperation over personal needs. On a visit, ask how staff now support these situations and involve parents.
• Two funded attendance structures. Year-round funding and the three-day term-time option use different daily allocations. Discuss which arrangement matches your required hours and how any additional private hours fit around it.
• The youngest children’s spaces. Maple Room follows home routines, while The Nest provides rest areas and gentle sensory play. Ask how your child would use these spaces and how familiar care routines would be carried through the day.

Forest Nursery suits families seeking flexible hourly childcare as well as those considering the three-day term-time funded pattern. Its appeal rests on tangible details: Willow Room’s garden access, The Nest’s rest spaces, sensory exploration and communication through EYLOG.

The September 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, while the specific improvement points keep the decision grounded. Parents who value adaptable attendance and a mix of active, imaginative and quieter play have clear reasons to consider it. Consistent turn-taking support and cooperation over self-care are the most useful subjects to explore during a visit.