Treetops Day Nursery

A garden surrounded by natural vegetation gives Treetops Day Nursery its clearest present-day character: outdoor play has space around it. This Croxteth setting has capacity for 83 children aged 1 to 60 months, with care and education shaped around children’s interests and family backgrounds.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 16 September 2022. The detail behind that judgement includes children helping to choose outings and menus, individual settling arrangements and practical ways for parents to continue learning at home. Those examples belong to September 2022, rather than a description of today’s daily routine.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and development: children build skills through play and experiences planned around their interests and next steps. Parents contribute knowledge of their children’s needs, backgrounds and experiences, helping staff choose opportunities that connect nursery learning with life at home.

In September 2022, a herb activity brought several kinds of learning together. Children compared shapes and sizes, talked about their choices and cut herbs into play dough creations. Handling scissors added a practical skill to the conversation and comparison. Circle-time songs and books gave children another route into language, with nursery rhyme cards making turn-taking part of the activity.

The Treetops Committee gave children a role in decisions in September 2022: they shared afternoon tea with nursery leaders and discussed outings. Their suggestions led to journeys by train and ferry and a visit to a duck pond. A weekly menu vote used pictures so younger children could participate too. Choice was made tangible, rather than depending entirely on children being able to explain themselves verbally.

Rooms and Outdoor Life

In September 2022, the baby room included family photographs and a busy board with handles and spinning parts. These gave babies familiar faces to look at and objects to explore with their hands. The room’s account centres on exploration and familiarity, rather than formal activities.

Outside that same month, an outdoor shelter held bean bags for stories, music and early writing activities. A climbing frame offered a different physical challenge, with staff supporting children as they attempted higher climbs. Babies spent time in the garden watching older children, while other activities included gathering natural materials for collage and digging in sand. Outdoor space served quieter experiences as well as active play.

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and the key person system successful in building close relationships with children. Staff understood how to recognise and respond to concerns, and safety checks were followed by action when necessary.

In September 2022, settling arrangements were tailored to individual children. Family photographs in the baby room added a familiar connection, while parents received termly progress reports, monthly updates and ideas for their children’s next steps. Borrowable story bags and a parents’ book exchange extended reading beyond nursery. These were concrete ways to involve families, rather than leaving communication at a general progress update.

Health routines in September 2022 included handwashing, toothbrushing and encouragement to choose water or milk. There was also a weakness: food choices did not consistently reinforce messages about healthy eating. Learning activities needed greater precision too, because some staff were unclear about what children were intended to learn and how to extend their existing understanding.

Sessions and Attendance

Treetops is at 96 Stonebridge Lane, Croxteth, Liverpool L11 9AZ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closure on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. That weekday window is useful for families planning care around work, while the Christmas closure needs a separate arrangement.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or WhatsApp on 0151 548 1068, or by email at info@treetopsdaynursery.com. The same contact route includes a form for arranging a visit.

Getting There

Off-road parking is provided. For families transporting a baby or toddler, that is a practical part of the setting’s layout alongside its gardens.

Funding and Paid Extras

In September 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. That dated position should be kept separate from a family’s present eligibility and proposed attendance arrangement.

• Learning challenge. In September 2022, activities did not always have sufficiently clear learning intentions. At a visit, ask how staff now decide what a child should learn next and adapt an activity to stretch their understanding.
• Healthy eating. September 2022 food choices did not consistently support the nursery’s healthy-eating messages. Discuss a sample menu alongside the current funded-hours arrangement and any meal or consumable charges.
• Christmas cover. The nursery closes for one week at Christmas as well as bank holidays. Families needing care throughout that period will need to plan around the closure.

Treetops suits families seeking weekday childcare with garden space and an approach that draws on children’s interests and parents’ knowledge. Its September 2022 account gives useful substance to that character: children influenced outings, families borrowed reading materials, and babies had familiar photographs around them. Clearer learning intentions and consistent healthy-eating messages remain the important dated cautions to explore when choosing it.