Community Family Services Childcare Centre

Books borrowed for home, eggs hatching in incubators and children choosing vegetables from a visiting van: the March 2023 picture of Community Family Services Childcare Centre was full of learning with a practical purpose. Language ran through it all, from songs to conversations about growing things. Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 21 March 2023.

At Breckfield Centre in Liverpool’s Everton area, the nursery has capacity for 48 children from birth to five years. Its single-level layout brings together Little stars, Twinkle stars and Super stars, with outdoor space that includes a separate area for the youngest children. That combination gives families a clear progression through age groups within one setting.

Current care arrangements include Tapestry, which records children’s development, and trained SENCO staff. Opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year.

Rooms and Ages

Little stars takes children aged 0-2 years, Twinkle stars covers 2-3 years and Super stars serves 3-5 years; all three rooms have access to toilets and a large outdoor area, with a separate outdoor section for children aged 0-2. The rooms are on one level and fully accessible. For families comparing settings, the useful physical detail is the youngest children’s separate outdoor space, alongside the nursery’s accessible layout.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework sets expectations for children’s care, development and learning from birth to five. Here, that means supporting children’s individual development through their experiences and relationships, with practitioners and parents working together. Tapestry documents that learning, giving the nursery a way to record each child’s development rather than treating the room as a single group moving at one pace.

In March 2023, communication threaded through everyday activities. Singing took place across the rooms, family members visited as a weekly mystery reader to share books, and children borrowed books from the lending library for reading at home. Reading therefore connected nursery life with family life. The visitor element also gave children a reason to listen to someone beyond their usual practitioners.

Practical investigation supplied another strand that March. Older children discussed what might be inside a large egg and explored how to look after it; real eggs then hatched in incubators, making the life cycle of chickens something they could observe. Toddlers made play dough and took part in daily dough gym sessions involving the dough. These were hands-on experiences, with conversation growing out of what children were doing.

Outdoor and Community Life

In March 2023, the outdoor area supported road-safety role play, including practising crossings at traffic lights. Outings to museums and the local library involved public transport, connecting learning with places beyond the nursery. Children also talked about caring for plants they had grown, including sunflowers planted for Mother’s Day. The common thread was participation: growing, travelling and practising everyday skills, rather than simply hearing about them.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described successful support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language. Those are dated judgements, supported by attention to individual learning needs and work with other professionals.

Today, the nursery has two trained SENCO staff and two staff with level 2 SEND training on site. Its fully accessible, single-level premises are another concrete part of the offer. These are useful mechanisms for families considering additional support: identified roles and an accessible environment, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

Tapestry records children’s learning and development, while the nursery works with parents and carers to support individual needs. In March 2023, that partnership included help with toilet training and collaboration with professionals. Staff also maintained relationships with the schools children were preparing to join. The transition work was about preparing children for their next stage and connecting the adults supporting them.

Independence was visible in small routines that March. Children dished up lunch, poured drinks and cleared unwanted food into containers afterwards. Yoga and meditation were also part of their experiences. Choosing fruit and vegetables from the weekly visiting van connected food with active decision-making, giving children opportunities to talk about what they ate and why.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Breckfield Centre, Breckfield Road North, Liverpool, L5 4QT. The nursery is attached to the BNENC Community Centre in Everton and opens Monday to Friday, 8am to 5.30pm, for 50 weeks each year. The annual calendar matters as much as the daily closing time for families arranging work and other care.

Enquiries can be made on 0151 345 5155 or by email to info@communityfamilyservices.co.uk. There is also an online contact form and a nursery application form. These provide direct routes into the joining process.

Getting There

A car park is available, and the nursery occupies one level with an accessible layout. The latter is a useful practical feature for families whose choice depends on access within the building.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 hours and 30 hours of funded childcare for children aged two and three, subject to family status. Participation in funding is therefore part of the offer, but the stated condition matters: it is not an entitlement promised to every family using the nursery.

• The youngest children’s space. Little stars serves children aged 0-2 and has a separate outdoor area for that age group. On a visit, ask how the room organises sleep and settling alongside active play.
• Care across the year. Opening spans 50 weeks, with a 5.30pm closing time. Ask which attendance patterns can be booked, which weeks the nursery closes, and how the funded hours fit those arrangements, including the treatment of meals and consumables.
• Individual support. Two trained SENCO staff and two staff with level 2 SEND training are on site. Discuss how those roles would support your child and how plans would connect with the information recorded through Tapestry.

Community Family Services Childcare Centre suits families seeking care for children from birth to five in an accessible setting, with documented learning and identified SEND roles. The separate outdoor area for the youngest children is a useful physical feature, while Tapestry gives development an ongoing record.

The March 2023 picture adds substance: books travelled home, family readers visited, eggs hatched and everyday routines gave children jobs to do for themselves. This was learning grounded in participation. For families whose schedules fit an 8am opening and 5.30pm finish across 50 weeks, there is a clear practical offer alongside that dated inspection picture.