Open 51 weeks of the year
Open 7.30am - 6.30pm
Fully funded places
Outdoor learning
Our purpose-built Old Station Nursery Heyford provides a varied mix of structured and free-flow daily activities to keep your little one entertained whilst starting their early years education to prepare them for school.
We offer year-round childcare places, including term time only, with funding options for eligible families. Our caring team are happy to welcome you to tour our Ofsted-rated ‘Good’ provision to showcase our happy environment that supports your child’s pathway into education and answer any questions you may have about fees and childcare funding.
We know how special – and sometimes daunting – the transition to school can be for both children and parents. That’s why our Next Stop School program helps little ones develop the confidence, social skills, and independence they need, with plenty of support along the way to ensure they’re more than ready for this exciting next step.
Outside space and wildlife are plentiful at Heyford Nursery. There is a large open area where we compete in obstacle courses and complete our Daily Mile, an initiative aimed to improve children’s physical, social, emotional, and mental health and well-being regardless of age, ability, or personal circumstances.
Located in the growing Heyford Park village, which features the bustling Heyford Park Innovation Centre, we are just a few minutes walk from Heyford Park School. Our nursery children can often be found at the village park or on a short walk to visit the ponies stabled close to the nursery. We particularly enjoy watching dogs being trained at the dog agility school, which can be seen from the nursery grounds.
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The Brighter Learning Approach (BLA) is unique to The Old Station Nursery group and is our advanced approach to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and core pedagogy. It differs from traditional nursery teaching methods by providing real-life opportunities to enhance children’s natural curiosity, with emphasis on hands-on experiences, child-led learning, and whole development.
The six core areas promote active engagement and critical thinking whilst encouraging exploration, creativity, and collaboration. Each child learns at their own pace and is challenged and extended at appropriate times.
The best place to see the BLA in action is via our local nursery Facebook page, where each post explains which part of the curriculum the children are working on. Our parents also receive updates on the Parent App too.
Championing children's holistic health and laying the foundations for a happy, healthy and successful life.
Helping the future generation of global citizens to understand the world they live in and to believe they can make a difference.
Enabling early experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM). Nurturing our next generation of investigators, inventors and innovators.
Enticing children to develop a life-long love of books and reading through engaging and interactive storytelling experiences. Building strong literacy skills while sparking imagination and creativity.
Engaging children in meaningful mathematical learning. Developing knowledge, building skills and exploring concepts, through purposeful play and plenty of practice.
Developing confident communicators by engaging in quality conversations with children every day, in a language rich and communication friendly environment.
We hold numerous clubs that enhance the Brighter Learning Approach, our bespoke version of the Early Years Statutory Framework at our Heyford nursery and are fortunate enough to hold many of these outside.
With the aid of a ‘cool touch’ oven, child-safe equipment and the children’s chef’s hats and aprons we follow a set curriculum to learn about the joys of cooking and gain lifelong skills such as measuring, counting and following set instructions.
Budding musicians can explore different instruments at our children’s nursery, as well as enjoying rhythmic games, and participating in interactive sing-along sessions. They’ll discover the joy of creating melodies, understanding beats, and expressing themselves through music. Each activity is carefully crafted to inspire a love for music and develop their auditory skills in a fun and engaging environment.
The experienced team at Boogie Beats offers Heyford nursery children energetic, fun, and educational opportunities during their regular visits. As they develop confidence, coordination, and social skills, children can enjoy expressing themselves through music and dance.
Pre-schoolers can enjoy energising play sessions delivered by professional Rugbytots coaches in which they practise coordination and the fundamentals of rugby and build self-esteem.
As well as getting creative with arts and crafts, we encourage artistic impression via dress-up, role-play, singing and dancing. Circle time often starts with a puppet show devotedly rehearsed and performed by the children to a captivated and amused audience!
In our plentiful outdoor space at The Old Station Nursery Heyford, our budding gardeners are supported in caring for the environment and the natural world. Children can carefully section off plants and re-pot them to gift to the local community or take home to care for with their families. They can also use outdoor growing areas to sow seeds and watch them grow over time.
The wildlife at Heyford enables our budding scientists to observe nature first-hand.
Children can learn the phases of metamorphosis and caring for animals through the life cycle of a frog as they witness frogspawn develop into tadpoles and frogs!
Our nursery group is passionate about the link between home and nursery; the nursery experience is as much about the parent as it is for the child.
The Old Station Nursery Heyford commits to verbally updating you about your child’s day at pick-up time and via digital updates on the parent App.
