Savernake Forest & Farm Nursery

A wood-beamed barn beside Savernake Forest gives this nursery its character: farm visits, outdoor exploration and milk delivered daily by its neighbours connect children's learning with the countryside around them. The setting is practical as well as picturesque. Gardening, cooking and investigating nature give children things to do, rather than simply a rural backdrop to admire.

Savernake Forest & Farm Nursery accepts children from 3 to 60 months and has 115 places in total. At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That judgement came with clear priorities: helping children understand safe behaviour, strengthening younger children's speech and making staff teaching more consistent.

The nursery opens across the year, with an early start option alongside its usual opening hours. There is also separate provision for school-age children before and after school during term time, plus holiday clubs.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play and ordinary routines become opportunities to practise language, movement, relationships and independence. Here, outdoor exploration sits alongside literacy, number work and solving problems. The curriculum responds to children's interests and individual learning needs, rather than treating them as a single group moving at one pace.

Gardening and seasonal projects bring that approach into the outdoor space. Children can investigate insects, grow vegetables and take part in cooking activities, linking what they discover outside with food preparation. These are concrete ways to explore change and use practical skills. The nursery's approach brings these experiences together with children's social and emotional development.

In June 2024, babies investigated dried pasta and experimented with sending pieces through a tube, while toddlers explored pouring water and floating toy ducks. Older children chose their own craft materials and experimented with combining glitter, water and sand. The examples show how differently aged children could investigate materials at their own level; they do not imply that everyone followed the same activity.

Physical activity also took different forms in June 2024. Preschool children practised hopping during a dance activity, and toddlers used an indoor climbing frame. There was an important teaching limitation alongside those opportunities: adults did not consistently explain how children could recognise and handle risks while climbing and balancing. Equipment alone was not the whole learning experience.

Outdoor and Community Life

Savernake Forest is more than a name on the address. Forest school adventures take place throughout the week, giving children opportunities to explore nature outdoors, and visits to the neighbouring farm introduce them to animals. The wood-beamed barn and nearby working farm make this a setting for families who want the natural world woven into the nursery day.

In June 2024, children visited woodland, while babies watched passing tractors and farm machinery. Those experiences brought the surrounding countryside into children's attention at different ages. The current outdoor offer also includes time for investigation and imaginative play within the nursery's own outdoor space, so nature-based activity is not confined to outings.

Relationships and Communication

Settling-in sessions form part of the start at nursery. Before attendance begins, an enrolment form gathers emergency contacts, allergy information and medical details. That gives the transition a practical foundation: starting nursery involves sharing what staff need to know about the child, as well as introducing the child to a new setting.

In June 2024, staff followed babies' individual routines and discussed sleep arrangements with parents. Across the age groups, designated resting spaces and adaptable arrangements helped accommodate children's need for sleep. For a family with a baby, that attention to the home routine is a useful part of the inspection-time picture, rather than an assumption that every child rests in the same way.

Communication in June 2024 included an online app, conversations and regular meetings with parents. These offered different ways to exchange information about children's days and development. Staff also helped children share resources and deal with emotions, although explanations of boundaries were sometimes too unclear to help children understand and act independently.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children, including those receiving additional funding, made progress, and that the special educational needs coordinator worked with staff on children's development and preparation for school. Staff used observations to plan the next stages of learning. This describes a support mechanism and a dated judgement, rather than a blanket promise about any child's future experience.

Younger children's language was a specific improvement priority in June 2024. Adults sometimes moved on before children had enough time to answer, and their speech to babies could be too lengthy to make individual words clear. Staff development also needed to strengthen the consistency of interactions and teaching across the team.

Meals are prepared by an in-house chef, with menus reviewed by a qualified nutritionist. Growing vegetables and cooking activities connect food with children's learning, while the daily delivery of fresh milk provides another link with the neighbouring farm.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, with early drop-off at 7.45am. The nursery operates throughout the year and closes for a week between Christmas and New Year. For parents arranging work and family routines, the early option extends the opening window, while the Christmas closure is a specific period to plan around.

School-age provision includes Before and After School Clubs during term time and Holiday Clubs. These are separate from the nursery's early-years offer and may be useful to families arranging care for siblings at different stages.

Getting There

The address is Unit 4-5, Warren Courtyard, Savernake, Marlborough, SN8 3UU. The barn sits on the edge of Savernake Forest, placing the nursery's outdoor and farm activities in the immediate setting rather than making them an occasional change of venue.

Funding and Joining

In June 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated account of participation, rather than a promise of an individual funded place.

Joining begins with an enquiry form, followed by an invitation to choose a showaround date. An application records preferred sessions and the intended start date. When an admission offer is made, it remains open for two weeks; acceptance involves signing the agreement and paying a registration charge. A waiting list operates when the nursery cannot offer a place.

• Outdoor learning and safe independence. Farm visits and forest school activities are central to the offer, while June 2024 identified a need for clearer teaching about safe behaviour. At a visit, ask how adults now explain risks during climbing and outdoor exploration.
• Support for early speech. Younger children's language and the consistency of staff interactions were June 2024 improvement priorities. Ask how practitioners give babies clear language models and allow toddlers time to answer.
• Your attendance and funding arrangement. The early opening option and year-round operation may fit working routines. Before accepting an offer, ask for a written quotation covering your session pattern, funded-hours arrangement, meals and non-food consumables.
• The acceptance deadline. An offer stays open for two weeks, and acceptance includes a registration charge. Have your preferred start date and attendance needs ready before committing to the agreement.

The strongest reason to choose Savernake is the connection between its surroundings and children's activities: woodland exploration, farm visits, gardening and cooking give the countryside a practical role in learning. It suits families drawn to outdoor early-years care, and those also seeking term-time before-and-after-school provision or holiday care for older children.

The June 2024 Good judgement provides a positive foundation, with specific teaching weaknesses to weigh alongside it. Early language, explanations of safe behaviour and consistent adult interaction deserve attention. For families whose priorities match its forest-and-farm character, this is a nursery with a clear identity and concrete experiences behind the name.