Kids Planet Neston Farm

Private woodland, farm animals and an allotment give Kids Planet Neston Farm a clear identity: children have daily contact with nature, with a converted barn providing the indoor setting. Forest walks, growing vegetables and caring for animals make the countryside part of the learning, rather than simply the view.

The nursery is in Atworth, near Melksham, and has capacity for 80 children aged 3 to 60 months. At its 10 August 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, highlighting communication and language and children's progress, while asking for more consistent teaching and greater parental involvement in nursery life.

That judgement needs to be read alongside later supervision findings. The outdoor offer is substantial, but how children are accounted for as they move around the grounds deserves close attention.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning and care: play, conversation and everyday routines help children develop skills and increasing independence. Here, open-ended materials inside the barn let children choose how to use resources, while activities respond to their interests. This gives imaginative play room to develop rather than prescribing a single finished result.

The allotment adds a practical setting for planting and tending crops. Children can connect the work of growing vegetables with changes they observe outdoors. Alongside animal care and forest walks, this gives the nursery day a strong emphasis on living things.

In August 2022, babies practised using utensils at mealtimes, toddlers helped prepare tables and poured their drinks, and preschool children served food and prepared fruit. These were small, useful responsibilities, with independence built into ordinary routines rather than reserved for a separate activity.

Language work in August 2022 included conversation during babies' care routines, songs supported by puppets and spoons used as song prompts, and questions that encouraged older children to remember earlier learning. Staff also used original play training with older children, linking imaginative physical play with their understanding of touch. These are examples from that period, rather than a timetable for today's sessions.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily access to woodland and fields gives children different spaces for exploration, alongside the farm animals and growing area. There is more to this offer than outdoor exercise: animal care and vegetable planting provide concrete subjects for observation and conversation.

In August 2022, children gathered chicken eggs, harvested produce and watched peacock eggs being incubated. Older children also practised supervised tree climbing and learnt rules for using the woods. The combination brought physical challenge and knowledge of the natural world into the same day.

Relationships had a practical role in August 2022: babies sought comfort from familiar adults, while older children cooperated on construction games. Staff helped children recognise and talk about emotions, including the youngest children. For parents, those examples are useful indicators of how care and play worked together at that time.

Famly, the group-wide parent app used here, supplies updates during the day. It gives families a way to follow nursery experiences between conversations with staff. In August 2022, parents could also join play sessions and family festivals, although the arrangements for leaving and collecting children restricted their involvement in daily nursery life.

Later supervision findings matter. Ofsted's March 2024 compliance action recorded that a child had been unsupervised during a walk within the grounds and that outing procedures had been improved; its June 2026 action recorded a shortfall in staffing ratios, followed by stronger garden movement procedures and additional checks to account for children.

Both documents describe corrective action. The recurrence of concerns involving supervision nevertheless makes the practical operation of walks and garden transitions a material consideration for families, especially given the nursery's daily outdoor offer.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Bath Road, Atworth, Melksham, SN12 8HP. Opening hours run from 7.30am until 6.30pm on weekdays, for 51 weeks each year.

Full Day and Full Time bookings run from 8am to 6pm. The Early Bird option covers 7.30am to 8am, and the late option covers 6pm to 6.30pm; these extend attendance beyond the main day. Ad hoc hourly care is another charging pattern, allowing a different arrangement from the full-day booking. The distinction matters when matching nursery attendance to a working day: opening hours and the main session have different boundaries.

Telephone and email contact are available directly through the nursery, alongside a tour-booking route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside privately paid care. Private fees include food and snacks, plus formula, nappies, sun cream and wipes; on days using early years funding, meals and consumables are charged separately, as are activities. The funded-day charges use different bands according to the hours attended, so a funded booking and a private booking have different cost structures.

Food and snacks are freshly prepared, with dietary needs catered for. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which should distinguish paid hours from funded-day food, consumables and activity charges.

• Supervision across the grounds. The March 2024 and June 2026 actions addressed supervision and accounting for children. On a tour, ask how staff check children during walks and when moving into or out of the garden, and how the strengthened procedures are monitored.
• Parent involvement and teaching. The August 2022 improvement points concerned parental participation and consistency of teaching. Ask how families now contribute to nursery learning and how staff review the quality of activities across the day.
• The edges of the day. The main booking runs from 8am to 6pm, with separate early and late options. Establish the full attendance pattern in the written quotation so it matches your working hours.
• Funded-day extras. Meals, activities and consumables carry separate charges on funded days. Request a quotation separating these categories from any privately paid hours before agreeing the booking.

Kids Planet Neston Farm suits families drawn to daily woodland access, animal care and growing vegetables, whether they need Full Day bookings, extended days using Early Bird and Late Bord, or ad hoc hourly care. The converted barn and working outdoor experiences give it a recognisable character. Its Good judgement dates to August 2022; the later supervision actions make the operation of outdoor transitions an essential part of the decision. Nature is the attraction. Consistent oversight must accompany it.