Buckshaw Village Nursery

A swimming pool within The Hub at Buckshaw gives Buckshaw Village Nursery a recognisable setting beyond its rooms. The nursery shares this Unity Place address with Splash and Cappuccino, bringing childcare, swimming and a café together on one site. For families, that is a practical combination rather than simply a list of facilities.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 26 January 2022. Its strongest inspection-era details were concrete: older children went swimming each week, families could borrow books, and children took part in recycling and litter picking. These examples give the judgement substance, while remaining an account of nursery life in January 2022.

There are 111 places in total, with an accepted age range of 2 to 120 months across the provision. Alongside nursery care, The Hub includes an out-of-school club, so that whole-setting age range should not be read as one nursery group.

Rooms and Ages

The room teams are organised under The Caterpillars, The Butterflies, Lower Buckshaw 1, Lower Buckshaw 2, Upper Buckshaw 1 and Upper Buckshaw 2. Each room has a senior practitioner responsible for its planning and daily organisation. That gives families a room-level point of responsibility, rather than leaving the organisation of the day solely with central management.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, this connects play and conversation with growing independence, physical skills and relationships.

In January 2022, babies practised feeding themselves with forks and cooling their food before eating. Younger children joined in familiar story passages and used conversation during dinosaur role-play. Older children recalled colour mixing and discussed suitable clothing for cold weather while working with gingerbread dough. Everyday activities carried several purposes: using language, remembering earlier learning and making decisions for themselves.

During that same month, favourite games encouraged babies to repeat words and sing familiar songs. Children also took turns in imaginative play without needing staff prompts. For parents, these are useful examples of how practitioners could encourage participation while allowing children to do things independently.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2022, older children had weekly swimming sessions, including children receiving additional early years funding. They practised entering the water safely, responding to instructions and swimming across the pool. This brought physical learning into an activity with its own routines and responsibilities.

Recycling and community litter picking also formed part of children's experiences in January 2022. Environmental ideas became practical tasks they could take part in. These activities extended the nursery day beyond toys and stories into looking after shared surroundings.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2022, key persons had used video messages during lockdown to help children reconnect with nursery life. A lending library and language materials gave parents ways to continue vocabulary work at home. The useful principle was continuity: familiar adults supported children's return, while books and language resources connected home learning with nursery activities.

A mindfulness programme in January 2022 included peer massage as part of work on emotions. This was a specific activity within the programme, rather than a general promise about wellbeing. Children had opportunities to practise being calm and considerate with one another.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its January 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and SEND support outstanding, highlighting early intervention, individually targeted help and substantial progress. Those are dated judgements, with practical detail behind them.

Current SEND arrangements include a person responsible for co-ordination and training, procedures for identifying difficulties early, involvement of parents in decisions, and work with outside professionals. These mechanisms matter because support requires someone to organise it and a route for bringing family knowledge into decisions. Room leadership and SEND co-ordination sit alongside one another, connecting daily planning with additional support.

A nursery chef role is also part of the team. Food provision therefore has a dedicated staff role alongside the room practitioners.

Sessions and Attendance

A full-day session runs from 7.30am to 6pm, with a minimum booking of two days each week. There is also a recommended eight-hour day taken within that opening window, again with a two-day weekly minimum. The distinction matters: choosing hours within the day and booking the whole session are different arrangements.

Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm. The nursery operates across the year and closes on bank holidays. That pattern supports a regular working-week routine, while the closure days still need to fit family plans.

Getting There

The address is Unity Place, Buckshaw Village, Chorley, PR7 7HZ, within The Hub at Buckshaw. The Hub is just off the M6, and nursery enquiries can be made on 01772 456108 or through the enquiry form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible working families may receive 30 funded hours per week for children from nine months to four years. Funded hours run during 38 term-time weeks each year, with full fees applying during the remaining opening weeks. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; families should distinguish the childcare hours they are booking from the overall cost of their chosen arrangement.

• Two-day commitment. Both the full-day session and recommended eight-hour arrangement carry a minimum of two days per week. This is a material consideration for a family seeking care on just one regular day.
• Your child's room. The Caterpillars, The Butterflies and the Lower and Upper Buckshaw teams have room-level leadership. During a visit, ask how your child's daily routine and settling would work in their room.
• Funded attendance. The 30-hour offer needs to fit the attendance pattern you want. What would a written quotation cover for your chosen hours, food and non-food consumables?

Buckshaw Village Nursery suits families considering full-day sessions or flexible hours through the recommended eight-hour arrangement, provided the two-day weekly commitment works for them. Its place within The Hub adds a swimming pool and café to the setting, while room leadership and SEND co-ordination give the current offer practical structure. The January 2022 examples of swimming, language resources and community tasks show why its inspection judgement deserves attention, with their age kept clearly in view.