Riverside Nursery

A growing garden, Friday signing and rhymes, and swimming behind the nursery give Riverside Nursery in Lower Darwen a character that goes beyond its playrooms. Children can follow fruit and vegetables from growing to cooking, while older children have the option of lessons at Splash @ Riverside. These are tangible additions to the day.

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Riverside Outstanding overall, with mathematics woven into play and learning adapted to individual children. That judgement belongs to that visit. The current nursery accepts children from 3 months to school age and has 82 places in total; its baby suite has a separate maximum of 18 babies.

Full-day attendance requires a minimum of two days each week.

Rooms and Ages

The baby suite caters for up to 18 babies aged 3 months to 2 years, with low furniture and a wooden bridge supporting movement, cots, mats or nests for rest, and a separate preparation kitchen following individual feeding and weaning routines.

Lower Riverside combines investigation and mark making with outdoor access throughout activity time; low toilets, sinks, potties and a changing unit support toilet training coordinated with parents when children are ready.

Upper Riverside builds independence through investigation and children’s choices between indoor and outdoor play, adding Friday sports that practise movement, turn taking and teamwork. Each room has a senior practitioner overseeing its organisation. Moves between rooms depend on development as well as age: children generally approach Lower Riverside around their second birthday and Upper Riverside around their third, with visits and information sharing supporting the change.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the shared framework for learning, development and care, including language, early maths and social skills developed through play. Birth to Five Matters helps staff track development and identify support needs.

Elements of the Curiosity Approach encourage investigation, while aspects of Reggio Emilia shape projects around children’s interests and relationships. Observations and information from parents guide activities, using natural resources and messy materials.

Talk first sessions bring signing and rhymes to the baby suite and Lower Riverside every Friday morning. For Upper Riverside, Friday afternoon sports lead towards a summer-term sports day for children leaving for school, which parents can attend. Language and physical activity therefore have recurring slots alongside freely chosen play.

In September 2022, counting ran through songs, stories and play; designing superheroes encouraged reluctant mark-makers to draw and describe ideas. Learning followed children’s interests.

Outdoor and Community Life

The growing garden links outdoor exploration with meals: children care for plants, watch produce develop and bring fruit and vegetables back for the cook. A nature trail connects Lower Riverside with the garden and swimming facilities. Elsewhere outdoors, a sensory garden, digging area and mud kitchen offer different ways to explore, while bikes and climbing equipment make room for movement.

Fully toilet-trained children in Upper Riverside can take separately charged swimming lessons at Splash @ Riverside, behind the nursery. Staff escort them and help them change; an instructor uses games and exercises to introduce water awareness and swimming techniques.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a keyworker before starting. Two initial settling sessions introduce the team and discuss routines, then offer independent play; further visits can be arranged where needed.

ParentZone records meals, sleep and nappy changes, shares learning stories through photographs, videos and assessments, and enables keyworker messages. Termly parent evenings offer further discussion of development.

Room changes involve introductions to a new keyworker and the transfer of information between teams, with parents encouraged to participate. In September 2022, children practised everyday independence by serving lunch and managing coats and shoes, while adults prompted them through difficult tasks rather than immediately taking over. That dated example shows how small care routines can become opportunities to practise skills.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and excellent progress among children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, supported by learning tailored to their needs. Current arrangements include a safeguarding lead and deputy cover, a SENCO role, and an inclusive play policy that adapts shared experiences for individual children. These are specific mechanisms for support, rather than a guarantee about any child’s experience.

Rest arrangements respond to the child: babies may use a cot, mat or cosy nest, and children who do not sleep have activities or quieter time. Families’ routines also guide feeding in the baby suite. Staff undertake continuing training, and the nursery has paediatric first-aid cover.

A cook and kitchen assistants prepare meals and snacks on site, using a four-week menu rotation that is reviewed for summer and winter. Dietary and allergy arrangements are discussed before a child starts, and families must complete an Individual Health Care Plan for allergies and report changes promptly.

Sessions and Attendance

Riverside Nursery is at Riverside Ind Est, Branch Road, Lower Darwen, BB3 0PR, within The Hub. Full Day Session runs from 7.30am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday, with a minimum of two full days weekly. Half-day sessions are not offered.

The nursery opens for 51 weeks each year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas; Christmas Eve closes at 2pm. Bank holidays, family holidays and sickness absences remain chargeable, while the Christmas closure week is not charged. These terms affect the annual cost as well as the calendar of care.

Enquiries can be made through the nursery contact form or by telephone on 01254 695777. The Hub is just off the M65, a useful location detail for families whose usual route uses the motorway.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for eligible two-year-olds and for three- and four-year-olds through Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. The terms describe 15 or 30 funded hours, depending on personal eligibility, from the first full term after a child’s third birthday, with funding covering a maximum of 38 weeks annually. Funded entitlement and privately paid attendance are separate parts of the bill.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Swimming carries an additional charge. Parents provide suitable outdoor clothing for Upper Riverside and may authorise nursery sun cream or provide their own. The terms and conditions also set out a booking deposit, refunded on leaving when fees are settled and the required notice has been given; cancellation before the start date forfeits it.

Cancelling a place requires four weeks’ written or emailed notice, or payment of one month’s nursery fees. Reducing booked sessions before starting requires three months’ notice, with the booked rate charged for the remaining notice period if less is given, subject to management discretion; once attendance begins, reductions require four weeks’ notice. These are consequential terms for families whose working pattern may change.

• Whole-day commitment. The minimum booking is two full days weekly, ending at 5.45pm. On a visit, discuss how the settling sequence and your child’s rest routine will fit those days.
• Baby-room experience. The baby suite has capacity for 18 babies and several resting options. Ask how the room is organised during your child’s likely attendance days and how their preferred sleep arrangement is maintained.
• Funding and the full bill. Funding covers a maximum of 38 weeks, while the nursery opens for 51. Request an itemised quotation showing its delivery across the year, private hours, meals and non-food consumables, including the treatment of funded hours.
• Swimming and health needs. Swimming requires full toilet training and carries a separate charge. For a child with allergies, confirm current meal and swimming arrangements alongside their Individual Health Care Plan.

Riverside suits families seeking whole-day attendance on either a part-time or full-time weekly basis, with gardening, signing and rhymes, and older-room sports giving children recognisable experiences beyond the playroom. Swimming adds another option once a child reaches Upper Riverside and is fully toilet trained.

The baby suite’s stated capacity, individual feeding and rest arrangements, and keyworker-led settling give parents concrete care details to assess. The September 2022 Outstanding judgement is a strong dated endorsement. The practical decision rests on whether the two-day minimum, closure calendar and notice commitments fit family life, alongside the opportunities the child will actually use.