Windrush Nursery

A wooden nursery building in a large garden, regular woodland visits and springtime lambing sheds give Windrush Nursery a countryside character that runs through its day. Indoor activities move outside, and seasonal changes become things children can investigate. Nature supplies much of the material for learning here.

Windrush accepts children from 18 months to five years and has 25 places in total. Its address is 2 Windrush Cottages, West Dean, Salisbury, SP5 1HR. Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 29 March 2022. That judgement provides a useful quality reference, although its observations belong to that period rather than describing today's practice.

The March 2022 improvement priorities concerned closer oversight of teaching and clearer guidance for parents about supporting learning at home. These are practical points to weigh alongside the garden and countryside experiences. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Thursday, during school term time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes planned activities across seven areas of learning: children explore ideas through play, conversation, stories, movement and practical tasks. Topics are organised over a half-term cycle. This gives activities a shared thread while leaving room for informal discussion and children's interests.

The morning programme combines time for children to choose what to do with group conversation and activities supervised by adults. Stories sit alongside music, drama and dance. Outdoor time includes an adult-led physical activity as well as further exploration, so movement has a planned place in the day rather than depending entirely on what children choose.

After lunch, the pace changes. Books or an appropriate DVD form part of quiet or rest time, followed by less demanding activities, outdoor play and stories. That gentler rhythm gives the afternoon a different pace from the morning programme.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is used daily, with activities carried between indoors and outdoors. The wooden building was erected there during summer 2020, giving the nursery an indoor base within its outdoor setting. The arrangement makes the garden part of ordinary learning rather than an occasional destination.

Regular visits to the local woods bring the changing seasons into children's experience. Farm activities add another dimension: children visit lambing sheds in spring, watch sheep shearing and take tractor rides in summer. These are concrete encounters with animals, land and seasonal work, rather than countryside themes confined to pictures or stories.

In March 2022, children invented recipes using herbs, pinecones and mud, while gardening involved planting flowers and moving soil in wheelbarrows. Other outdoor activities included wheeled toys, climbing equipment, a trampoline and organised ball games. Those examples show how the outdoor space was used for imagination, practical jobs and physical activity at that time.

Relationships and Communication

Tapestry carries regular photographs and observations of children's activities to families. This gives parents something specific to talk about with their child, whether the day involved garden play or a planned topic. It is a useful window into experiences that a young child may struggle to explain unaided.

In March 2022, tired or upset younger children received comfort from their key person. Staff also allowed children time to attempt everyday tasks, including fastening clothing and washing their hands. The care described then combined emotional reassurance with opportunities to practise independence.

Communication deserves attention alongside those relationships. In March 2022, families received feedback about activities, but some were unclear about their child's next learning steps and how to help at home. The improvement priority was therefore about making that feedback more useful, rather than simply increasing the amount of contact.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged that staff understood individual development needs, identified children needing additional help and put support strategies in place. These are dated findings, especially relevant to families weighing how personal care and learning support worked together.

The team includes a SENCO role, and the manager holds paediatric first aid training. These roles are relevant to children's additional needs and wellbeing. They do not replace a discussion about the support an individual child needs.

Parents supply lunch, while the nursery provides snacks and drinks. Lunch also forms part of the social day, giving children time to eat together and practise everyday interaction.

Sessions and Attendance

Windrush opens Monday to Thursday, from 9am to 3pm, in school term time. The nursery day runs between those times unless a prior arrangement has been made. Its daily programme moves from morning activities to a gentler afternoon pace.

An ad hoc session is charged at the normal hourly rate if it can be accommodated. Unforeseen delays in collection can be accommodated, but repeated late collection attracts an additional charge. That distinction matters when planning a regular arrangement: occasional flexibility should not become the basis of the family's timetable.

Contact is through the nursery's enquiry form, email or telephone. The address is 2 Windrush Cottages, West Dean, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP5 1HR.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered on a term-time basis. The entitlement described for children from the term after their third birthday is 15 hours weekly over 38 weeks; the funding information also describes an additional 15 hours subject to eligibility and support for some vulnerable two-year-olds. Funded hours can be used during the nursery day from Monday to Thursday.

For working-parent funding, validation through HMRC is required before the term in which the hours are needed. This is a separate step from choosing an attendance arrangement, so the timing matters when a family plans its start.

The September 2025 to July 2026 fee terms charged sundries separately each day for every child, with a separate nappy charge if required. Those terms also required payment despite absence and offered termly invoicing with either instalments or a single payment. These are dated terms; a current written quotation is the basis for budgeting now.

• Teaching and home learning. The March 2022 priorities were closer monitoring of teaching and clearer guidance on children's next steps. At a visit, ask how staff now review their practice and turn Tapestry updates into useful ideas for home.
• Term-time timetable. Opening is Monday to Thursday, 9am to 3pm, with school holidays outside the regular offer. Consider how that pattern fits the family's working week and holiday arrangements.
• Current charges. The September 2025 to July 2026 terms separated sundries and any required nappies from childcare charges. Request a current written quotation covering funded hours, private hours and those extras before agreeing an arrangement.

Windrush suits families who value daily garden use, woodland exploration and seasonal farm experiences, and whose timetable fits term-time care. Full days run from 9am to 3pm, and term-time places suit families whose childcare needs follow the school calendar. The programme becomes quieter after lunch.

The countryside experiences are the clearest reason to consider it. The Good judgement from March 2022 adds a dated quality reference, while the teaching and parent-guidance priorities give families specific questions for a visit. The decision rests on both: an appealing daily setting and a clear understanding of how children are supported now.