Meadow Nursery

Growing, harvesting and tasting vegetables gives Meadow Nursery a practical outdoor identity: its Vegetable Garden connects children's play with the food they eat. Dedicated outdoor space also allows children to move between indoor and outdoor play. This Blackpool setting cares for children from birth to four years and has 85 places in total.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Meadow Nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective, with children making good progress. That judgement sits alongside later compliance action concerning supervision and food handling, which deserves attention when weighing the setting's care arrangements.

An onsite chef, sheltered buggy park and onsite parking add practical value for families. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing communication, movement and early understanding into play and everyday routines. Meadow's clearest examples show how ordinary activities can carry that learning.

In March 2023, babies experimented with blowing bubbles, while toddlers combined singing with scarves, dancing and musical instruments. Older children stayed with a matching game, sharing equipment and taking turns. These were different experiences for different stages: exploration for the youngest children and more sustained cooperative play for older children.

Early mathematics also grew out of play in March 2023. Staff introduced size comparisons while children shaped dough, counted alongside babies building towers and connected numbers with toy-car parking bays. The practical value was the connection between mathematical language and something children could handle or do.

Books extended beyond reading together. In March 2023, children matched a toy frog to a page in Dear Zoo, while older children discussed authors and their other books. A lending library let families take books home, and visits to a community library broadened the choice. That linked nursery reading with shared reading at home.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Vegetable Garden gives children a complete sequence to join in: growing produce, harvesting it and tasting the result. The Green Flag Award recognises the nursery's sustainability work and outdoor environments. These are concrete reasons to consider Meadow for a child who enjoys practical exploration.

In March 2023, outdoor activity included running, jumping and puddle play. Babies had opportunities for tummy time, crawling and walking. Physical activity therefore reached beyond older children's energetic games, with experiences suited to younger children's developing movement.

Independence featured in daily care in March 2023. Babies practised using a spoon and helped tidy toys; older children served food, poured drinks and cut their own meals. Small tasks gave children opportunities to participate in their care rather than having everything done for them.

Communication with families in March 2023 combined daily conversations with an online app, covering development and care needs. Staff used assessments to identify concerns, and the special educational needs coordinator referred children to other professionals. For parents, these mechanisms matter because support involves both recognising a need and connecting the child with further help.

Ofsted's later compliance documents recorded notifications made in March 2024 about a child left alone during a move between buildings, in April 2024 about food unsuitable for a child's allergy and in June 2024 about another food incident involving milk intolerance, followed by retraining and revised procedures. The provider also notified Ofsted about matters relating to staff:child ratios on 12 May 2025; the June 2025 regulatory visit identified unmet requirements and action on premises security, collection procedures and risk assessment.

Those documents record corrective action. Food handling and supervision nevertheless recur across the later history, so the earlier safeguarding judgement should be read with those dated events in mind. An onsite chef now prepares fresh meals each day; families managing an allergy or intolerance should give particular attention to the handling and serving arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Meadow Nursery's address is The Bungalow, Old Meadows Lane, Blackpool, FY3 9HH. It opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, operates across the year and closes for one week at Christmas. The opening window gives working families scope to cover an early start and an afternoon finish.

Getting There

Onsite parking supports car journeys, while a sheltered buggy park provides somewhere to leave a pram during the nursery day. These are useful facilities when deciding how nursery fits into the family's routine.

Funding and Paid Extras

In March 2023, Meadow provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Current prices should form part of the nursery's written quotation, so families can assess the cost of their intended attendance alongside their care needs.

• Food and supervision procedures. Notifications about food incidents made in April and June 2024 were followed by staff retraining, and June 2025 action addressed security and collection arrangements. At a visit, ask how dietary instructions reach the person serving each meal and how staff account for children during moves and collection.
• Continuity between activities. In March 2023, staff deployment during changes of activity sometimes reduced opportunities for learning, and monitoring of staff practice needed greater precision. Ask how room routines and staff oversight work now.
• Your attendance and cost plan. Meadow opens across the year but closes for one week at Christmas. Discuss the booking pattern, funded-hours arrangement, settling sessions and treatment of meals and consumables together before agreeing a start date.

Meadow suits families seeking care from babyhood through preschool, with practical outdoor learning and an opening window that can accommodate working days. The Vegetable Garden offers a clear point of character, while the March 2023 picture included books, mathematical play and growing independence.

The later recurrence of food-handling and supervision concerns carries weight. A decision should balance those dated events with a close examination of today's procedures and the family's particular dietary, attendance and support needs.