Partou Old School House Day Nursery & Pre-School

Shape matching, friendships and children serving lunch to one another give Old School House’s January 2022 nursery day its character. These are useful details for parents who want everyday learning to include both problem-solving and growing independence.

Partou Old School House Day Nursery & Pre-School serves babies and children up to 60 months old on Parker Street in Chorley. At its 19 January 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. That assessment belongs to the nursery’s practice at that time.

In January 2022, babies had space to practise movement with toy prams, pretend vacuum cleaners and brooms. The resources connected physical activity with familiar household play: movement had a purpose rather than being a separate exercise.

Children investigated shapes and searched for matching objects in January 2022. Adults used questions to extend these activities, while children brought number and shape vocabulary into their play. This gives parents a concrete picture of how mathematical learning worked during that period.

The early years foundation stage sets requirements for children’s learning, development and care. Here, the January 2022 examples connect that framework with movement, mathematical exploration and learning to cooperate.

Community participation also featured in January 2022. Children contributed food through a harvest activity for people needing help, giving discussions about kindness a practical expression.

In January 2022, staff had clear learning intentions and gave children opportunities to revisit skills and knowledge. The mathematical questioning and babies’ movement resources were examples of that planning in action. For parents, these details show the relationship between an activity and what children were learning through it: familiar play materials were being used with an educational purpose, rather than simply occupying children’s time.

At the January 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children needing additional help benefited from early identification, individual support plans and links with external professionals, with parents supported to meet those needs at home. For families considering SEND support, the useful detail is the combination of a child-specific plan and help beyond the nursery team.

Relationships were visible in ordinary routines in January 2022. Children took turns helping to serve their friends at lunch and encouraged each other to taste different foods. A cook prepared their food, and mealtimes gave children opportunities to talk together.

In January 2022, adults responded attentively to individual children and offered physical affection, while children showed consideration for friends and worked towards adults’ high expectations of behaviour. Care therefore extended beyond practical routines to the way adults and children related to one another. The lunchtime example makes that social element concrete: children had a role in helping their peers, as well as eating alongside them.

Safeguarding practice in January 2022 included staff recognising possible signs of abuse and knowing how to respond to a concern. New team members were included in that understanding. Suitability checks for adults working with children, risk assessments across the provision and safeguarding training also formed part of the arrangements. These are the practical measures behind the dated safeguarding judgement, and distinguish staff knowledge from the checks and procedures used by management.

The address is Parker Street, Chorley, PR7 1ES. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Those closures matter when planning childcare around work.

In January 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds. This is an inspection-time funding position rather than a promise about an individual family’s entitlement.

• Early reading. The January 2022 improvement action concerned adults demonstrating speech sounds accurately during phonics activities. On a visit, ask how staff now teach these sounds and support the first steps towards reading and writing.
• Christmas cover. The nursery closes for one week at Christmas as well as bank holidays. Families working through that period will need to plan around the closure.
• Your child’s support plan. Individual plans and external professional involvement featured in January 2022. Discuss how a plan for your child would connect nursery care with support at home.

Old School House suits families seeking weekday childcare across the year who value learning through practical play and social routines. Its January 2022 account contains concrete examples of mathematical exploration, purposeful movement and children helping one another. Early sound teaching was the improvement priority, making that a useful topic for a visit alongside discussion of a child’s individual needs.