We are here at any time should you wish to call us or want to discuss any area of your child’s care. We aim to look after our parents as well as our children so you can carry on with your day, work and career with a sense of peace.
First and foremost, you and we need to know that your child is safe. Before we can deliver the excellent curriculum that makes our nurseries so special, robust policies and procedures are followed to meet the exacting standards of Ofsted, building and fire regulations, food safety standards and staff DBS background checks and references.
Our staff are trained in numerous areas and we offer further training opportunities for staff who have an interest in a particular area. For example, some of our nurseries have attained Millie’s Mark, an accreditation gained by having 100% of staff on site trained in paediatric first aid.
Our in-house chef freshly prepares nutritious meals on site using seasonal ingredients for variety. We cater to varying diet requirements and preferences and have procedures in place for children with food allergies.
Every child has a nursery key person who knows them best and who will be the child and parent’s main contact. Your key person at our nursery will update you about your child’s day and is there to answer your questions.
When your child moves to the next age group room, we hold several settling sessions with a new nursery key person. We encourage our parents to view the new room too, and we will work with you to discuss the new routines, just like we did when you first started nursery.
It is wonderful to nurture and see our children graduate to primary school. Part of the unique offering at our nurseries is our focus on the next stage of your child’s learning journey. We prepare the children through school activities, teacher meet and greets and graduation ceremonies. Our commitment is to support our parents too by providing child learning journey updates, parents evenings or one-to-ones and home link learning kits to enhance the link between nursery and home.
When our children leave us in June, July, August and September the term before joining primary school, each family will receive a £30 Clarks voucher to help towards your child’s first pair of school shoes. It’s our way of saying thank you for being part of our nursery family.
All our nurseries follow the Brighter Learning Approach, our bespoke version of the Early Years Statutory Framework. Within this, each nursery chooses extra clubs, activities, and enhancements suitable for their space.
Our Heyford nursery enjoys high energy classes such as Boogie Beats and a gentler pace with Budding Gardeners, Budding Artists’ and yoga.
We also hold open days where parents and carers are encouraged to come along and meet other parents to build their own personal friendships and networks ahead of primary school.
The Old Station Nursery Heyford offers flexible childcare with several session options as well as private, part-funded and some fully funded places for eligible families.
Contact us for the nursery fee that is correct for your individual circumstances.
Inside, babies have their own comfortable room where they can explore and develop at their own pace. Staff gently encourage children to use soft play equipment, mirrors, and musical instruments to play and learn.
At The Old Station Nursery Heyford, our rooms are directly connected to the garden, giving children instant access and the opportunity to move between inside and outside freely. A crawl-in sand pit and a mixture of artificial and real grass to explore allow babies to develop their senses and a section of the garden is covered by a shelter, which allows us to enjoy the outdoors in all weather, which we love to do!
Once ready, babies progress to Tots, where activities become more structured, and there is plenty of opportunity for development in new areas of learning. Key carers are assigned based on who the children bond with rather than pre-assigning.
Children of all ages can play alongside each other on patios and grassed areas in the garden with an array of age-appropriate garden resources. This is ideal for siblings who attend nursery together but frequent different rooms, with older children taking pride in becoming role models to younger children.
We get to know our children well and transition to a new room based on their development rather than age. Through short visits to the next room and the communal garden, children see familiar faces and feel secure and comfortable before the next stage of their nursery journey.
Heyford pre-school children are provided opportunities for small group work and fine-tuning their independence and skills, such as laying the table for meals and clearing plates.
A range of extracurricular classes, such as Rugbytots, teach children to listen and follow instructions, supporting them in their transition to school.
“Our purpose-built nursery offers children of Heyford and surrounding villages a nurturing environment to play and explore. Children are at the heart of everything we do, and we love teaching and watching them thrive! We are easily accessible for all families to get to the nursery on foot and by car.”
Heather Cooke (Heyford Nursery Manager)
Join us on December 19th for our annual Christmas Party at The Old Station Nursery Heyford. There will...
Thank you to all who entered our Pumpkin Competition at The Old Station Nursery Heyford’s Stew and Sparklers...
The Old Station Nursery Heyford, a purpose-built nursery in Heyford Park, recently celebrated its 2-year anniversary.
Please note that this is not a confirmation of your tour. One of our nursery team will endeavour to get back to you ASAP to confirm your date and time. Thank you.
If you are looking to arrange a tour within the next 48 hours, we recommend calling the nursery directly.
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