Rainbow Wood Day Nursery

Woodland directly behind the nursery gives Rainbow Wood Day Nursery an outdoor identity that its industrial-estate address might not suggest. Children can explore a woodland environment within the setting's boundaries, while the progression from Jelly Babies to Jelly Tots and Jelly Beans gives the nursery day a clear shape: early relationships, growing independence and preparation for school.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) received effective support through referrals and work with families and external professionals. There were also two specific teaching weaknesses: activities were not consistently adjusted to children's existing abilities, and questioning sometimes moved too quickly for children to formulate an answer. Those points matter alongside the positive judgement.

Rainbow Wood has 68 places in total and accepts children from one month old, with care extending up to age five. Its Preston setting combines woodland access with room-based learning, parent communication and practical independence. Full days, morning and afternoon sessions, shift patterns and term-time attendance provide several ways to organise care.

Rooms and Ages

Jelly Babies Room, for ages 0 to 2, combines routines adapted to individual babies with sensory experiences, movement, music and quieter parts of the room. The practical emphasis is on giving babies opportunities to explore while retaining space for a calmer pace. Staff working with babies have undertaken specialist training for that age group.

Jelly Tots Room, for ages 2 to 3, brings together personal care, social development and language activities, with support for toileting as children become more independent. Books and technology also feature in the room's learning intentions. This is a stage where everyday routines become learning opportunities: participating in personal care gives children something useful to practise as their confidence grows.

Jelly Beans Room, for ages 3 to 5, emphasises communication, friendships and independence for school, including handling writing tools and managing clothing. Learning follows children's interests, while stories and poems give language a place alongside practical skills. School preparation here includes ordinary tasks that children will need to manage themselves, rather than concentrating solely on early writing.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: the day combines play and exploration with support for communication, physical development and relationships. Rainbow Wood Curriculum adds a scaffolding approach, in which adults extend what a child is already doing through encouragement, resources or an additional challenge. The intention is to help children take the next step themselves, rather than supplying the answer.

That approach makes the June 2024 teaching recommendations especially relevant. Staff needed to make better use of children's existing knowledge when adjusting activities, and leave more thinking time between a question and a response. The issue was consistency in how learning was supported. For parents, the useful distinction is between an activity being offered and that activity being pitched appropriately for their child.

Two named language programmes give the older children's learning more substance. ECAT (Every Child a Talker) supports early language development, while Phase One Letters and Sounds develops listening and speaking as preparation for later phonics. These sit alongside the EYFS, rather than replacing it. The curriculum page also describes babies communicating through gestures, toddlers developing their own interests and older children practising name writing.

Activities extend beyond those language programmes. Toddlers have football classes, swimming, and sessions involving music and movement; preschool children have weekly swimming as well as football and music activities. These provide different ways to participate, from physical movement to listening and responding. The swimming frequency is a preschool detail, rather than a promise about every age group.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Forest School Approach gives children opportunities to investigate nature, make decisions and attempt challenges in the woodland environment. Access to woods immediately behind the nursery is the concrete feature here. Children can explore using their senses and work through problems at a level suited to their abilities, within the setting's boundaries.

Regular preschool outings include the park and library, connecting nursery learning with places beyond its rooms. Parents give permission for local walks, while trips farther afield involve a separate consent letter with practical details. The distinction helps families understand how routine local outings and larger trips are organised.

Relationships and Communication

For babies, the relationship with their key worker is an explicit starting point: becoming comfortable with that adult supports their confidence to explore. Individual routines are also part of the baby-room offer. This gives families a practical basis for discussing how home habits will fit into nursery life, rather than treating every baby as ready for the same routine.

A home communication book and daily conversation support the exchange of information with baby-room parents. In the toddler room, communication books continue for children whose spoken language is still limited, alongside individual discussions. The two methods serve different purposes: a written account can be revisited, while a conversation gives parents and staff an opportunity to respond to each other.

In June 2024, staff gathered information from parents to shape children's care and learning, and children approached adults when they needed reassurance. Parents also borrowed learning packs for use at home, with staff sharing learning priorities. These were practical ways of linking children's experiences across home and nursery at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staff structure includes a SENCO, a manager who holds the designated safeguarding lead role, and a deputy safeguarding lead. These are identifiable responsibilities within the team. For a family needing additional support, the SENCO role provides a specific point around which to discuss their child's needs and how nursery staff will work with them.

Independence runs through the care routines. In June 2024, children practised handwashing and encouraged one another to use soap; the current preschool offer includes supported self-service meals and practice with coat buttons and shoe fastenings. Such tasks give children repeated opportunities to manage parts of their own day.

A nursery cook prepares children's meals, using seasonal ingredients sourced locally, and meals and snacks are included in the daily rate. Nappies, wipes and sun cream are supplied through a separate consumables charge, so these items belong in the family's cost planning even though they are provided by the nursery.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm. Full days run from 7.30am to 6pm, mornings from 7.30am to 12.30pm, and afternoons from 12.30pm to 6pm. The half-day patterns therefore offer distinct alternatives to booking the whole day.

Shift patterns and term-time attendance are also offered. Those options are useful for families whose working or childcare arrangements do not follow the same full-day pattern throughout the year. Rainbow Wood opens across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Families should factor those closures into their wider childcare arrangements.

Getting There

The address is 60-61 Roman Way Industrial Estate, Ribbleton, Preston, PR2 5BE. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01772 797593 or by email at hello@rainbow-woodpreston.co.uk. The application process includes a consultation involving parents before admission.

Funding and Paid Extras

Rainbow Wood offers 15 and 30 hours funding for 2 and 3 year olds, alongside privately paid sessions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The charge structure separates meals, which are included in the daily rate, from nappies, wipes and sun cream, which are supplied through consumables fees.

That distinction is important when comparing attendance arrangements. A daily rate and a funded-hours arrangement need to be considered separately, with the family's written quotation setting out the package they are choosing. Term-time attendance is an option in the booking model; it should not be treated as a statement about how every funded entitlement is delivered.

• Teaching matched to the child. In June 2024, activity adaptation and time to answer questions needed greater consistency. During a visit, ask how staff adjust a shared activity for children with different abilities and allow quieter children time to respond.
• Shift-pattern attendance. Full days, mornings, afternoons and term-time attendance sit alongside shift patterns. Discuss how a changing work rota would translate into a booking arrangement for your family.
• The funded package. Meals are included in the daily rate, while consumables have a separate charge. Ask for one written quotation explaining how funded hours are delivered and how these categories apply to your chosen arrangement.

Rainbow Wood suits families who want woodland exploration alongside a clear progression from baby care to preschool independence. Its practical appeal extends to parents choosing morning or afternoon sessions, term-time attendance or shift patterns, as well as those booking full days.

The June 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with specific teaching recommendations that deserve attention. The strongest reasons to consider this nursery are tangible: woods behind the setting, named language programmes, communication books and everyday self-care woven into learning. The decision turns on how those features meet your child's needs and your family's attendance pattern.