Founded in 2002 by Sarah Steel OBE, The Old Station Nursery is a highly regarded childcare provider in the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, where the group operated 9 nurseries and 1 after-school club. Thanks to the founder’s deep knowledge of the nursery sector, the group has always fostered a development strategy based on providing the best possible environment for children and building a network of nurseries in attractive locations.
The nurseries benefit from a great reputation in their local operating environments and in the sector more generally. The Old Station Nursery Group now comprises of 78 nurseries across the UK each offering our core promise of regular parent communications and partnership between nursery and home which we believe is key to a happy child and parent nursery journey.
Over the last two decades, The Old Station Nursery Group is proud to have achieved a number of accomplishments and key milestones. Through these achievements, it has been possible for us to progress with our vision to offer market leading education for thousands of children across 78 nurseries in England.
The Old Station Nursery opens in Faringdon
Sarah Steel wins Nursery Sector Champion Award
Sarah Steel wins National Top 10 Influencer Award
Joined La Maison Bleue
Premier Nurseries joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Sandhills Nurseries joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Small Friends Nursery joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Sunhill Day Nurseries joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Bambino Day Nurseries joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Choochoos Day Nurseries joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Awarded Daynurseries Top 20 Large Group 2021
Sarah Steel becomes Chair of National Day Nurseries Association
My First Friends joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Little Roos Nurseries joins The Old Station Nursery Group
Sixpenny and Polkadot join The Old Station Nursery Group
Townsend Montessori Nurseries and Good Manors join The Old Station Nursery Group
Awarded Daynurseries Top 20 Large Group 2022
HDC and Catherine House Day Nurseries join The Old Station Nursery Group
Little Green Rascals Nurseries joins The Old Station Nursery Group
The Old Station Nursery Group grows to 78 nursery settings
Adelle Taylor becomes CEO at The Old Station Nursery Group
Sarah Steel becomes Chairperson at The Old Station Nursery Group
The Brighter Learning Approach launches across all nurseries
Winner of Large Group of the Year Award at NMT
Awarded Daynurseries Top 20 Large Group 2024
Sarah Steel awarded OBE in in the King’s Birthday Honours
The Old Station Nursery Group is a mixed team of experts who have a plethora of experience in Early Years Education along-with People, Finance and Marketing skills, important for commercial growth and investment.
Sarah founded The Old Station Nursery Group in 2002. She is a Policy Board member of the NDNA and represents the company with the Department of Education and the OFSTED Big Conversation.
Adelle is responsible for managing overall operations and setting the company's strategic direction. Adelle has spent most of her career in the restaurant sector managing brands such as Cotes Brasseries and Wagamama and therefore understands the importance of Operations, People and long-term goals.
Kirsty leads the Operations Department at The Old Station Nursery Group, overseeing the day to day running of the company. Kirsty has worked for over 20 years in the Early Years Sector, working across various roles in Quality, Care and Education and Nursery Operations. Kirsty is highly qualified, holding a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education.
In 2019 The Old Station Nursery joined a large provider of quality childcare within France, La Maison Bleue. They share our passion for high quality care and are keen to help us to expand within the UK.
As one of the three largest players in the French childcare sector, the leader in Switzerland and the second largest player in Luxembourg, we are confident in our approach to providing high quality childcare in safe and stimulating nursery environments alongside La Maison Bleue.
La Maison Bleue has seen great expansion over the past years. Founded in 2004 by Sylvain Forestier and Antonia Ryckbosch – a childcare professional – La Maison Bleue has built a strong and innovative educational project, where the quality of childcare provided is of paramount importance.
Its development is driven by a team of entrepreneurial managers backed by financial sponsors, TowerBrook Capital Partners and Bpifrance, with a strong ambition to become a leading player in Europe.
LMB has a strong track-record in investing into its existing estate and new nurseries to grow its presence, as well as acquiring new businesses with a strategy to build a partnership with them.
The main goal is to develop the acquired companies while allowing them to benefit from the synergies from being part of a leading network. The Old Station Nursery has a robust investment programme throughout 2023, 2024 and 2025.
“We are really pleased to be joining La Maison Bleue, as it allows us to build on all that we have achieved over the last 16 years, whilst enjoying the support of a leading company, which is also focused on quality. It’s a really exciting move for us all at The Old Station Nursery and we look forward to working closely together.”
Our highly qualified teams celebrate the unique qualities of every child in our care, and our award-winning immersive environments help develop potential and foster a life-long love of learning. Put simply, our nurseries are inspiring, engaging, and exciting places for children to spend their days!
We are always looking for nurseries to join our growing family. If you would like to learn more about The Old Station Nursery Group, we would love to talk to you.
I have worked at the grange for over a year, I moved to the grange due to living close and I was working further away from home so was difficult to travel everyday. I felt nervous about starting at the grange but was welcomed with a smile and all the staff are lovely to both other staff and child and I am grateful for my choices.
The Old Station has been on a path of growth over the past few years but what has always shone through is the passion for Early Years and ‘little people’ in everything they do. I have had opportunity to progress in my career with TOSN, far beyond what I would have done within my previous company.
I have worked for the company for 5 years now and each year I love it more and more. Management are always so lovely, empathetic and extremely easy to talk to. The staff are so welcoming and make you feel like you've been there for years.