Partou Little Oaks Day Nursery & Pre-school

A baby sensory room, sheltered soft play and gardens at both the front and back give Little Oaks a clear physical character. This Accrington town-centre nursery combines spaces for quieter exploration with opportunities to move, balance and play outdoors. The mix matters for children whose interests and energy change through the day.

Partou Little Oaks Day Nursery & Pre-school has capacity for 63 children, accepting babies and children up to 60 months. At its April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with strengths in children's independence and relationships alongside improvements needed in staff coaching and language teaching.

Attendance options include full days, mornings and afternoons, with an early drop-off session also offered. Both year-round and term-time attendance are supported, with different arrangements for spreading funded hours.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and practical experiences support learning alongside everyday care. Alongside that framework, Partou's group-wide child-led approach emphasises children's choices, curiosity and confidence. At Little Oaks, activities are shaped around children's interests, with arts and crafts and areas for imaginative role play.

Physical provision gives that approach somewhere to happen. The sensory room uses colour and lighting for babies to explore, while the sheltered play area includes soft play equipment for movement and balance. Outside, soft flooring, dens and flower beds provide different places to explore. These are useful distinctions for parents weighing the experience of a baby against that of an older child.

In April 2023, children could choose activities indoors and outside, including making marks at large easels. Younger children used thick chalk, while older children practised cutting with scissors. Those examples connected creative play with the hand control needed for early writing.

Number learning was equally practical in April 2023. Children explored the relationship between dice patterns and numbers and spotted numbers around them. Babies joined in with rhymes, and staff talked during play. For older children, however, conversations sometimes stopped at brief answers instead of helping them explain an idea in fuller language.

Outdoor and Community Life

Front and back gardens extend the current outdoor offer beyond the sheltered play space. Children can explore the gardens as well as the larger outdoor area, giving outdoor play several different settings within the nursery.

In April 2023, planting herbs gave children something living to watch change over time. Sending letters to the royal family introduced the workings of the postal system. These were concrete ways to explore how the world works, linking children's questions to something they could do themselves.

Dedicated key workers and online learning journals connect parents with their child's nursery experience. Progress updates are included within the care fee, so communication forms part of the childcare arrangement rather than a separate paid extra. A named role for the child's day and a written account of learning provide two different points of contact with nursery life.

In April 2023, familiar domestic details helped children settle: home-style play spaces included full-size sofas and framed photographs. Staff also used illustrated emotion stones and books to help children put feelings into words. The practical emphasis was on recognising an upset and helping a child express it.

Parent communication in April 2023 included guidance on toilet training, dental care and internet safety. Older children also practised everyday independence by helping themselves to lunch and drinks. That made routine care part of learning, with children taking responsibility for manageable tasks.

Seasonal meals are cooked at the nursery. In April 2023, dietary preferences and needs were considered, with vegetable stew and pasta among the meals children ate.

The April 2023 improvement priorities deserve attention alongside these details. Coaching and supervision did not consistently pick up weaknesses in teaching, and some interactions failed to sustain children's interest. Staff also needed to help older children develop a broader vocabulary and explain their thinking, rather than accepting one-word replies.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 10 Cannon Street, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 1NJ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays. Those hours include an early drop-off period; the full-day booking runs from 8am to 6pm.

Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. Early drop-off is a separate session from 7.30am to 8am. This gives families a choice between a full day and either part of the day, with an additional early start where needed.

Bank holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year are closures, and Christmas Eve has a 4pm finish. Charges cover 51 weeks, including bank holidays, so the billing calendar and the days children attend are worth considering together.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Lancashire Local Authority. For eligible families, funding typically covers 15 or 30 hours a week across 38 term-time weeks, with a maximum of 10 funded hours a day; for year-round attendance, the entitlement is stretched across 51 weeks, giving 11.17 or 22.35 funded hours a week respectively. Funding covers the care element of the bill.

Meals and snacks are charged separately from care, as are consumables, including nappies, wet wipes and sun cream. Both categories remain chargeable during funded sessions. Families therefore need to distinguish funded care from the other components of their total childcare cost; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

On joining, a non-refundable registration charge or a deposit to reserve the place applies, subject to the relevant eligibility terms. The branch enquiry form accepts requests about fees and visits, with a visit date and preferred part of the day submitted before an exact time is confirmed.

• Teaching and conversation. April 2023 priorities concerned staff coaching and older children's vocabulary. During a visit, ask how staff now sustain an activity and help children develop an answer beyond a single word.
• Funded attendance and extras. Year-round funding is spread across 51 weeks, while food and consumables remain separately charged even in funded sessions. Request a written quotation for the attendance pattern you intend to use.
• Babies' daily routine. The baby sensory room and sheltered soft play offer different experiences. Ask how settling and rest fit around your baby's routine and use of those spaces.

Little Oaks suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance in Accrington town centre. Its strongest practical assets are the baby sensory room, several outdoor spaces and a clear separation of care, food and consumables charges. The April 2023 picture of hands-on learning and growing independence is useful, but the teaching and language priorities make the quality of everyday adult conversation an important point to explore.