Sandy Bear's Nursery & Pre School Tattenhall

A Treehouse inside the older children's room, village walks for babies and an allotment for growing things give Sandy Bear's Nursery & Pre School Tattenhall a character rooted in hands-on exploration. Everyday objects do much of the work here: children investigate real fruit, build with crates and experiment with materials rather than relying entirely on ready-made toys.

Based at The Old School House on Tattenhall's High Street, the nursery has Bear Cubs for babies and Big Bears for toddlers and preschool children. Bear Cubs takes children from 3 months to approximately 2 years. At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised children's progress, while identifying weaknesses in everyday transitions and hygiene routines.

The practical offer combines opening throughout the year with a preschool that follows Cheshire West and Chester term dates. For parents, the important distinction is between the nursery's overall opening calendar and the preschool timetable.

Rooms and Ages

Bear Cubs combines activities shaped around children's interests with familiar daily routines, a cushioned black-and-white retreat and a home corner stocked with real produce and household utensils. Books and a basket offer quieter exploration; pots, brushes and dressing-up items give children material for imitation and discovery.

Big Bears brings toddlers and preschool children together with a quieter area for two-year-olds, a sensory room for investigating shadows and light, and a home corner with a fish tank. Child-height pegs make belongings accessible, giving children opportunities to manage small tasks themselves.

Within Big Bears, the Treehouse provides supervised space for children aged 3 to 4, with books, maths materials and tinker trays. Small-group communication activities use this space, while younger children can have individual time there with their key worker.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS sets the foundation for learning through play, communication, physical activity and growing independence. Big Bears combines that framework with activities chosen for children's developmental stage and interests. Sticks can become counting materials, marks or pretend food; crates and planks invite construction and problem-solving.

Early maths has concrete tools. Numicon sits alongside number boats, threading materials and stones bearing letters or numbers, while the Literacy Box supports experimenting with marks.

In Bear Cubs, music happens daily, with instruments available for exploration and staff-led singing. Story bags, puppets and sensory bags support group activities. Makaton, a communication system using signs and symbols, is introduced early and displayed so families can recognise it at home. That gives children another way to express themselves while speech develops.

Weekly Forest School sessions add outdoor learning and exploration, supported by a Forest School teacher. This sits alongside the everyday outdoor offer rather than replacing it. In July 2022, children investigated mixtures of sand and water to hold bricks together, giving a concrete example of testing an idea and adjusting it through play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor play is part of both rooms' routines. Bear Cubs has ramps, a musical pan wall, a sand pit and a mud kitchen, so movement, sound and messy exploration have their own physical resources. Pushchair walks take babies around the village to the library, park, wooded area and Flacca.

For Big Bears, the fairy garden, climbing equipment and construction area support different kinds of play. The Wendy house changes with children's interests and has taken the form of a workshop or bird-watching space. Walks around Tattenhall include woodland foraging and activity on the cricket pitch; regular allotment visits introduce growing and caring for the environment. These experiences connect what children handle in the nursery with the wider village.

Relationships and Communication

Key workers use children's interests and home routines to shape care, and families can contribute observations about what their child enjoys. Bear Cubs activities leave room for both planned experiences and spontaneous exploration. The practical benefit is continuity: information from home can influence the nursery day rather than stopping at a handover.

Famly carries daily information about meals, sleep and nappy changes, alongside photographs and learning observations. In Big Bears, parents can add observations and send messages to a key worker or management. This makes communication a continuing exchange, with the day's practical details and developmental milestones in the same place.

Parents Committee and Parent Support Groups provide further routes for family involvement. The deputy manager coordinates these alongside work with children across age groups. They offer a different kind of contact from a message about one child's day: a route into discussion and support involving other families.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

An intervention worker supports children needing additional help in Big Bears, and the manager works with SENDCo support. At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that additional needs were identified promptly, support was coordinated with parents and outside agencies, and preparation for school was carefully organised. Those findings belong to that visit; the current staffing arrangements provide concrete mechanisms for additional support.

In July 2022, staff used stories and conversations about feelings to help children recognise emotions and manage their responses. However, preparation for lunch could become disorganised, leaving some children less engaged. Handwashing was also inconsistent after staff wiped children's noses, creating a risk of infection spreading. These are practical concerns about how ordinary routines worked, rather than abstract improvement targets.

Babies can sleep when needed, following their home routine, with sleeping mats and sleep pods for those over 6 months. Outdoor sleep is encouraged, with regular checks and extra warm clothing supplied by families who choose it. Individual sheets are washed weekly. This gives parents several specific sleep arrangements to discuss against their baby's habits.

Food is cooked by an on-site cook, and Bear Cubs meals are adapted in texture to the child's stage, with parents involved during weaning. Lunch and tea are two-course meals.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Old School House, 1 High Street, Tattenhall, CH3 9PX. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, throughout the year, with bank holidays and a week at Christmas closed. Preschool follows Cheshire West and Chester term dates, making the calendar relevant when planning attendance around work or school holidays.

Tattenhall has an online enquiry route and telephone contact on 01829 770 889. Families can also arrange a visit through the room's contact route.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; families weighing funded attendance need the attendance pattern and any additional charges considered together.

Bear Cubs supplies nappies and wipes, while families provide a particular brand when their child needs one. Parents also supply formula powder and empty bottles, and children bring their own water bottles.

• Hygiene in everyday care. In July 2022, staff sometimes missed handwashing after wiping children's noses. Ask how hand hygiene is monitored during busy care routines, because consistent practice matters throughout the day.
• Changes between activities. Lunch preparation was a weak point in July 2022, with some children becoming distracted and behaviour deteriorating. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how children are kept involved while meals are prepared.
• Baby sleep choices. Bear Cubs offers sleep pods, mats and outdoor sleeping, with home routines followed. Discuss which arrangement will suit your baby, including clothing and the checks made during outdoor sleep.
• Preschool calendar and funded attendance. Preschool follows local term dates, while the nursery opens throughout the year. Ask which booking pattern applies to your child and how funded hours, meals and non-food supplies are treated in the written quotation.

Sandy Bear's suits families drawn to practical, exploratory play: babies have daily music and village outings, while older children can build, grow things and use the Treehouse for smaller-group work. The combination of year-round nursery opening and a term-time preschool calendar is relevant to families considering different attendance needs.

The July 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality benchmark. The improvement points deserve equal weight: hygiene and the organisation of transitions affect children's ordinary day. For parents who value natural materials, outdoor activity and communication through Famly, there is a substantial offer to consider alongside those practical questions.