Kids Planet Fulwood

A Victorian building, an enchanted garden and experiments with wood, cork and metal give Kids Planet Fulwood a recognisable character. This Black Bull Lane nursery combines space for outdoor exploration with practical investigation indoors. Children can test materials, build structures and explore how things work, rather than encounter early maths only through counting games.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) received effective support and made good progress. The important qualification concerned adult intervention: questions sometimes interrupted children's own thinking during play.

There are 72 places in total, for children aged 0 to 60 months. Attendance choices include full days, mornings and afternoons, giving families different ways to organise care.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, with play helping children build communication, physical skills and independence. Fulwood's Exploring Through STEM adds practical science, technology, engineering and maths investigations to that foundation. Children work with materials including string, cardboard and cork, comparing their properties and trying out construction ideas.

Cutting, bending and tying materials give those investigations a concrete purpose. Children explore what changes, learn about safe tool use and consider how materials are used beyond nursery. Counting, measuring and sorting sit within the activity itself. For a child who enjoys making things, this connects early mathematical ideas with something they can handle and change.

In November 2023, children's interests also shaped activities: an interest in archery led to an opportunity to try it with a sports coach. Taking turns and following safety instructions were part of the experience. Songs, rhymes and stories supported language, while conversation accompanied play. These examples show how physical activity and communication could develop together, rather than occupy separate parts of the day.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enchanted garden gives children an outdoor setting for exploration and friendships alongside the Victorian building's bright rooms. The contrast matters: indoor investigation has an outdoor counterpart, with space to move and play together.

In November 2023, babies practised movement on a small wooden ramp and reached for toys positioned to encourage standing. Older children balanced on beams outside. Creative activities also crossed indoors and outdoors: large pictures made with brushes and chalk gave children space for broad movements, while pencil work and flower printing required more careful hand control. Physical preparation for writing extended beyond holding a pencil.

Starting nursery and changing rooms both received attention in November 2023. Staff gathered detailed information as children started nursery, helping the key person understand individual needs. Support continued when children moved between rooms. For families, the useful principle is continuity: information about a child's routines and comfort needs matters beyond the first settling period.

Assessment included a tool for screening communication development in November 2023, with intervention introduced when delays were identified. This gives substance to the dated SEND judgement: support involved identifying a need and responding to it, rather than relying solely on a broad promise of inclusion.

Everyday independence was another part of the November 2023 experience. Babies were supported to feed themselves, toddlers practised dressing, and older children served food, used cutlery and poured drinks. These were small, repeated opportunities to take responsibility. They also connected preparation for school with ordinary daily tasks.

Fulwood uses the group-wide Famly app for real-time updates, giving parents a way to follow their child's day. Fresh meals and snacks form part of the fee-covered offer, alongside formula, nappies, wipes and sun cream; funded attendance has a separate charging structure. That distinction matters more to a family budget than the all-inclusive description alone.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 22 Black Bull Lane, Fulwood, Preston PR2 3PX. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with an all-year operating pattern and closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

A Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm. Morning attendance is 8am to 1pm, and Afternoon attendance is 1pm to 6pm; the Full Time pattern uses the same daily hours as Full Day. The morning therefore starts later than the nursery's opening time, a useful distinction for families planning an early working day. Afternoon attendance shares the full day's finishing time.

Enquiries can be made directly by telephone or email. These routes allow families to discuss a specific attendance pattern rather than treat the opening window as the only booking choice.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid attendance. Fees include meals and snacks, plus formula, sun cream, wipes and nappies. For days on which early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately, with full-day, half-day and short-day charging categories.

The distinction is between the ordinary fee-covered offer and funded attendance. Families combining funded and private care should consider both the paid hours and the additional categories, rather than assume funding removes the whole bill. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Space for uninterrupted play. In November 2023, adult questioning sometimes broke children's concentration and prompted them to leave an activity. During a tour, ask how practitioners now decide when to join play and when to give children time to pursue their own ideas.
• Funding and the total bill. Meals, activities and consumables attract separate charges on days using early years funding. Ask for a written breakdown for your intended pattern, including how funded entitlement is delivered and which charges apply.
• The earliest morning start. Morning attendance begins at 8am, while Full Day begins at 7.30am. Compare those options with the start of your working day before choosing a pattern.
• Settling and room changes. The November 2023 arrangements used information from families to support the key person and later room moves. Fulwood offers tour booking; use the visit to discuss how that continuity would work for your child.

Kids Planet Fulwood suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, especially those drawn to practical construction and outdoor play. Exploring Through STEM gives the learning offer substance: materials, tools and design problems provide clear examples of what children can explore.

The November 2023 Good judgement supports that picture, while the concern about interrupting independent play gives families a precise issue to explore. The other decision is financial: fee-covered essentials and separately charged extras on funded days need to be considered together. This is a nursery to assess through its concrete learning experiences, its handling of transitions and the attendance pattern your family actually needs.