Cobholm and Lichfield Childcare Centre, UK

Nine babies in Angelfish, two toddler rooms and preschool rooms with direct access outdoors give this purpose-built Great Yarmouth nursery a clear shape. The youngest room's published cap is useful for parents comparing baby care: it describes that room, rather than the size of the whole centre. Cobholm and Lichfield Childcare Centre, UK takes children from 3 months to 59 months and has 78 places in total.

At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with strengths in children's independence, communication and relationships, alongside improvements needed in healthy-food learning, curriculum delivery and challenging gender stereotypes. That is a balanced starting point. The positive findings matter, but so do the specific weaknesses, especially for families considering the preschool rooms.

Care runs from Pasteur Road, Great Yarmouth, NR31 0DW. Attendance choices include morning and afternoon sessions, longer sessions spanning meals and a full day; the practical differences are set out below.

Rooms and Ages

Angelfish serves babies from birth to 2.5 years, with a maximum of 9 at one time, age-appropriate resources and activities planned around each child's interests and development. Its room age band starts younger than the centre's accepted starting age, so the whole-setting age range remains the guide to joining. The small published room cap deserves attention when comparing provision for a younger baby.

Jellyfish takes children aged 2 to 3 years, accommodates up to 12 per session and combines construction, pretend play, puzzles, creative activities and sand or water experiences with an emphasis on language, social development and movement. These are concrete choices for toddlers who learn by handling materials, trying things out and interacting with other children.

Starfish also serves children aged 2 to 3 years, with a session cap of 12, and builds its account of each child's development through starting observations, a progress summary and Learning Story records. Families can contribute photographs and experiences from home. That gives practitioners information about the child beyond nursery activities, rather than making the learning record solely a staff account.

Dolphins and Sharks are the preschool rooms, described in their room text as serving 3- and 4-year-olds, each with space for up to 20 children and supervised access between indoor activities and the outside area. The choice between inside and outside is part of the room arrangement, rather than outdoor play being confined to a single group outing. Each child's key person plans activities around their development and interests.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and development: here, play and planned activities connect with children's interests and their next steps. It is the common early-years foundation, rather than an extra programme exclusive to this nursery. In Angelfish, planning responds to individual babies day by day; in Dolphins and Sharks, personal interests help shape changing activities as children approach school.

In June 2023, babies' early sounds received responsive attention, with adults repeating noises and introducing simple words. Pictures and signs also helped children understand communication, while stories, singing and conversation gave them opportunities to practise. For parents, the useful detail is the variety of ways staff supported children to express themselves, including before spoken language was established.

The same June 2023 picture contained a specific teaching weakness: some letter sounds were pronounced incorrectly, affecting the knowledge children needed for later reading and writing. Gender stereotypes also needed more deliberate challenge. Hairdressing resources represented racial diversity, but their gender representation and some adult interactions could reinforce stereotypes. These were practical curriculum issues, not simply recommendations to add more activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2023, outdoor spaces catered for different age groups and supported active movement alongside quieter learning. Children could balance and climb, use sensory materials, draw or share stories. That combination matters because outdoor time could involve both physical play and the kinds of conversation and exploration also taking place indoors.

For today's preschool room arrangement, Dolphins and Sharks have direct indoor-outdoor access under staff supervision. This is the clearest current physical feature of the older children's day: activities can extend beyond the room while children retain a choice of where to play.

Relationships and Communication

Angelfish's daily diary records sleep, nappy changes, meals and milk feeds, including how much a baby has taken. For parents of a child who cannot yet explain their day, this is practical continuity between nursery and home. The detail helps families understand feeding and rest rather than relying on a general account of whether the day went well.

Starfish's All about me booklets establish information about children at the start, while the Learning Story lets families add photographs of outings or family experiences. These records have different purposes: one helps staff get to know the child; the other allows the account of development to grow with contributions from home.

In June 2023, settling arrangements were planned carefully, and children changing rooms retained access to a familiar adult. Daily exchanges with parents were detailed. Room moves therefore involved continuity of relationships as well as a change of space, an important distinction for children who take time to become comfortable with new adults.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND making good progress through early identification and work involving parents and other services. Current staff roles include a SENCO and designated safeguarding leads, providing identifiable responsibilities for additional needs and safeguarding arrangements.

In June 2023, staff supported children calmly as they learned safe behaviour and cooperation. Children practised washing their hands and serving food themselves, building everyday independence. However, adults needed to explain healthy food choices and the effects of different foods more clearly; encouraging a child to taste something unfamiliar did not, by itself, provide that understanding.

The staffing snapshot is also dated: in June 2023, the nursery employed 26 people, of whom 23 held early-years qualifications. Those figures describe the team at that visit, rather than current room deployment.

School preparation has a practical mechanism in Dolphins and Sharks. A preschool co-ordinator organises transitions so children become familiar with their new school before leaving the nursery. This is preparation for the move, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm. The centre operates through the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Its attendance menu allows families to choose around meals and the part of the day they need, rather than treating the opening window as the only booking option.

Three-hour sessions run from 9am to noon or 1pm to 4pm. The four-and-a-half-hour choices are 7.30am to noon, 8.30am to 1pm, noon to 4.30pm and 1pm to 5.30pm; each includes breakfast, lunch or tea according to its timing. Five-and-a-half-hour sessions run from 7.30am to 1pm or noon to 5.30pm and span two meals.

Longer attendance can run from 8.30am to 4pm or 9am to 4.30pm, with lunch included in those seven-and-a-half-hour sessions. The full-day option runs from 7.30am to 5.30pm and includes breakfast, lunch and tea. Families can therefore compare a short session, a meal-spanning morning or afternoon, and a full day on their actual timings.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01493 418291 or by email to office@cobholmdaynursery.co.uk. The address is Pasteur Road, Great Yarmouth, NR31 0DW.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered, with 15- and 30-hour entitlements and a stretched equivalent of 22.5 hours across the year. The working-parent entitlement includes children from 9 months, subject to eligibility. Funding can be applied across the session choices; where it covers only part of a session, the remaining portion is charged privately.

Meals, snacks and consumables are included when a session is paid for entirely privately. For sessions funded wholly or partly through the entitlement, those items are charged separately; families unable to pay can discuss alternative arrangements with management. This distinction matters when comparing the cost of the same attendance pattern under different payment arrangements.

Additional sessions outside a child's usual booking are charged in full. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the sessions and fees page explains how funded hours and session charges fit together.

• Preschool teaching. In June 2023, accurate letter sounds and consistent delivery of the planned curriculum needed attention. During a visit, ask how Dolphins and Sharks now approach early sounds and support staff to teach them accurately.
• Everyday learning. Healthy-food understanding and deliberate challenge to gender stereotypes were June 2023 improvement priorities. Ask for current examples of how these topics enter activities and adult conversations.
• Funded-session costs. Meals, snacks and consumables attract separate charges when funding covers a session wholly or partly. Compare a written quotation for your chosen pattern, including any alternative arrangements relevant to your family.

Cobholm and Lichfield suits families choosing between shorter morning or afternoon sessions and longer attendance, including a full day. Angelfish's baby-room cap, detailed daily diaries and the preschool rooms' indoor-outdoor access give parents concrete features to weigh. Starfish's family contributions to learning records add another useful connection between home and nursery.

The June 2023 Good judgement sits alongside specific teaching and curriculum improvements. For a family considering preschool, the most useful visit discussion will centre on how those improvements now shape the day. For a younger child, room organisation and continuity of care are the stronger practical starting points.