Cherry Lodge Childcare

Icing sugar, frozen fruit and storytelling puppets gave Cherry Lodge Childcare’s November 2024 learning activities a practical, playful character. This Cherry Tree setting in Blackburn has capacity for 53 children aged 24 to 60 months.

At its 22 November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), received effective support and made secure progress. The improvement point was precise: staff needed to establish what children understood before adding new ideas.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care, bringing communication, physical development and other areas of learning into their day.

In November 2024, children explored mark-making by moving brushes through icing sugar, worked fruit free from ice with spoons and washed dolls in bubbly water. These were hands-on opportunities to practise movement and tackle small problems. Puppets and wooden-spoon characters also helped children tell stories in their own words.

Planning that November took account of what interested each child and the next steps in their development. The activities gave children different ways to participate: making marks involved brushes, retrieving fruit involved tools and a physical puzzle, while storytelling used characters children could handle. Learning was linked to things children could do, rather than confined to answering an adult’s questions.

The improvement point concerned those questions. Staff sometimes continued questioning before establishing whether children had understood, allowing the purpose of an activity to drift. For parents, the distinction is useful: engaging materials are one part of teaching; checking what a child has learnt determines whether the next idea is well timed.

Community experiences extended the learning beyond nursery activities. In November 2024, children had recently participated in road safety week; fire-service visitors, library outings and trips to an elderly care home also introduced them to people and services around them. These experiences connected learning about the wider world with real encounters.

In November 2024, children sought out their key person and had close relationships with staff. Everyday responsibilities encouraged independence: younger children practised handling cutlery, while older children served themselves food and drinks and washed their plates afterwards. Children also helped friends with their coats.

Small responsibilities made independence part of ordinary routines in November 2024. Using cutlery, serving a drink and washing a plate gave children opportunities to take part in their own care, with different expectations for younger and older children. Helping a friend dress brought a social element to those practical skills. These examples give families a more concrete picture of independence than a general promise of school readiness.

Birthdays were celebrated, and staff encouraged children to recognise their own individuality while learning to share materials and consider other children. Adults modelled behaviour and took children’s feelings into account. The balance mattered: children were encouraged to do things for themselves while also noticing when someone else needed help.

Family communication had a practical role that November. Parents contributed to assessments and learning ideas, received information to support activities at home and visited to explain their work. Their suggestions included local charity days, giving families a route to influence experiences beyond routine updates. Conversations about parents’ jobs also brought children into contact with adults’ working lives. This was participation in learning, as well as communication about care. Staff collaborated with speech and language therapists and other professionals supporting SEND. For children approaching school, teachers visited the nursery to discuss developmental needs, giving the next setting useful information about the child.

Cherry Lodge Childcare is on Cherry Tree Lane, Cherry Tree, Blackburn, BB2 5NX. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, throughout the year.

In November 2024, the nursery provided funded education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. That dated participation should be distinguished from the terms of a current booking.

• Learning sequence. The November 2024 improvement point concerned checking understanding before progressing. Families should look for how staff establish that a child has grasped an idea.
• Age range. Care starts at 24 months. This is a choice for families seeking provision beyond the baby stage.
• Attendance and costs. At a visit, what booking patterns and current funded-hours arrangements can the nursery offer, and what would the written quotation include?

Cherry Lodge Childcare suits families seeking care from 24 months, with an all-year opening window. Its November 2024 inspection gives a concrete picture of practical play, growing independence and collaboration with families and specialist professionals. The teaching improvement point remains a useful consideration alongside that Good judgement.