South Hills Nursery Old School Great Cheverell

An 18th-century schoolhouse, a small library and a courtyard linking indoor play with the outdoors give Old School Nursery its character. This Great Cheverell setting has two classrooms and a garden overlooking the countryside. The appeal is concrete: children have places for books, exploration and outdoor movement within the same setting.

South Hills Nursery Old School Great Cheverell cares for children aged 2 to 5 and has 34 places in total. Ofsted rated it Good at its October 2021 inspection. That dated judgement sits alongside a current emphasis on children choosing and directing their play, rather than simply following an adult's agenda.

The practical offer includes sessions running from 8am to 5pm. The schoolhouse setting and access between inside and outside are the stronger reasons to look closely here; the attendance arrangements belong in the family diary calculation.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for learning, development and care: children learn through play, with adults helping them build skills and take their next steps. Here, child-led learning is the stated approach. The two classrooms and small library provide the indoor setting, while the courtyard allows children to move between indoor and outdoor play.

In October 2021, children sustained their attention while experimenting with water. They moved it between containers and prepared fruit for the activity, bringing hand coordination and practical handling into the same experience. Adults also brought numbers into play: a toy phone became a chance to connect its keypad with counting on fingers. These were everyday objects doing educational work.

The balance of the day needed attention, however. In October 2021, children had to join successive adult-organised group activities; some became restless and wanted to choose other play. The improvement action was to reconsider the balance between group participation and activities children selected themselves. For a setting whose current approach emphasises child-led play, that is a useful point to explore on a visit.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden has views across the surrounding countryside, but the courtyard has a more immediate practical role: it connects indoor activity with outdoor play. In October 2021, outdoor tricycle riding gave children opportunities to develop physical skills, with balance and control evident in their movements. Outdoor time involved movement as well as exploration.

March 2026 brought a more recent picture of hands-on activity. Children planted seeds in propagators, with the intention of growing fruit and vegetables for snacks. Water exploration involved guttering, coloured mixtures and experiments with objects that floated or sank. These experiences give children something to manipulate and test, rather than a result to memorise.

Children also built obstacle courses inside and outside in March 2026, working together and considering risks as they constructed them. Construction play extended to making their own cement for a play building site. The emphasis was on creating the activity as well as taking part in it, giving children decisions about materials, layout and how to work together.

World Book Day featured characters and shared stories in March 2026. A Mother's day event brought parents into craft activities with their children that month. These are dated examples of family participation and storytelling, rather than a promise of a fixed annual calendar.

At the October 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described close relationships between children, their key person and other staff. Staff understood how to raise welfare concerns, recruitment included suitability checks, and supervision included helping children use scissors safely. Those findings belong to that visit.

In October 2021, stories helped children talk about feelings, with colours used to explore emotions such as sadness and anger. Staff had also introduced a minute of mindfulness, a brief breathing activity that children subsequently used at other points in the day. This gave children a practical response to strong feelings alongside the words to describe them.

Everyday independence had a visible place in October 2021: children served their own drinks and cleaned their cups afterwards. Staff knew what individual children were working towards and used that knowledge when planning activities. The setting employed five staff members at that time, supported through meetings, supervision and opportunities for further training.

Communication with families in October 2021 included a notice board describing the day's activities. This gave parents something specific to discuss with their children at home. The March 2026 parent craft event adds a later example of families participating directly in nursery life.

School preparation also had a practical form in October 2021. Children exchanged drawings with a Reception class through a pen pal arrangement. That introduced contact with school-age children through something the nursery children could make themselves; it was transition activity, not an admissions entitlement.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is High Street, Great Cheverell, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 5XZ. Sessions run from 8am to 5pm, making the finish time an important consideration for families fitting nursery around work.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Enquiries can be made directly by telephone on 01380812418 or by email to oldschoolmanager@southhillsschool.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

In October 2021, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged three and four. Families should obtain a current written quotation when planning costs.

• Child-led play and group time. The October 2021 improvement action concerned successive group activities that left some children disengaged. On a visit, ask how the day now protects sustained, self-chosen play alongside shared activities.
• A 5pm finish. Sessions run from 8am to 5pm. That end time needs to fit the family's working day and collection arrangements.
• The schoolhouse layout. Two classrooms, a small library and the courtyard shape the experience. A visit is a useful chance to see how a child would move between these spaces during their day.
• The total cost. Ask for a written breakdown covering the current funded offer, additional hours, meals and non-food consumables, so the attendance plan and its cost can be considered together.

Old School Nursery suits families with children aged 2 to 5 who value child-led play, a schoolhouse setting and easy movement between indoor activity and the courtyard. Its 8am-to-5pm sessions offer a clear daily window, with care continuing across the year apart from the stated closures.

The most persuasive recent examples are practical ones: seed planting, water experiments and children designing obstacle courses in March 2026. The October 2021 concern about the balance of group and self-chosen activity remains the key question for a visit. The choice rests on how that balance works for the individual child today.