Sandfield Park Private Day Nursery

A garden divided for different kinds of play, a sensory room with programmable light and sound, and lessons from Signing Angels Ltd and Passport Language Solutions give Sandfield Park Private Day Nursery a recognisable character. This purpose-built West Derby setting combines space for physical play with smaller experiences in communication, language and exploration. There is substance behind the room names.

At its 2 February 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and described strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, while identifying weaknesses in staff deployment at busy times and consistent hygiene practice. Later regulatory findings also matter to the decision, including a supervision incident notified in February 2024 and a failure to notify a significant event identified in November 2024.

The nursery takes children from birth to five, with six rooms separating younger children from the preschool stages. The nursery is registered for 195 places. Full-day care and morning or afternoon sessions serve different attendance needs. The appeal is the combination of outdoor access, sensory equipment and named language providers; the caution is that care routines and regulatory responsibilities deserve careful attention alongside those facilities.

Rooms and Ages

Buttercup and Daisy serve the under-twos, with resources placed within children's reach and a garden reserved for their age group. That separation gives the youngest children outdoor resources chosen for their stage rather than requiring them to share every space with older children.

For children aged two to three, Violet and Bluebell combine accessible resources with an emphasis on independence, including serving themselves at meals. These are practical opportunities to make choices and take part in everyday routines, rather than independence remaining an abstract ambition.

Tulip and Sunflower serve children aged three to five: Tulip accommodates the younger preschool children and has continuous access to the large garden, while Sunflower accommodates the older children on a mezzanine floor. The different layouts matter when considering how a child moves between indoor activities and outdoor play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, covering relationships, communication and movement alongside early reading, mathematics, understanding the world and creative activity. It is the common foundation for the nursery day. Sandfield Park adds specific language lessons to that foundation, with providers and session days attached to the age groups.

Signing Angels Ltd provides BSL sign language lessons for the two-to-three-year-olds on Wednesday afternoons. Preschool children also have BSL lessons on Monday or Tuesday, plus Spanish with Passport Language Solutions on Friday mornings. These lessons carry no additional charge, making them part of the regular offer rather than a separate purchase for parents.

In February 2024, babies explored concealed toy farm animals during singing, toddlers used a story about porridge as the starting point for play, and preschool children counted a spider's legs outdoors. Those examples connect language, imaginative activity and early number work to something children can handle or observe. They are useful illustrations of the day at that time, rather than promises that a particular activity happens every week.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor access extends across the nursery in all weather. The larger garden includes a climbing frame, a swing and a slide, while the sensory garden contains herbs, a vegetable patch and flowers that attract insects. There are different reasons to go outside: moving vigorously, investigating growing things, or noticing small changes in the natural world.

Inside, children have daily access to the sensory room. An interactive projector, a bubble tube, fibre optic glow lights and equipment for light and sound allow its atmosphere to be adjusted for quieter exploration or more stimulating activity. It offers a different kind of space from the main play rooms, which is valuable when comparing the nursery's physical provision.

In February 2024, older children used balance bicycles outside, while younger children handled dough of different textures and firmness. Music and movement also featured. These examples show how physical activity could involve both whole-body movement and the smaller hand movements used in later everyday tasks.

A key person is allocated to each child, with responsibility for getting to know them, planning around their needs and observing development. This gives families an identifiable practitioner to speak to about their child. Termly tracking across the nursery also brings children's progress into discussion across the staff team, rather than leaving observations isolated in individual rooms.

Two in-house SENCOs provide a route for additional support. When a key person raises a concern, parents are involved before further observation and a joint decision about the next steps. Individual Educational Plans are evaluated, plans and records are shared with parents, and the nursery works with other professionals, including during transition to another setting or school. These are concrete mechanisms for discussing a child's needs.

Communication includes opportunities to meet the key person, information about children's activities through displays, newsletters and parent meetings. In February 2024, families also received activities for learning at home, and staff had helped families reach other professionals for early intervention. That dated example adds practical meaning to parent partnership: communication could lead to an action, rather than simply an update.

Staff attend regular training, and the management structure includes a curriculum leader. For families, the useful point is how ongoing learning and curriculum oversight connect with everyday practice. The February 2024 findings exposed a gap at busy periods, when staff positioning did not consistently help children understand the next part of their routine; staff also sometimes omitted handwashing after wiping children's noses.

On 28 February 2024, the provider notified Ofsted that two children had reached an unsecured part of the premises beyond staff sight and hearing. A regulatory call on 23 March 2024 identified unmet requirements and immediate corrective action, including staff meetings, revised risk assessments and changes to movement between childcare rooms. On 18 November 2024, another regulatory call established that a significant event had not been notified as required. These dated findings should sit alongside, rather than be obscured by, the nursery's facilities and learning offer.

Food is cooked fresh on site each day by the nursery's kitchen team, with a four-week winter menu that includes vegetarian alternatives and provision for individual dietary requirements, including allergies. Lunches include scouse and pasta bakes, while snacks include wraps and homemade mini pizzas, giving families concrete examples of what children eat.

Sessions and Attendance

Sandfield House is on North Drive, Sandfield Park, Liverpool, L12 1LG. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with Bank Holiday closures. The nursery operates across the year, so the attendance model extends beyond school terms.

Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm; full-day care is also offered. These are separate booking choices, and the opening window should be distinguished from the shorter session times. A regular attendance pattern is encouraged, with parents expected to notify the nursery promptly when a child is absent.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form, and the application form is completed and returned to the nursery. For September starts, the waiting-list policy aims to use order of application where possible, subject to a suitable place; siblings and the child's age are also considered.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds. Eligible two-year-olds can access up to 15 hours of free education from the term after their second birthday. The three- and four-year-old entitlement starts from the term after their third birthday, with up to 15 hours of free education or up to 30 hours subject to eligibility. Funding is spread across the year. Parents sign a funding contract and provide the child's birth certificate, with proof of eligibility needed for the two-year-old entitlement.

Food and drink attract a separate surcharge during funded education. Parents supply their child's own sun cream. BSL and Spanish lessons have no extra charge; these should remain separate considerations from paid childcare hours and the funded-hours food contribution.

Once a place has been offered, a deposit is required, retained if the family decides against taking the place and otherwise applied to the final week's fees before the child leaves for school. Fees are paid in advance, with weekly and monthly payment options. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and opening hours page explains the payment arrangements.

• Supervision and daily routines. Busy-period deployment was an improvement point in February 2024, followed by notification of a supervision incident on 28 February 2024 and changes to movement between rooms. Current lunchtime organisation and room transitions deserve particular attention.
• Significant-event notification. The 18 November 2024 regulatory call established a failure to notify a significant event. Ask what procedure now ensures that relevant events reach the regulator.
• The youngest children's space. Buttercup and Daisy share an age-specific outdoor arrangement, while older children use different room layouts. A visit should establish how your child's settling plan and use of these spaces would work.
• Dietary arrangements and funded costs. Individual diets are catered for, and funded education carries a food-and-drink surcharge. Allergy-affected families should confirm current kitchen practice and include that contribution when comparing their attendance plan.

Sandfield Park suits families seeking full-day care, morning sessions or afternoon sessions, with outdoor play, sensory experiences and language lessons built into the offer. The under-two garden and the different preschool layouts give the environment practical character, while the key-person and SENCO arrangements provide clear routes for discussing development.

The February 2024 Good judgement is a useful starting point, but the later supervision and notification findings are material. This is a nursery whose physical and learning provision merits attention, with the decision depending equally on confidence in how current care routines and regulatory responsibilities are managed.