Manor Farm Nursery

Outdoor learning has substantial space here: an all-weather playground, a grassed garden, a sheltered learning house and a covered outdoor classroom give Manor Farm Nursery more than one way to take the day outside. The former village school buildings in Netherhampton, near Salisbury, retain a useful connection between indoors and outdoors. Each classroom opens onto the playground. Outdoor play need not be confined to a separate trip out of the room.

At its 26 January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children were making good progress from their starting points. That is a dated assessment, with a specific improvement point concerning younger children’s independence during hygiene routines.

There are 54 places in total, with nursery provision for children aged 0-5 and separate Tea Time Club and Holiday Club provision extending to older children. Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside a longer day and additional attendance around the main sessions.

Rooms and Ages

The Caterpillar Room caters for babies and toddlers up to 24 months, combining sensory materials and messy play with a bright play space, a cosy sleeping area, an eating area and access to the playground and garden.

For children aged 20-36 months, The Ladybird Room puts resources within reach and combines independent exploration with practical-life activities, percussion, stories and turn-taking games, with direct access to the playground.

The Butterfly Room takes children from 2 ½ years, including three- and four-year-olds, and combines child-chosen play with adult-led group work in a space with a piano and room for movement activities, alongside a choice of indoor or outdoor play.

These age bands overlap. They describe the rooms’ intended stages rather than three sharply separated birthdays, while the environments change from sensory exploration towards more joint play and group activities. The baby room’s eating and sleeping spaces also give those routines a place within the room’s layout.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for learning and care: children develop language, physical skills, relationships and early understanding through play and everyday activities. At Manor Farm, books, construction materials, number activities and creative work provide different ways into that learning. Projects connect art and craft with investigation, and visitors or organisations join in when they can contribute to the topic.

Enhanced Activities add specialist-led sessions. French uses books, games and songs alongside words for animals, colours and numbers; Music develops singing and percussion. Football introduces passing, shooting and dribbling, while Dance combines free expression with simple movement sequences. These are concrete additions to the nursery day, rather than another name for the underlying framework.

Music also has a route into performance: children share their learning at Christmas Plays and Easter Concerts. That connects the sessions with something parents can see and hear. For grant-funded three- and four-year-olds, participation in the specified morning Enhanced Activities carries a separate charge for those who choose it.

In January 2023, staff built activities around children’s interests. Sensory play included babies exploring edible textures, toddlers pouring oats and older children using play dough to make pretend food. Adults added vocabulary to those experiences and listened to children’s accounts of life at home. The practical point is the connection between handling materials and talking about them: conversation was part of the activity, rather than a separate task afterwards.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor spaces have different jobs. On the playground, balance bikes sit alongside a sand pit and walls for sound, construction, ramps and chalk drawing. In the garden, a bug hotel and an investigation area offer material for exploring the natural world, while climbing equipment and a tyre stack support physical play.

The sheltered learning house can accommodate stories, group activities, snacks or quieter reading. A further covered outdoor area serves as an additional classroom throughout the year, with mud kitchens, painting and drawing surfaces, weaving, and areas for letters, sounds and number work. That matters for children who prefer active, hands-on learning: creative and early literacy activities can happen outside as well as indoors.

Forest Fun takes place in all weather conditions, with waterproof clothing supplied from home. This makes clothing part of the practical preparation for the outdoor offer, alongside coats, boots and suitable seasonal items.

Relationships and Communication

A key person system gives families an ongoing relationship with a member of staff. Induction mornings include gathering detailed information about each new child, so settling begins with their individual routines and circumstances. Daily contact gives parents another opportunity to share changes that may affect their child.

Communication also differs by room. Detailed daily records are kept for the youngest children, while individual books support exchanges with families in The Ladybird Room. Development is discussed at parents’ evenings, and staff remain available for conversations about progress between those meetings. The two-year-old check provides another point for discussing development.

