Partou Fern Bank Day Nursery & Pre-school

Mustard and Rocket, Fern Bank’s resident rabbits, give children a practical introduction to caring for animals. A garden with a bug hotel, mud kitchen and log cabin adds another reason to look closely at this Fulwood nursery: outdoor exploration has a substantial place in the day.

Across two buildings, the provision includes spaces for babies, a purpose-built room for toddlers and preschool children, and indoor areas for both active play and quieter moments. There are 98 places in total, with children accepted from three months. That is whole-nursery capacity, rather than the size of an individual group.

At its October 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated Fern Bank Good and judged safeguarding effective. Full days, morning and afternoon sessions, and term-time attendance give families several ways to organise care.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children’s learning, development and care: everyday play supports learning alongside their physical and social development. Fern Bank builds activities around children’s interests and experiences, giving staff a starting point that connects nursery life with what matters to each child.

In October 2021, babies explored flour with their hands, making marks through movement and touch, while younger children joined songs with accompanying actions. Older children tackled tasks independently, with adults allowing them time to try before stepping in. These examples show different stages of learning: sensory exploration for the youngest children and increasing responsibility for those approaching school age.

Practical work also exercised small hand movements in October 2021. Children mixed and shaped dough, threaded autumn leaves and handled small craft pieces. Such activities gave them practice with the control needed for later mark making.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily garden activities bring outdoor play into the routine. The mud kitchen gives children a place for messy experimentation, the bug hotel brings attention to small creatures, and the log cabin adds another setting for play. These are concrete resources that families can weigh alongside the indoor spaces.

Fern Bank’s plastic-free approach uses sustainable materials and resources that children can use in different ways. This leaves room for imagination rather than prescribing a single purpose for each object. Caring calmly for Mustard and Rocket adds a different kind of responsibility, with children learning how to behave around living animals.

Indoor movement has its own space too. A physical playroom contains soft play shapes and a ball pit, while a sensory room provides a calmer setting. Together, they give the day scope for energetic activity and quieter experiences, rather than relying on one room to serve every purpose.

Regular updates cover children’s nursery experiences and development. Staff also work with families and draw on children’s interests from home when shaping activities. That connection matters: parents’ knowledge of their child can influence what happens during the nursery day.

At the October 2021 inspection, Ofsted found that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities was excellent, with staff working closely with other professionals and carefully carrying out agreed plans. This is a dated judgement about practice, rather than a guarantee for an individual child today.

In October 2021, staff used familiar words from children’s home languages during play and routines. Children could take part using languages they knew while developing English. Adults also explained behaviour in ways suited to children’s ages, and children shared resources and brought others into their play.

Food is freshly prepared on the premises using a seasonal menu. Meals, snacks and drinks sit within a separate food charge, while nappies, wet wipes and sun cream sit within the consumables charge.

The sensory room offers another useful consideration for families whose children value quieter experiences. Its practical role can be explored alongside the more active physical playroom, with attention to how each child uses those spaces during an ordinary day.

Sessions and Attendance

Full days run from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions are 8am to 1pm, and afternoon sessions run from 1pm to 6pm; an early drop off session covers 7.30am to 8am. The nursery’s overall opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The early start is therefore a separate booking element rather than part of the standard full day.

Attendance can be year-round or term-time. Bank holidays are closure days, Christmas Eve finishes at 4pm, and the nursery closes between Christmas and New Year. Charges apply over 51 weeks, including bank holidays, so the billing calendar deserves attention alongside the attendance calendar.

Getting There

The address is 116 Sharoe Green Lane, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 8HL, opposite Preston College. Royal Preston Hospital is within walking distance, and bus routes connect with the town centre. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01772 717639 or through the nursery’s enquiry form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered to eligible families, with 15 or 30 hours per week applied over 38 term weeks and a maximum of 10 funded hours a day. For year-round attendance, funding is stretched across 51 weeks, giving 11.17 or 22.35 funded hours each week; term-time attendance uses the 15 or 30 hours during the funded weeks. These are different ways of distributing entitlement, so the weekly funded contribution changes with the attendance pattern.

Private care has its own charge, separate from meals and snacks and from consumables. Funding pays towards care only: food and consumables remain separately charged during funded sessions too. The consumables charge covers nappies, wet wipes and sun cream, and the food charge covers drinks as well as meals and snacks.

Registration involves either a non-refundable registration fee or a deposit to reserve the place, subject to the eligibility terms. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Teaching and individuality. In October 2021, the improvement priorities were more education-focused staff development and better opportunities for children to explore their differences and individuality. On a visit, ask how current activities and resources address those priorities.
• Two buildings and contrasting spaces. Baby provision, a purpose-built toddler and preschool room, the physical playroom and sensory room make the layout relevant to your child’s day. Ask how movement between spaces and settling are organised for your child’s age.
• Funding and the billing calendar. Funded sessions still carry food and consumables charges, and billing spans 51 weeks including bank holidays. Weigh the complete written quotation against your chosen morning, afternoon or full-day pattern.

Fern Bank suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with term-time and year-round arrangements to consider. Its garden resources, resident rabbits and contrasting indoor play spaces give parents tangible reasons to consider it. The Good judgement from 2021 adds an established inspection position, while the teaching and individuality priorities provide useful questions for a visit.