Wise Owls at Foxley Day Nursery

Woodland, a meadow and an allotment give Foxley its character: children have space to investigate nature, grow vegetables and build physical confidence through outdoor play. This countryside nursery in Shurlock Row combines those surroundings with practical spaces for younger children, including outdoor decking and a dedicated sleep room for babies. Nature has a substantial place in the day.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement provides a dated assessment of care and education; the strongest current reasons to consider Foxley are its outdoor surroundings, age-specific rooms and arrangements for sharing children's development with families.

Wise Owls at Foxley Day Nursery has capacity for 44 children aged 2 months to 5 years. Babies, toddlers and preschool children have their own rooms, with activities and care routines adapted to each stage. Opening hours run from 7:45am to 6:15pm, Monday to Friday, over 51 weeks of the year.

Rooms and Ages

Babies has a maximum of 12 children, with treasure baskets and rattles for sensory exploration, outdoor decking and meadow picnics where children practise crawling and walking.

The toddler room accommodates 12 children aged 2 to 3, with a garden and allotment, cushions for stories, scooters and climbing frames for movement, and a shop for pretend play.

The preschool room takes children aged 3 to 5, combining daily forest school exploration with conversation and shared games; serving meals and pouring drinks under adult supervision give children practical opportunities to develop independence before school.

Learning and Activities

EYFS learning takes shape through stories, songs, sensory exploration, mark making and physical play: toddlers use play dough and painting resources, while preschool children share stories and explore outdoors.

The group-wide Wise Owls Childcare Curriculum adds planning around children's interests, with observations and learning stories used to follow development. Outdoor experiences are central to its delivery. This connects what a child enjoys with what staff plan next and share with parents.

Toddler activities include freely accessible mark-making tools, themed play trays and songs chosen around children's interests. A monthly song, story, shape and colour also inform activities children may choose during free play. Preschool group time brings singing and storytelling together with conversations between children, providing opportunities to practise speaking and listening alongside imaginative play.

In November 2022, staff used birds spotted in the garden as a starting point for investigation, with binoculars and a reference book helping children identify what they saw. The same visit identified an important limitation: staff coaching and supervision needed greater effectiveness, and some conversations did too little to extend children's thinking or language. Outdoor resources alone do not settle that question; the adult interaction matters too.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School uses natural materials for investigation and creative play. At Foxley, the preschool day includes exploring the woodland, while toddlers regularly investigate their natural surroundings and babies venture into the meadow. The allotment gives growing food a practical place in children's experience. Watching plants develop and helping care for a garden make the natural world something children can participate in.

The group-wide outdoor approach aims for at least 180 minutes of activity outside each day. This is an aim, rather than a promise about every child's timetable. The woodland and garden provide settings for climbing, balancing and sensory exploration across the seasons, making outdoor clothing and a child's comfort with changing weather relevant considerations for families.

W.I.S.E Programme, the group-wide sustainability scheme, stands for Wise Owls Initiative to Sustain the Environment. Its practical measures include using recycled paper, sourcing second-hand equipment where possible and choosing natural materials for creative activities. This adds an environmental strand to the outdoor emphasis. The scheme concerns everyday resources and waste as well as children's contact with nature.

Relationships and Communication

A key person supports personal care, plans activities and develops a relationship with each child and their family. Parents share preferences, interests and feelings about being away from home, giving practitioners information they can use when planning care. The baby room also uses an All About Me form to help staff understand a child's routines and interests. Those details make the relationship useful in practical ways.

Developmental milestones are recorded through a digital app, and parent consultations take place throughout the year. Families can discuss care and development directly with the nursery and arrange a conversation with their child's key worker. This gives communication more than one route: ongoing updates sit alongside time for a fuller discussion about progress and next steps.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Babies have a dedicated sleep room, with routine checks and monitoring, and use a cot or sleep mat according to their developmental stage. Toddlers have their own bedding for rest, with a quiet activity or story for children who do not need to sleep. These arrangements give tired children a defined way to rest within the nursery day.

Toilet training is supported through a bathroom with potties, encouragement and cooperation with parents. The toddler room uses stars and certificates during this stage. For children preparing for school, a School Readiness Assessment is completed in the preceding term, identifying strengths and areas needing support; a spring-term parent consultation provides time to discuss the transition. Preparation includes independence, social confidence and communication as well as early learning.

Foxley's dietary policy is to adapt meals to individual requirements, and the baby room provides Aptamil formula. Changes to medical or dietary needs must be entered through the Famly App and followed by an immediate telephone call; the nursery requires at least 7 working days to process changes.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is on Manor Drive, Shurlock Row, Reading, RG10 0PX. It opens Monday to Friday from 7:45am until 6:15pm and operates over 51 weeks. Closures include bank holidays and the Christmas-to-New-Year period, which families need to build into their childcare planning.

Existing families request extra sessions through the nursery's digital app. Permanent booking changes or cancellations go to head office by email. Keeping these routes separate matters when a family needs either an occasional additional session or a lasting change to attendance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Foxley accepts 30-hours childcare funding for eligible working parents, starting from the term after their child turns 9 months or 2 years, as applicable. This does not guarantee an individual funded place.

For babies, the nursery provides nappies and makes its own sensitive wipes and nappy cream. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• Adult interaction. In November 2022, coaching and supervision needed to do more to improve practice, including conversations that extended children's language and thinking. During a tour, ask how practitioners now develop those interactions and support one another's practice.
• Comfort when upset. Foxley's tour guidance allows for brief opportunities to self-settle where appropriate, alongside cuddling and reassurance. Ask how staff decide when to intervene and how your child's preferences will shape that response.
• The whole booking cost. Foxley accepts 30-hours childcare funding for eligible working parents from the term after their child turns 9 months or 2 years, as applicable, and provides baby-care supplies. Ask how your proposed attendance will allocate funded and privately paid hours, and whether meals, nappies, wipes and cream carry additional costs.
• Planning a tour. Tour requests go through the enquiry form, with contact within 5 working days to arrange a visit subject to tour availability; a later intended start can delay the tour. Bring photo identification and plan to leave mobile phones and other recording devices outside the building.

Foxley suits families who want countryside exploration to be a substantial part of nursery life, from babies using outdoor decking to preschool children investigating woodland. Its allotment, meadow and arrangements for sleep give the offer a clear shape. Key-person relationships, digital updates and consultations provide practical ways for parents to stay involved.

The November 2022 Good judgement sits alongside a dated concern about the quality of staff interaction. For families whose childcare needs fit the opening hours and annual closures, Foxley's outdoor emphasis and progression through age-specific rooms are the strongest reasons to look closely.