Lizard C H I L D Trust

Daily movement, practical help for families and a nursery building within school grounds give Lizard C H I L D Trust a clear identity. Based in the Elliot Buildings at St Michael's School in Helston, this community charity combines early years childcare with projects that reach beyond the nursery rooms. Its Cost of Living Fund and Surviving Winter Fund offer help when household finances come under pressure. That wider family role is a substantial part of its appeal.

At its April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The nursery has capacity for 42 children, with a current age range from six months to five years. Hatchlings, Little Lizards and Lively Lizards mark the progression from baby care towards preschool, while Healthy Movers and daily Wake and Shake bring movement into the learning day.

Attendance choices include full days, shorter days, morning and afternoon sessions, alongside breakfast and after-school care. This is a setting with several ways to organise childcare, rather than one attendance pattern for every family.

Rooms and Ages

Hatchlings is the baby group, with an upper age of 18 months, and its emphasis is on understanding each baby's personal needs through close relationships with parents; babies also mix with Little Lizards. For families choosing their first childcare, that exchange about individual routines matters as much as the activities themselves.

Little Lizards serves toddlers and children approaching their third birthday, combining outdoor and indoor experiences with sensory exploration, movement, language and shared stories. Books and resources also support learning about other people. The nursery team works with health visitors and other professionals when children need that involvement, connecting the room's everyday care with support beyond the setting.

Lively Lizards, in the Pre-School Room, uses sensory experiences shaped around children's interests, with an emphasis on communication, confidence and independence. Consistent key workers and a structured routine give children familiar adults and a predictable shape to their day. The progression is towards doing more for themselves, rather than simply moving into an older group.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the statutory framework for children's care, development and learning: here, play, conversation, stories and practical exploration give that learning a daily form. Alongside it, Healthy Movers uses activity cards and simple physical exercises to develop movement skills. Wake and Shake is a daily session of music and movement after morning registration, used across the rooms. These are concrete additions to the day, with children taking part physically rather than only listening to instructions.

Small-group work includes numeracy and phonics, explained as awareness of sounds. Practitioners also use this work to help identify children who may need additional support. For parents, the useful combination is attention to early learning alongside an opportunity to notice where a child needs a different pace or approach.

In April 2023, learning followed connected themes: an Easter sequence moved from discovering birds' eggs to meeting visiting chicks, while dough activities gave older children time to concentrate and create. The same visit identified a need for more demanding activities for older children. A busy activity table is therefore only part of the picture; the next step in a child's learning deserves equal attention.

Outdoor and Community Life

In April 2023, children could move freely outside, where balancing, climbing and sliding developed physical skills. Older children built a course using planks and cones, negotiating how to use it together. A sandpit supported babies' imaginative beach play, while preschool children explored fruit, vegetables and water in an outdoor kitchen. These were practical experiences of sharing, experimenting and making decisions with other children.

Community activity adds experiences beyond the nursery building. Preschool children have visited the Cornish Seal Sanctuary to learn about rescued seals, and library walks for story time sit alongside visits from a librarian. These outings connect books and conversations with people and places children can encounter beyond their room. The sanctuary visit is an example of a trip, rather than a promise of a recurring schedule.

Relationships and Communication

Key workers build relationships with preschool children and their families, while the baby team works with parents to understand personal care needs. These arrangements give families identifiable adults with whom to share the details that matter to their child. Consistency has practical value when a child's routines or needs change.

In April 2023, managers sought formal parent feedback and used it to make changes, including alterations to opening hours. Military families received support, and a crisis fund and toy library helped households facing financial difficulty. The current Cost of Living Fund and Surviving Winter Fund continue the charity's practical family-support role. Childcare and community help sit alongside one another here.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good developmental progress, supported by an experienced coordinator and sign language embedded in nursery practice. Current arrangements include a SEND coordinator with a one-to-one support role covering communication, social and emotional needs, and complex needs. The team also includes a safeguarding lead, and staff receive first-aid training.

In April 2023, visual prompts helped children learning English as an additional language, and staff learnt words from children's home languages. Preschool activities explored countries and cultural celebrations. Younger children's experiences, however, needed broader opportunities to develop understanding and respect for diversity. That distinction between age groups matters when assessing how inclusion works across the nursery.

A cook is part of the nursery team. Paid sessions include specified meals or snacks, depending on their length, while cooked lunch is charged separately during funded sessions.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, operating for 51 weeks of the year with bank holidays and a week at Christmas excluded. The September 2025 session schedule gives families several day lengths: Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm, Long Day from 9am to 6pm, Short Day Plus from 8am to 4.30pm and Short Day from 9am to 4.30pm. School Day runs from 9am to 3pm.

Shorter bookings have their own boundaries. Half Day AM runs from 8am to 1pm and Half Day PM from 1pm to 6pm; Morning Session runs from 9am to noon, Afternoon Session from 1pm to 3pm, and Long Afternoon Session from 1pm to 4.30pm. Those differences matter when matching childcare with work or other family commitments: a morning session and a morning half day cover different parts of the day.

Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am. After School Club can be booked from 3pm to 4.30pm, from 4.30pm to 6pm, or across both sessions. For children aged five to eleven, Chameleon Holiday Club provides holiday care from 8am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays and the Christmas closure. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01326 573338.

Getting There

The address is Elliot Building, c/o St Michael's School, Penberthy Road, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 8AR. The nursery occupies its own purpose-built accommodation within the school grounds.

Reception teachers from St Michaels School join preschool play sessions during the summer term, and key workers can accompany children on classroom visits; other local primary teachers are also offered opportunities to meet children. These are transition arrangements: nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place, and families must apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

The September 2025 terms offer 30 hours funding for eligible working parents from the term after their child turns nine months. The session and fee schedule is for term-time bookings; the nursery's wider operation continues across 51 weeks. Private paid childcare is also offered, with current prices supplied in the nursery's written quotation.

Meals and snacks are included as specified for each paid session, but funded sessions carry a separate cooked-lunch charge. Non-food consumables are charged through a termly auxiliary fee covering seasonal resources such as sun cream and wet-weather clothing. Families comparing funded and paid attendance should account for those categories separately.

A deposit is required when a place is confirmed, with its level depending on funding eligibility, and is credited against the final invoice. Fees are paid monthly in advance, and ending a place requires a month's written notice. The fees page provides the route to the nursery's price information.

• Challenge for older children. In April 2023, activities did not consistently take older children's learning far enough. On a visit, ask how practitioners adapt an activity once a child has mastered its first stage.
• Younger children's understanding of difference. The April 2023 improvement point concerned broader diversity experiences for younger children. Ask for examples from the Hatchlings and Little Lizards day, rather than relying on the preschool programme alone.
• Funded attendance and extras. The September 2025 terms separate cooked lunch on funded sessions and a termly charge for seasonal resources. A written quotation should distinguish funded hours, paid hours and these additional costs, and set out how funding fits the chosen sessions.

Lizard C H I L D Trust suits families who value movement, practical learning and a charity that also supports household wellbeing. Its attendance choices serve both full-day bookings and shorter morning or afternoon sessions, with wraparound and holiday care extending the offer for older children. School transition work is another useful feature, while the April 2023 improvement priorities make the level of preschool challenge and younger children's diversity experiences sensible points to explore before choosing.