Moving on to school involves sharing a summary of the nursery’s observations and records with the child’s next school. Contact with local state and independent schools supports that transition. The emphasis is on passing useful information onwards and helping children prepare for a different setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Safeguarding and special-needs policies are available for parents to read, and a designated safeguarding lead role is in place. Families are asked to tell staff about allergies, health conditions and changes in circumstances. Collection by someone other than a parent requires parental consent, giving families a clear procedure for changes to the usual collection arrangements.

In January 2023, adults responded to babies’ subtle attempts to communicate, while older children used a story and coloured puppets to discuss emotions. Children explained why they felt a particular way, and adults listened and responded sensitively. This gave feelings both a vocabulary and a place in group conversation.

The same January 2023 account identified uneven opportunities for younger children to practise personal care. Babies were not given a chance to try washing their hands before snacks, and toddlers were not encouraged to wipe their own noses. Independence in play was further developed than independence in these routines. It is a specific point to explore, rather than a reason to overlook the wider account of children’s learning.

All children bring lunch from home; a cooked tea is provided for those attending the relevant later provision, with tea included in the specified paid sessions. Parents also supply sun cream for hot weather, alongside the outdoor clothing needed for the day.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, with afternoons from noon to 3pm, Monday to Friday. A paid day from 9am to 3pm and a longer option from 9am to 5.30pm are also offered. This gives families a choice between a shorter session, the central nursery day and attendance extending into tea time.

Early starts are offered at 8am or 8.30am, and attendance can extend from 3pm to 3.30pm. Tea Time Club runs from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, with an extension to 6pm; a separate late finish covers 5.30pm to 6pm. A morning can include lunch until 1pm, or children can attend from noon for lunch before the afternoon session.

The nursery operates for 50 weeks each year. Holiday Club follows the same hours as term-time provision and accepts children up to eight years old, including children who do not attend the nursery. Nursery registration can begin at any time, with starts from six months onwards; a waiting list operates, with an attempt to prioritise siblings of former attendees. Registration uses a form that families print and post.

Getting There

The address is Netherhampton, Salisbury, SP2 8PU, in the former village school buildings off the Harnham road. Parking is available. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01722 743 978.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded attendance includes up to 15 or 30 hours per week from nine months, subject to eligibility, delivered over 38 weeks on a term-time basis. Better together funded children are also catered for. Holiday attendance is charged at the full private rate, so term-time funding and year-round attendance need separate consideration.

The separately charged morning Enhanced Activities apply to grant-funded three- and four-year-olds who wish to participate. Lunch remains parent-provided, and parents supply sun cream; tea is included in the specified paid later sessions. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, with the fees page setting out the attendance and funding structure.

A registration charge applies, with exemptions for Better2gether-funded children and those on a free place; it is refundable for children accessing only funded hours. Leaving requires one month’s written notice, otherwise a month’s fees are charged. Absence does not attract a fee remission. Invoices cover the term, with monthly payments possible, which helps distinguish the billing period from the payment pattern.

• Independence in personal care. In January 2023, younger children had too few opportunities to practise hygiene tasks themselves. During a visit, ask how handwashing and nose-wiping are now supported in the younger rooms.
• Funding and holidays. Funded hours run during term time, while holiday attendance is privately charged. Families needing care across the year should weigh the holiday pattern and optional morning activities alongside their funded hours.
• Starting with a baby. Nursery starts are offered from six months, and The Caterpillar Room includes a sleeping area and sensory play. Ask how the induction mornings would work around your baby’s feeding and sleep routines, and how many children usually share the room.
• Outdoor preparation. Forest Fun takes place in all weather conditions, and waterproof clothing comes from home. Coats, boots and seasonal clothing need to be part of the regular nursery kit.

Manor Farm’s clearest strength is the connection between its rooms and substantial outdoor learning spaces. The covered classroom, garden and playground give children different settings for movement, investigation and creative work, while specialist activities add identifiable content to the day.

It suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as those combining the central nursery day with Tea Time Club. The dated Good judgement provides a useful quality reference, balanced by the January 2023 improvement point about personal-care independence. Term-time funding, privately charged holiday attendance and the optional activities are the practical distinctions to weigh against the attendance pattern a family needs.