Ambito Walton Childrens Centre

Small-scale provision and attention to individual needs shaped Ambito Walton Childrens Centre's January 2023 inspection picture. This Liverpool setting has capacity for 16 children. At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and judged safeguarding effective.

In January 2023, the centre specialised in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children attending were aged three to five. That makes its approach to communication, daily routines and personal development especially relevant to families seeking individualised care.

In January 2023, activities broke learning into manageable steps. Playing with dough helped children strengthen their hands for later writing, while transferring rice between containers developed coordination. Shaving foam offered another route into making marks: encouragement helped hesitant children try the texture and then return to the activity themselves.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, the January 2023 examples included practical play that connected physical skills with early writing. A newly introduced curriculum still needed to become established, with its impact assessed more systematically.

Outside, in January 2023, children used a slide, planks for balancing and a small trampoline. These gave opportunities to practise movement and body control. Outdoor learning nevertheless needed development: it received less attention than learning indoors, leaving children who preferred being outside with learning opportunities of a lower quality than those indoors.

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff responded sensitively to individual needs, used education, health and care plans when planning activities, and supported communication through repeated words, visual cues and simple signs. Showing a nappy before a change and signing when an activity ended helped make transitions understandable.

In January 2023, daily conversations, a link book and parent meetings connected home and nursery. These provided different ways to exchange information about a child's learning and needs. Staff also sometimes stepped in too quickly to complete tasks, reducing children's opportunities to practise doing things for themselves.

The address is Walton Childrens Centre, 99 Cavendish Drive, Liverpool, L9 1NB. Its total capacity of 16 places is a whole-setting figure, rather than a measure of how many children share an activity.

In January 2023, opening hours were 9am to 3pm during term time. That historical timetable describes a daytime setting organised around term dates.

• Curriculum and outdoor learning. In January 2023, the new curriculum needed embedding and evaluation, while outdoor learning needed development. On a visit, ask how these changes now shape activities indoors and outside.
• Independence. In January 2023, staff sometimes did tasks children could attempt themselves. Ask how practitioners balance help with opportunities to develop self-care skills.
• Attendance fit. The January 2023 opening pattern was term time, 9am to 3pm, and children attending were aged three to five. What current age range and attendance arrangements would apply to your child?

Ambito Walton Childrens Centre's January 2023 inspection picture will appeal to families who want provision centred on special educational needs and/or disabilities. Its January 2023 practice combined concrete communication aids, hands-on learning and regular exchanges with parents. The same dated picture identifies useful priorities: a more established curriculum, stronger outdoor learning and more room for children to attempt tasks independently.