Persephone the pig is wandering past the outdoor atelier table with streaks of green and blue paint on her back, followed by two girls in fluorescent jackets who have volunteered to be on ‘poop duty’. The chickens are under scrutiny from a group of children interested in investigating how they react to different types of music – from rock to jazz – and the ducks 
are immortalised in a book after unwittingly inspiring a digital photography project on perspective (see below).
It’s easy to see that creativity is embedded in practice at Little Barn Owls Nursery and Farm School – based on a working farm in Horsham, West Sussex – enabling the children to be researchers of their world. Staff at the 80-place award-winning nursery – claiming both the Enabling Environments and Nursery of the Year top spots in 2015’s Nursery World Awards – focus on enquiry-based learning and take a pedagogical approach inspired by Reggio Emilia. Owner Hayley Peacock was ‘overwhelmed by the phenomenal practice’ she witnessed there during a study trip in 2012.
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