St Thomas' Nursery

Beach discoveries, garden wildlife and friendships across generations give St Thomas' Nursery a recognisable character. This purpose-built Church of England nursery occupies the grounds of St Thomas' CE Primary School in St Annes, with an open-plan arrangement where children learn and play together.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its inspection spanning September and December 2025. Beach School takes learning into the coastal environment, while visits to Porrit House bring children together with older people through stories and songs.

The current age range is two to five. Care operates during term time, making the holiday calendar an important part of the family decision.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care, including language, physical development and social development through play. Development Matters and Birth to 5 Matters are guidance publications used to shape the nursery's curriculum around children's interests and the setting's priorities. They support planning alongside the EYFS; they do not replace it.

Indoors, children choose between construction, role play, books, water, sand, texture and modelling materials. Adults adapt resources to children's projects, giving them scope to revisit and develop an idea.

Children help prepare snacks, lay tables and clear up. A rolling snack arrangement lets them decide when to pause their play to eat, giving them everyday responsibility. Adults observe their choices to plan what comes next.

The Music Man sessions explore sound through instruments, recycled materials and everyday objects. Pans, wooden spoons and buckets become resources for experimenting with rhythm and pitch, giving children ways to join in beyond singing alone. Dance sessions last half an hour and combine movement sequences with listening, coordination and balance.

Outdoor and Community Life

Beach School means planned learning at the coast, with visits at least weekly. Children explore the dunes and beachfront, investigate wildlife and learn about caring for their surroundings. Beach cleaning and collecting natural materials connect environmental ideas with something they can actually do. Coastal safety is part of the experience too.

During September and December 2025, children investigated edible coastal plants and watched recordings of overnight hedgehog visits to their garden, using observation to explore nature.

Outdoor access continues throughout the day at nursery. Children need a practical waterproof coat, wellies and spare clothing, while the nursery supplies waterproof clothing. This is a setting for families comfortable with messy, weather-dependent play. The garden's nature area has a pond, and a specially fitted window allows children to watch nesting birds from indoors. Doris the tortoise and goldfish add opportunities to help care for animals.

Nursery praise at St. Thomas’ Church takes place once a half term, and the school grounds provide space for nature walks and treasure hunts. These add recurring community experiences alongside Porrit House visits.

Relationships and Communication

Each family's key person follows the child's development and provides emotional reassurance, alongside help with dressing, toileting and nappy changing. Care and learning share a familiar contact.

Settling includes an induction session with a parent before nursery begins, followed by a home visit during the first term. Information about a child's interests and routines helps staff make nursery experiences relevant to them. Bertie or Betsie Bear can visit home as another connection between the two settings, and targeted learning bags extend activities into family life.

A Learning Journey combines observations, photographs and parents' contributions to record development and plan next steps. Regular key-person drop-ins allow families to discuss concerns and agree targets.

Staff discuss potty training, diet and sleep, with formal conversations arranged when families need more time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September and December 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised the support for children with SEND, including collaboration with families and professionals, tailored experiences and persistence in obtaining funding.

Targeted Learning Plans (TLPs) set individual goals and are shared with families. Community nurses, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists contribute to individual planning. The in-house Speech and Language lead holds parent drop-ins for communication concerns, providing a specific point of contact alongside the child's key person.

Makaton uses signs and symbols alongside speech here: simple symbols are displayed around nursery, and a child-friendly sign book gives children another way to express themselves. Communication boards provide an additional resource. These mechanisms matter for children who need alternatives or support alongside spoken language, without assuming that every child will use the same approach.

All staff hold current paediatric first-aid certificates, with refresher training included in their professional development. This is a practical care arrangement, separate from the dated safeguarding judgement.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery's address is St Thomas' CE Primary School, St Thomas' Road, St Annes, FY8 1JN. It opens Monday to Friday in term time and closes for school holidays. Applications use an online form; telephone and email provide further contact routes.

The September 2025 to July 2026 timetable offered morning sessions starting at 8am, 8.30am or 9am and finishing at noon. Morning sessions including lunch had the same three starts and ended at 1.30pm. Full days also used those starts, with a choice of 3.30pm or 5pm finishes. That timetable served both shorter mornings and longer days, including a lunch-length option between them.

Sessions were charged as booked, with collection from 3pm possible by arrangement; earlier collection did not shorten the paid session.

The notice requirement is four weeks in writing, with payment, when leaving or reducing sessions. Fees remain payable for illness or holidays taken during term time, and repeated late collections attract an additional charge. These terms affect flexibility after a place has been taken up.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts funded childcare for two-, three- and four-year-olds and caters for 15 and 30 hours entitlement. Provision is term time. Funding can cover all or part of attendance, with remaining hours charged privately; this describes how attendance is billed rather than guaranteeing an individual family's eligibility.

Snacks, milk and milk alternatives are included in the fee, while parents supply lunch and, where needed, a light tea; the same food arrangement applies when funded hours cover attendance. The lunchbox policy asks families to exclude nuts, nut products and freshly cooked egg products.

Non-food items have a mixed arrangement. Parents provide nappies and supply nappy cream or suncream when their preferred brand differs from those supplied by nursery. Additional sundries carry no separate charge, including within the funded-hours arrangement. Dance, Christmas parties and the end-of-year beach trip are also included in fees.

A non-refundable retainer confirms the place and covers the starter uniform items. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and sessions page sets out the charge structure.

The nursery describes St.Thomas School as its partner and works with school staff on transition. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. Familiarity with the school site supports preparation for moving on, but the admissions decision remains separate.

• Term-time booking. Care follows a term-time calendar, and the detailed session timetable covers September 2025 to July 2026. At a visit, ask which morning, lunch-length and full-day patterns apply to your intended start date, and match holiday closures to your working year.
• Shared space and individual support. Children play together in an open-plan setting, with individual plans and professional involvement for SEND. Discuss how your child's communication, mobility or quieter-play needs would be accommodated within that shared day.
• Coastal outings. Beach School runs at least weekly, and parents and other volunteers help make outings possible. Explore how visits fit your child's attendance pattern and what participation would involve for your family.
• Lunchbox allergies. Lunch comes from home, with restrictions on nuts and freshly cooked egg products. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food-handling practice and their child's care arrangements before starting.

St Thomas' suits families seeking term-time care built around outdoor exploration, practical independence and close communication with a key person. Its attendance model has served both morning-session families and those using full days, with lunch-length mornings adding another option.

Beach School, shared experiences with Porrit House residents and individual learning plans give parents clear things to weigh. The school setting also provides opportunities for transition work, while leaving Reception applications separate. For a child who enjoys shared play, nature and everyday responsibilities, there is a coherent nursery experience here.