Sally-Anna's Day Nursery

A diary after each session, a gradual settling programme and music on Wednesday mornings give Sally-Anna's Day Nursery a recognisable character: everyday care comes with practical ways for parents to stay involved. Based on Liverpool Road West in Church Lawton, it welcomes children from 3 months to 5 years and has 97 places in total. The purpose-built premises have been its home since November 2009.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. That dated judgement comes with an important qualification: staff needed a more consistent understanding of how to put leaders' learning intentions into practice. It is a useful distinction for families weighing the warmth of the care against the delivery of the curriculum.

Attendance can be full or part time, with no minimum number of sessions required. The practical detail matters here, especially the notice requirements and the separate charge for music classes.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Room, Poppets Room, Angels Room and Pre-School Room organise the nursery into separate spaces. For parents, those named rooms give a useful starting point for understanding where a child will spend the day, while the nursery's overall age range extends from early infancy to the years before school.

Several outdoor play areas provide space for physical activity. Children go outside in different weather, with families supplying suitable clothing: wellies and raincoats for wet days, hats and sun lotion when needed. Outdoor time is part of the routine rather than an occasional addition, so clothing needs to work for play as well as the season.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the standards for children's learning, development and care. In daily life here, learning happens through play, with time for children to make choices and time for an adult-led activity in their key group. The framework is the foundation; the particular activities and organisation give the day its shape.

Small Group Time brings children together with their key worker for an activity built around their interests. Planning Time then gives them a say in what they will do, followed by Doing Time to pursue that choice. Larger gatherings include stories, songs, circle games and parachute play. This sequence gives children opportunities to choose, act on a decision and take part alongside others.

The resources span construction, pretend play and physical movement. Blocks and threading sit alongside puppets, dressing-up materials, bikes and gardening. Messy activities are part of the offer too. Practical clothes make more sense than anything a family wants kept pristine.

Rhythm Time adds a separately charged music class on Wednesday mornings: a half-hour session for children aged 15 months to 4 years, with activities intended to develop musical ability and confidence. Payment goes directly to the teacher, and participation requires a separate form. That makes it a specific addition to the nursery day, with its own booking and payment arrangements.

In June 2022, the nursery followed the curiosity approach, with opportunities to explore everyday objects through play. A home corner contained crockery, telephones and perfume bottles, giving pretend play concrete materials rather than relying solely on toys. Activities also drew on children's interests, including dinosaurs, habitat-making and water play linked to Incy Wincy Spider.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2022, experiences beyond the nursery included park visits, canal walks and library trips. These brought children into contact with places in the wider community, adding a different setting for conversation and discovery. They are examples from that period, rather than a timetable of current outings.

Outdoor stories also formed part of the day in June 2022. Staff connected books with children's previous experiences and introduced unfamiliar vocabulary during discussion. The useful detail is the combination of conversation, books and real experiences, rather than treating language development as a separate lesson.

Relationships and Communication

A key person gives each family a direct contact for their child's daily care and development. The role includes passing on news about progress, receiving changes to home routines and recording health or medication instructions. Parents have a clear person to approach with information that could affect the child's day.

Settling is staged. Families can choose a Home Visit, followed by three introductory sessions lasting two hours each: the parent stays throughout the first, leaves for the second hour of the next, and the child attends the final session independently. The progression gives both parent and child a structured introduction before the regular booking begins.

Home Diaries record food, sleep and play after each session, with photographs added where possible. Parents can write back, allowing information from home to shape subsequent activities. Learning Journeys bring together observations and assessments of development, giving families another way to follow progress beyond the daily account of care.

These two forms of communication serve different purposes. The diary helps a parent understand what happened that day; the longer developmental record tracks learning over time. Together with the key person, they create several opportunities to exchange information rather than leaving everything to a brief conversation at collection.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as a strength, with staff and outside agencies agreeing individual targets. Both findings belong to that inspection date. They provide a positive assessment of the practice examined then, rather than a fresh judgement on today's provision.

Current access arrangements include fingerprint controls at both the main gate and main door, with a password procedure for other people collecting children. These are concrete security measures. They sit alongside the family's responsibility to pass on changes to collection arrangements through the key person.

In June 2022, each room had a snuffle station containing tissues, hand sanitiser and face cloths. Younger children received help with cleaning their hands and faces, while older children practised doing more for themselves. The arrangement connected daily hygiene with growing independence.

Breakfast, snacks, lunch and a light tea are provided, with dietary requirements passed to the cook from the child's registration information. Lunch is eaten in designated parts of the children's rooms, and families are asked to collect before or after tea rather than during it.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Liverpool Road West, Church Lawton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 3DZ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year; bank holidays and a week at Christmas are excluded. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01270 884669 or through the contact form.

The priced day session runs from 7.30am to 6pm. Full-time and part-time attendance are offered, and the booking guidance also accommodates half-day attendance without a minimum session requirement. That gives families scope to choose a lighter pattern as well as a full day, although contracted sessions still carry firm payment terms.

Fees are paid at the beginning of the month for that month, under either a 51-week or 38-week payment option. Holidays, illness and other missed attendance do not reduce the charge. Session swapping is not permitted, so the contract suits families who can keep their agreed days reasonably stable.

Funding and Paid Extras

Free early education is offered from the term after a child's third birthday. The entitlement and a family's paid childcare booking need to be considered separately; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Childcare vouchers are also accepted through participating schemes.

Parents supply nappies and wipes, as well as sun lotion for outdoor play. Rhythm Time carries its own additional charge, paid to the teacher. These are practical items to account for alongside the childcare booking rather than treating every part of the day as one payment.

One month's written notice is required when leaving or changing contracted days, including an increase or decrease. The cancellation guidance also applies notice requirements to advance bookings. Families planning a change of working pattern should build that lead time into their decision.

• Curriculum consistency. In June 2022, some staff did not consistently turn leaders' intentions into practice, including opportunities to develop cutlery use and critical thinking. On a visit, ask how planning now translates into everyday activities across the rooms.
• A staged start. The three two-hour settling sessions progressively reduce the parent's presence, and a Home Visit is offered. Consider how that sequence fits around work and your child's experience of separation.
• Fixed booking commitments. Missed sessions remain payable, swapping is restricted and changes require written notice. This deserves close attention if working days regularly change.
• The funded booking. Free early education begins from the term after the third birthday, while music has a separate charge and families supply nappies and wipes. Ask how the funded timetable and meal charges would apply to your chosen attendance pattern.

Sally-Anna's suits families seeking either a full day or a smaller part-time pattern, with a structured introduction and regular information about daily care. Home Diaries, Learning Journeys and the key person make parent communication a tangible part of the offer, while outdoor play and Rhythm Time give the day variety.

The June 2022 Good judgement is a useful reference point, tempered by the need for more consistent curriculum delivery. Its practical terms are equally important: flexible amounts of attendance sit alongside fixed commitments once sessions are booked. The strongest fit is a family that values gradual settling and detailed communication, and can plan around agreed days.