Kids Planet Chorley

A dedicated sensory room gives Kids Planet Chorley a quieter counterpoint to its garden and physical play. This purpose-built nursery in Buckshaw Village combines space for exploring light, texture and sound with hands-on activities indoors and outside. The appeal is practical: children have different ways to engage, rather than one type of activity carrying the day.

The nursery has capacity for 120 children and accepts ages from 3 to 60 months. At its 19 May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. Those findings sit alongside two clear improvement priorities: keeping key-person care consistent when staff move between rooms, and helping practitioners respond more effectively when an activity loses a child's interest.

Morning, afternoon, short-day and full-day bookings give families several attendance patterns, with early and late extensions also offered.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care here: play, conversation and everyday routines contribute to learning alongside planned activities. At Chorley, hands-on experiences take place both in the building and in the garden, with practitioners using children's interests to shape what they do.

In May 2025, younger children traced shapes through flour and manipulated play dough, exercising their fingers and hands in preparation for later writing. Sports coaches also worked with staff on movement activities; older children practised jumps and hops through pirate play. These are useful examples of learning through doing. Physical skills developed through hands-on materials and imaginative games linked to children's interests.

There was a limitation, too. In May 2025, some practitioners struggled to change their approach quickly enough when children needed a different response. Some children consequently lost interest, and opportunities to take their learning further were missed. For parents, the important distinction is between having a planned activity and making that activity work for the child taking part.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden provides another setting for practical play. A separate sensory room offers gentler exploration through sound, textures and light, giving the indoor environment a different pace from active outdoor experiences.

In May 2025, children walked around the surrounding area and visited shops, where they gave flowers as a gesture of thanks. These experiences connected nursery learning with people and places beyond the building. They also gave children a concrete way to express appreciation, rather than leaving community life as an abstract idea.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2025, staff gathered information about children's interests and discussed their existing learning and parents' hopes for what came next. That information shaped planned experiences from the beginning of a placement. It made the relationship with families part of the learning process, rather than simply an exchange of practical instructions.

Each child had a key person in May 2025, but staff moves between rooms sometimes interrupted that relationship. Some new children then took longer to settle, while agreed developmental steps were not followed consistently. This is a material consideration for a child who depends on a familiar adult: allocating a key person is only part of the arrangement; continuity matters too.

Famly, the group-wide parent app used here, provides updates during the day and is included in the fee. It gives families a way to stay connected with nursery life while their child is attending.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities were supported effectively through prompt referrals, professional collaboration and targeted plans, with good progress. Simple signing and visual prompts were among the approaches used. The useful detail is the combination of outside expertise and practical adjustments to communication.

In May 2025, staff also used quieter spaces to help children pause and think about their feelings. Everyday independence developed through feeding themselves, serving food and pouring drinks, with handwashing forming part of the routine. These small actions supported preparation for school through self-care, rather than through formal tasks alone.

A chef prepared home-cooked food suited to individual dietary requirements in May 2025; current meals and snacks are freshly prepared, with dietary needs catered for.

Sessions and Attendance

Kids Planet Chorley is at Munro Court, Buckshaw Avenue, Buckshaw Village, Chorley, PR7 7EL. Opening hours are 7am to 7pm on weekdays, across 52 weeks of the year, with bank holiday closures.

A Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm, while Morning bookings finish at 1pm after a 7.30am start. Afternoon attendance runs from 1pm to 4.30pm. The Short Day is 9am to 3pm, offering a different shape of care from either half of the day.

Full Time bookings use the 7.30am to 6.30pm session window. Early Bird covers 7am to 7.30am, and Late Bird covers 6.30pm to 7pm, so the opening window and the standard Full Day are separate arrangements. Ad-hoc hourly care is also offered and costs more than regular bookings.

Families can contact the nursery on 01257 440679 or at chorley@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and private childcare are offered. The charge structure makes an important distinction between private attendance and days when early years funding is applied. Meals and snacks are included in private fees, as are wipes, nappies, sun cream and formula milk.

On days with funding applied, meals, consumables and activities carry separate charges. The charging category depends on the funded hours used that day, with half-day, short-day and full-day categories. Families should assess the complete booking cost, rather than equating funded childcare with every element of the day being included. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Continuity for a new starter. Staff moves affected settling and agreed developmental steps in May 2025. On a tour, ask how the key-person relationship is maintained when practitioners cover another room.
• Responding to children's interests. In May 2025, some interactions did not adapt quickly enough to keep children engaged. Ask for an example of how practitioners change an activity when a child needs a different approach.
• Funded-day charges. Meals, activities and consumables are charged separately on days using funding, unlike the inclusions in private fees. Request a written quotation for your exact attendance pattern, including these categories.

Kids Planet Chorley suits families comparing morning or afternoon care with a short day or full-day booking, including those needing an early or late extension. The sensory room, garden and practical movement activities give the setting useful breadth; its overall judgement was Good in May 2025.

The strongest decision point is consistency. Families should weigh the physical spaces and attendance choices alongside the improvement priorities around familiar adults and responsive interactions. For a child starting nursery, the way those arrangements work day to day matters as much as the facilities themselves.