Little Achievers Urban Forest School Nursery

Forest School access for preschool children and a sensory room upstairs give Little Achievers Urban Forest School Nursery a clear character: outdoor exploration sits alongside space for children who need a calmer setting. At 23 Herschell Street in Preston, the nursery combines the Reggio Emilia Approach, which starts with children's interests, with individual support plans and regular conversations with parents.

Children aged three months to five years are accepted. The nursery is registered for 62 places. That is the whole nursery's size, rather than the number sharing a room or attending on a particular day. Babies and toddlers occupy the lower floor, while preschool provision is upstairs.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 27 September 2022, with an improvement point about staff making better use of children's chosen play to extend their learning. That distinction matters: children were engaged in activities, but adults did not consistently take those experiences further.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room caters for children aged 0 to 2 and has a maximum of 12 children on the lower floor. For parents choosing baby care, that room limit is more useful than the whole-setting capacity: it identifies the scale of the youngest children's provision.

A toddler room for ages 2 to 3 also occupies the lower floor and has a stated maximum of 38 children. The pre-school room caters for ages 3 to 4, has a maximum of 24 children and includes a sensory room intended as a quiet place for emotional regulation.

These are room limits, rather than a promise about daily group sizes. The building's arrangement also makes moving between stages a practical consideration: the youngest children remain downstairs, while progressing to preschool involves the upper floor. Rooms connect to help children move between groups.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, with play giving them opportunities to practise language, explore ideas and develop physical skills. Alongside it, the Reggio Emilia Approach puts children's interests at the starting point of activities. Here, that means children help determine the direction of their learning, rather than following only an adult's chosen activity.

Progress is reviewed through a baseline assessment after six weeks, followed by termly reviews. This gives the key person a starting picture of the child and a recurring opportunity to consider what has changed. Learning journeys combine photographs and written observations, allowing parents to see examples of their child's experiences rather than receiving only a general update.

In September 2022, paint and flowers became materials for exploring patterns, while staff added vocabulary during the activity. Holiday experiences also prompted imaginative play: children used dolls in a pretend pool and made sandcastles with scoops and containers. These examples show how familiar experiences can become starting points for conversation and experimentation.

The teaching weakness was visible in that same September 2022 snapshot. Children repeatedly rolled cars down ramps and counted their attempts, but adults did not develop the activity into a further challenge. Enjoyment and repetition have a place; the important question is how a practitioner recognises the moment to introduce a new idea.

Outdoor and Community Life

Preschool children can use the nursery's own Forest School, where learning takes place through encounters with nature, seasonal change, smells and textures. Trained Forest School practitioners are part of the provision. This adds an outdoor setting for exploration to the indoor activities, rather than treating outside time solely as a break from learning.

For children with SEND, trips and walks are planned with parents, and individual support can be arranged where needed. The practical benefit is a discussion about the particular child and activity before an outing, rather than assuming the same arrangements suit everyone.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key carer. The settling process begins with two sessions: an hour with a parent, followed by a two-hour independent visit. Further sessions can be arranged after discussion, and the nursery tries to include a mealtime so staff can see how the child manages eating in the new setting.

Termly reports and parent meetings provide regular opportunities to discuss development, alongside communication through an online app. Parents can also request a meeting with the key person or SENCO between those scheduled conversations. This gives families both a routine reporting point and a route for raising a concern when it arises.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Two designated SENCOs work with children's key workers. When additional needs are identified, parents join a discussion about an action plan, with outside agencies involved where appropriate and with parental permission. Targeted Learning Plans set out the initial support, while Wellcom assessments help identify potential needs. These are concrete mechanisms for deciding what help a child requires.

The sensory room in preschool provides a calmer space when a child needs help managing emotions. Physical access includes an external ramp leading to the main room and an accessible toilet downstairs in the baby room. Families whose child needs support across both floors should consider how those arrangements fit the child's daily routine.

Moving to another setting or school includes an invitation for the receiving team to meet the child and discuss support already arranged, referrals and any education, health and care plan work. This transfers practical knowledge about the child rather than leaving the next team to start from scratch.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Closures include bank holidays and a week at Christmas. The annual pattern matters for families organising work and holiday cover, while the weekday opening window gives the boundaries within which attendance is arranged.

The address is 23 Herschell Street, Preston, PR1 3QU, near the city centre. Enquiries can be made on 01772 201004 or through the nursery's contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for two-, three- and four-year-olds, including 30 hours. Those hours can be taken during term time or spread across the nursery's 51-week opening year. These are different ways of using the entitlement, so the useful comparison is the attendance pattern each creates for the family. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Teaching during chosen play. The September 2022 improvement point concerned adults extending learning as children played. During a visit, ask for an example of how a practitioner develops a child's interest beyond the first activity.
• Upstairs preschool. Babies and toddlers are downstairs, with preschool and its sensory room above. Ask to see how movement between floors and access to calm space would work for your child.
• Funding and the full bill. Funded hours can run during term time or across 51 weeks. Ask for a written breakdown covering the intended attendance pattern, meals, consumables and any additional private hours.

Little Achievers Urban Forest School Nursery suits families drawn to learning led by children's interests, preschool Forest School access and a defined process for identifying additional needs. Its key-person arrangements, termly discussions and transition meetings give parents several points at which to contribute to their child's care.

For funded attendance, it serves families choosing either term-time use or hours spread across the opening year. The September 2022 Good judgement provides a dated assessment, with a useful caution about how consistently staff extended children's play. The strongest visit discussion would connect those two strands: what the child chooses to explore, and what the adult does next.