Cottam Nursery School

Victorian village-school buildings, four playrooms and fields nearby give Cottam Nursery School a character of its own. This independent nursery on Sandy Lane in Cottam, Preston, takes children aged two to five and has capacity for 68 children. Its rural surroundings bring sheep, horses and wildlife close to the setting, while a purpose-built playground gives outdoor play a substantial place in the day.

The nursery was judged Good on 2 May 2024, with an improvement needed in the consistency of literacy and mathematics teaching, including the sequence of early reading skills. That gives parents a clear balance: a positive overall judgement, with a specific question about how learning builds towards the next stage.

The main offer is term-time childcare, supplemented by an optional Holiday Club during holiday periods. For families whose childcare needs change with the school calendar, that distinction matters more than the opening window alone.

Rooms and Ages

Four playrooms occupy the former village primary school, with access to other learning areas. The Barn room serves children aged two to three. That gives the youngest children a named base within a nursery whose overall age range extends to five; the whole-setting capacity should not be read as the size of a child's daily group.

Outside, the playground is designed for challenging play throughout the year. Fields and nearby animals make the surroundings part of Cottam's identity, rather than simply a backdrop to indoor activities. In May 2024, children used pedal bikes in the garden, and younger and older children played alongside one another with adult help to build friendships.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for learning and care, with seven areas of learning informing a day built around play and children's development. Cottam shapes its activities around each child's interests and stage, using parents' knowledge of their children to help establish starting points. The practical value is a connection between what engages a child at home and what staff use to draw them into learning.

The curriculum approach puts those individual interests into the planning of play. It is the concrete experiences that give this approach substance: in May 2024, children cared for lambs, searched for minibeasts and took part in football and yoga with visitors. These experiences brought movement and encounters with living things into their learning.

A reading shed outdoors was also in use in May 2024. Adults developed vocabulary through shared stories, while younger children experimented with paint using small sticks. The combination offered different ways to engage: conversation around a book, hands-on exploration and physical activity outside. Literacy and mathematics nevertheless needed a clearer progression, so enjoyable activities should be considered alongside how staff decide what a child learns next.

Seasonal events involve children and their parents, with celebrations often linked to Whitsuntide, Christmas and Easter. Newsletters carry information about these occasions. For families, this creates opportunities to participate in nursery life beyond the daily exchange with staff, without requiring an assumption that every celebration follows the same format.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key worker, and settling begins with staff learning about routines, preferences and dislikes from parents before attendance. Families can make as many preliminary visits as they need. This gives the adults caring for a child practical information to use from the outset, rather than leaving familiar habits to be discovered after the child starts.

In May 2024, staff helped new children form relationships with familiar adults and guided younger children through routines patiently. Older children practised independence by pouring drinks and preparing crackers, while younger children learnt handwashing. These were ordinary tasks with a useful purpose: giving children a part in looking after themselves.

Tapestry Journal carries nursery newsletters, keeping information about nursery life accessible to parents. In May 2024, communication also included online updates and parents' evenings, with information about children's learning and ways to support it at home. The current key-worker arrangement gives families a personal connection alongside those written channels.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including Makaton sign language to aid communication and visual cards to help children express choices and manage emotions. Those are specific support methods, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

The team includes a SENDCO and a Language Lead with previous NHS speech and language therapy experience and Makaton training. These roles give communication needs an identifiable place in the staff structure. They matter for parents whose child needs help expressing themselves, while the dated inspection judgement remains the assessment of how support worked in practice.

Sessions and Attendance

Cottam opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5pm during term time. Fees cover 39 weeks of provision rather than a year-round arrangement. This suits a family that wants childcare aligned with term dates, but the holiday periods need to be considered separately when planning work and family care.

Holiday Club is an optional service during holidays, which parents can use when they need it; former nursery attendees can also attend up to age eight. It extends the nursery's role beyond its main preschool offer and can keep siblings' holiday care connected to a familiar setting. It is a separate choice, rather than part of the regular term-time arrangement.

The address is Sandy Lane, Cottam, Preston, PR4 0LE. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01772 728035, and registration is handled with the nursery manager.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds, with entitlements described as 15 or 30 hours of free childcare. Provision is term-time. Eligibility is a condition of the funding offer, so the age range alone should not be taken as entitlement to a particular funded pattern.

Private childcare is also offered, with charging based on the term-time year. The nursery provides current fee information on request; the admissions and fees page explains the funding and term-time arrangements. Eligible families can also use the government's tax-free childcare scheme.

• Early reading and number work. In May 2024, the progression of literacy and mathematics learning needed greater consistency. On a visit, ask staff to show how they choose the next steps in letter sounds and number learning for your child's stage.
• Term dates and holiday care. Regular provision covers 39 weeks, with Holiday Club as a separate option. Assess those two arrangements against your working calendar rather than assuming continuous year-round nursery care.
• A visit around your child's needs. Preliminary visits can be repeated as needed, and the nursery asks visitors to avoid 11.30am to 1pm. Use that time to discuss settling and request a written breakdown of meals, consumables and any extras alongside your intended attendance pattern.

Cottam suits families seeking term-time early education and those who want that arrangement alongside optional holiday care. The former village-school building, rural surroundings and emphasis on learning through children's interests give it a recognisable identity. Key-worker relationships and specialist communication roles add practical reasons to consider it.

The balance is straightforward: the Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, while the literacy and mathematics improvement point deserves attention. Families who value outdoor experiences and a personal settling process have concrete reasons to look closely at Cottam, with curriculum progression the central question to explore.