Kids Planet Middlewich

A lending library and an emotions corner give Kids Planet Middlewich a recognisable character: books travel home with children, while cushions depicting feelings give them something concrete to use when talking about emotions. These are useful links between nursery life and family life. Stories are for sharing here.

At its 10 August 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with communication and language central to its teaching, although some activities needed more challenge for children who already knew the answers. That qualification matters alongside the grade: an engaging activity should still move a child's learning forward.

On Brooks Lane in Middlewich, CW10 0JH, the nursery has capacity for 203 children and accepts ages from 2 months to 60 months. Its large, light rooms accommodate care from babies through to preschool, close to the town centre. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings provide different ways to organise attendance.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday tasks contribute to learning rather than sitting apart from it. At Middlewich, the lending library adds a practical connection with home. Children choose books to borrow, giving families a shared story to return to beyond the nursery day.

The emotions corner combines books about diversity with cushions representing feelings. This gives children both stories and visual prompts for expressing themselves. It is a specific resource rather than a general promise about emotional wellbeing, and it brings reading and conversation together in one calm space.

In August 2022, children used foam to make imaginary ice creams and talked about treats they enjoyed. Songs, rhymes and stories also provided starting points for conversation. After a story about three bears, making porridge introduced measuring ingredients and practical movement alongside language. Learning crossed several areas through one familiar activity.

There was a limit to that approach in August 2022: number games sometimes held too little challenge for children who knew the answers already, and their attention drifted. The improvement priority was to help staff recognise more opportunities to deepen learning. For families with an older preschool child, the distinction between joining an activity and being stretched by it is worth keeping in view.

Outdoor and Community Life

In August 2022, outdoor equipment gave children opportunities to practise sharing and taking turns. Visits from firefighters, dentists, police and nurses extended conversations about possible future jobs into contact with people doing those jobs. These were examples of community learning at that time, rather than a fixed visiting timetable.

The current offer also includes the group's outdoor-learning approach, described through active play, growing vegetables and discovering wildlife. Its value for parents is the emphasis on practical exploration alongside indoor experiences. These examples describe the group approach used in the branch's offer; they should not be read as a schedule of particular sessions.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities appropriate to their development. These are dated judgements, rather than a blanket assurance about present practice.

In August 2022, staff helped children identify feelings, manage disagreements and understand one another. Everyday care also supported independence: before cleaning babies' faces, adults sought their agreement, while older children managed bathroom routines themselves. Small interactions carried a clear message about having a say in personal care.

Communication with home had a practical form in August 2022, when online updates told parents about their child's day. The branch's current group-wide offer names ParentZone for updates as activities happen. Alongside this digital contact, borrowed books create another, simpler point of connection: a child can share the same story with nursery staff and family.

The nursery has safeguarding policies in place. The lending library and emotions corner also provide tangible resources for conversations about belonging and feelings, though a resource alone cannot establish the quality of individual support.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 52 weeks of the year, with bank-holiday closures. The attendance choices are more specific than the opening window: Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm, Morning from 7.30am to 1pm, and Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm.

Full Time means five Full Days, using the same daily times. An ad hoc hourly charge also provides for additional hourly attendance. This gives families both a regular session structure and an hourly charging option, without implying that a particular extra booking can be secured.

The Brooks Lane nursery can be contacted by telephone on 01606 834634 or by email at middlewich@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk. A tour can be booked, and there is an application route for joining. Its Out of School and Holiday Club serves children aged 4 to 11, making the older-child offer separate from the nursery age range.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside privately paid sessions. The important cost distinction is between ordinary fees and days when early years funding is applied. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

For privately paid attendance, the all-inclusive group offer covers meals and snacks together with formula milk, sun cream, wipes and nappies. Meals are freshly prepared, and the food offer accommodates dietary needs.

On days with early years funding applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately. The charge categories depend on the length of attendance that day, with different full-day, half-day and short-day categories. Funded childcare therefore needs to be considered alongside these additional costs, rather than treated as an identical charging arrangement to private attendance.

• Challenge for older children. In August 2022, some number activities were too familiar to sustain children's interest. During a tour, ask how staff extend an activity when a child already understands it.
• Funded-day costs. Meals, activities and consumables attract separate charges on days using early years funding. Compare a written quotation for your intended sessions with the all-inclusive private arrangement.
• The youngest children's day. The nursery accepts children from 2 months and has large rooms. On a tour, ask how your baby's feeding, sleep and settling routines would be organised within their room.

Kids Planet Middlewich suits families looking for full-day attendance, a morning booking or an afternoon session, with an additional offer for older children through its Out of School and Holiday Club. The lending library and emotions corner give its care and learning a concrete identity, connecting stories, feelings and home life.

The Good judgement from August 2022 provides a dated quality reference, balanced by the need for more consistent challenge in activities. For the family decision, the clearest practical distinction is the charging structure: private attendance includes everyday supplies and food, while funded days carry separate categories of charges.