The Old Station Nursery Pershore

Daffodils turned into a vocabulary lesson, garden hide-and-seek became a game led by children, and nursery rhymes inspired currant-bun baking. These snapshots from February and November 2024 give The Old Station Nursery Pershore a recognisable character: conversation, practical exploration and growing independence.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. The important qualification concerns support for younger children who found managing their behaviour difficult: targeted help did not begin quickly enough, sometimes interrupting other children's participation and learning.

Based at Coventry House in Pershore, the nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 90 places in total. That is whole-setting capacity, rather than the size of an individual room or the number attending together.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, this means learning through play and everyday experiences, alongside support with communication, relationships and practical independence.

In February 2024, staff used children's curiosity about daffodils to introduce words for the different parts of a flower. Children asked questions and tried out the new vocabulary. The useful detail is the exchange itself: an object children wanted to investigate became a reason to talk, listen and extend their understanding.

Stories also involved objects that children could select and discuss. Staff asked questions that built on what children remembered and already understood. Play dough offered another kind of exploration, with tools used to create heart shapes of different sizes. These examples connected language with handling materials, rather than keeping conversation separate from play.

Rooms and Ages

TopDots children celebrated National Nursery Rhyme Week in November 2024 through singing and currant-bun baking, including mixing and stirring. It was a concrete link between songs and something children could make and taste. This dated example gives parents a useful picture of activity in that room, rather than a promise about a repeating timetable.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden supported social play in February 2024. Children organised hide-and-seek, searched for their friends and encouraged others to take part. Their role mattered: they were helping shape the game, with opportunities to practise joining in and responding to one another.

Dance sessions that month included music from different cultures. Staff gathered information about children's lives at home to help broaden their experiences. Together, these examples show how familiar interests and new experiences entered the nursery day.

In February 2024, children formed close relationships with their key person and settled into activities. Staff also gave children time to contribute to conversations about food and its effects on their bodies. Waiting for a child's answer made those discussions an opportunity to participate, rather than simply listen to an adult.

Everyday tasks supported independence. Younger children found their shoes before garden play, and friends helped when putting them on proved difficult; older children served their own drinks at lunch. Handwashing before meals linked personal care with the daily routine.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), making progress from their starting points, with the special educational needs coordinator working with other professionals to arrange additional support. Those are dated findings about practice and support, rather than a guarantee about an individual child's experience.

The behaviour concern deserves equal attention. In February 2024, younger children needing help to manage their behaviour did not receive targeted plans promptly enough. Other children's activities were sometimes affected. For parents, the practical issue is how staff recognise that ordinary support needs to become a more specific plan.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas, making the closure calendar relevant to families arranging care around work.

In February 2024, attendance sessions ran from 7.30am until 6pm. This is the dated session arrangement; the opening window above describes the nursery's operating hours.

Getting There

The address is Coventry House, Station Road, Pershore, WR10 2DB.

Funding and Paid Extras

In February 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That participation belongs to the dated account of its operation.

• Support for behaviour. In February 2024, targeted plans for younger children began too slowly and other children's learning was sometimes interrupted. During a visit, ask how staff now decide when to introduce a plan and how they involve families.
• Your child's room and routine. The nursery's 90 places cover the whole setting; TopDots' November 2024 activities illustrate one room's experience. Ask which room your child would join, its usual group size and how settling sessions would accommodate their routine.
• Holiday cover. Care runs across the year, with bank holiday and Christmas closures. Families needing weekday cover should build those closures into their arrangements.

Pershore suits families seeking weekday care across the year who value conversation, practical play and growing independence. Its strongest examples are tangible: exploring flowers, sharing stories with objects and taking responsibility for everyday tasks. The February 2024 behaviour finding adds a clear decision point. Understanding how targeted support now works should carry weight alongside the nursery's Good judgement.