Kids Planet Mablins Lane

A forest school within a primary-school setting gives Kids Planet Mablins Lane a clear identity: outdoor exploration alongside early familiarity with school life. Based at Mablins Lane Community Primary School in Crewe, it has 42 places in total for children aged two to five. This is a preschool setting, with separate out-of-school and holiday provision for older children.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 20 July 2022, with children investigating water, practising independence and building relationships with the linked school. Those observations offer a useful picture of its educational character at that date. The strongest thread is practical learning: children trying ideas for themselves rather than simply following an adult's instructions.

Morning, afternoon and full-day preschool sessions give families different attendance options. Their times matter: the preschool full day is shorter than the nursery's overall opening window.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, with play supporting communication, physical development and early understanding of the world. Here, the forest school adds an outdoor setting for exploration and learning through nature. Its position within the primary school also makes the school environment part of the nursery's identity.

In July 2022, water play involved jugs, pipes and wooden rods. Children altered the slope of pipes to explore how water moved, then used rods to retrieve ducks and counted their catches. These were small investigations with several purposes: testing an idea, controlling a movement and using numbers in an activity that mattered to the child.

Planning in July 2022 drew on children's interests and what they could already do. Staff used assessments to decide what to introduce next, rather than treating each activity as an isolated exercise. During conversations, they repeated words and introduced vocabulary connected to the children's experiences.

There was an important limitation. In July 2022, adults sometimes moved too quickly after asking a question, leaving children too little thinking time before responding. The improvement priority was to give children more space to formulate and share their own ideas. For parents, this is a useful distinction between an adult asking an interesting question and a child having a real opportunity to answer it.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular forest school sessions with the linked school were part of nursery life in July 2022. Children also used climbing equipment, moved to music and took part in yoga activities. Outdoor learning and movement therefore appeared in different forms, from exploring ideas to attempting a physical challenge.

School connections had a practical purpose in July 2022: children took part in stay-and-play visits, while staff shared information about their abilities with teachers. This made transition about relationships and continuity, as well as preparing children for a different daily routine. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority.

At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children making good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. Support included meetings involving families and other professionals, agreed strategies and reviews of how those strategies were working. That is a more useful account of inclusion than a general promise of support.

In July 2022, staff helped children express feelings and take part in larger groups, using reassurance and close relationships. Independence was encouraged through everyday tasks: managing shoes, pouring drinks and attending to personal needs. These modest routines matter because they give children repeated opportunities to do something for themselves.

Communication in July 2022 included progress updates and suggestions for extending learning at home. Parents could also contribute views about the nursery's development. Today, the group-wide Famly app offer at this branch provides real-time updates, giving families another way to keep up with their child's day.

Freshly prepared snacks and meals are provided, with catering for dietary needs. Food is included in private fees, while days using early years funding attract separate meal charges; nappies, wipes, formula and sun cream follow the same distinction between inclusion in private fees and separate funded-day consumables charges.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Mablins Lane Community Primary School, Mablins Lane, Crewe, CW1 3YR. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 52 weeks of the year. The preschool booking patterns are more specific than those opening hours.

Full Day and Full Time both run from 9am to 3pm. Morning attendance runs from 9am to noon, and Afternoon from noon to 3pm. Before School provision runs from 7.30am to 9am, with After School from 3pm to 6pm; an ad hoc hourly booking category also exists. These distinctions help families match a booking to the hours they actually need, rather than assume the Full Day label covers the entire opening window.

The separate Out of School and Holiday Club caters for children aged four to eleven. Holiday Club patterns are a full day from 7.30am to 6pm, a morning from 7.30am to 1pm, or an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. This older-child provision should be considered separately from preschool attendance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and private hours are offered. On days when early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities have separate charges, with different charge categories according to attendance length. Private fees include meals and snacks, care consumables and sports activities. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and a nursery tour can be booked. Attending this nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at the primary school: families still use the local authority admissions process. Familiarity with the school and an admissions entitlement are separate matters.

• The preschool day ends at 3pm. Full Day attendance is 9am to 3pm, while opening hours extend beyond that window. Families needing earlier or later care should distinguish the preschool session from Before School and After School bookings.
• Thinking time matters. The July 2022 improvement priority concerned giving children enough time to answer questions. During a tour, ask how practitioners now support children who need longer to respond.
• Funded days have a different charge structure. Meals, activities and consumables are charged separately when early years funding is used. Request a written quotation covering your intended pattern, funded-day extras and whether funding is delivered term-time or stretched.
• School familiarity is useful, but admissions remain separate. The nursery sits within Mablins Lane Community Primary School. Plan the Reception application through the local authority even if your child already knows the school through nursery.

Kids Planet Mablins Lane suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool attendance as well as a 9am-to-3pm full day, with school-based surroundings and a forest school as its clearest defining features. The July 2022 account gives substance to the learning offer: water investigations, independence in daily tasks and contact with school teachers.

The practical decision turns on the booking pattern and funded-day extras. A family seeking a shorter preschool session has a different proposition here from one combining preschool with care before or after school. Keeping those arrangements distinct makes the nursery easier to assess on its actual offer.