Conkers Day Nursery

A mud kitchen, climbing apparatus and a garden for investigating wildlife give Conkers Day Nursery a clear outdoor identity. Its purpose-built setting in Langho, Blackburn combines space for physical play with individual learning plans shaped around children's interests. Nature is part of the offer, alongside the practical business of learning to talk, share, create and become more independent.

At its December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Conkers Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised children's progress, especially in communication and social development. The judgement came with three improvement priorities: better exchanges with parents about learning, clearer support for understanding behaviour and more consistent hygiene practice. Those qualifications matter alongside the praise.

Conkers has capacity for 74 children from birth to five. Babies, toddlers and preschool children have age-related spaces, and families can book full days, mornings or afternoons. The strongest reasons to consider it are the outdoor provision, its child-by-child planning approach and the opportunities for parents to contribute to learning.

Rooms and Ages

Babies have spaces for children who are mobile and those who are not, with a milk kitchen, changing facilities and sleeping areas supporting a routine adapted to home life. That practical separation matters: feeding, rest and play each have provision of their own rather than being treated as interchangeable parts of the day.

Toddlers have a 19-place space divided between two rooms, with opportunities for art, early writing, reading, sensory activities and play with water and sand. The toilet and changing facilities support growing independence during toilet training. For this age group, the emphasis is as much on managing everyday tasks as on making and exploring.

Pre-schoolers can choose activities and move between indoor play and the outdoor environment, with staff also leading smaller group activities intended to support preparation for school. Choice and adult guidance sit together here. Children can follow an interest, then join an activity that asks them to concentrate or work alongside others.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets out children's learning, development and care, including communication, physical development and learning through play. Conkers builds its curriculum using Birth to Five Matters guidance, which informs its planning and observations of children's knowledge, skills and behaviour. The framework is the foundation; the nursery's planning methods explain how it turns that into a child's day.

Focus Week is the central individual planning approach. A keyworker brings together observations, parents' contributions and the child's own interests, then adjusts activities and the learning environment around them. Both outdoor and indoor experiences are adapted. This gives information from home a practical use: an interest or significant experience can influence what happens next at nursery.

Working whiteboards in each room connect planned experiences with children's interests and the intended learning. Staff photograph and retain them at the end of the week, linking the planning to relevant Birth to Five Matters ranges. Alongside these ongoing observations, termly assessments track development and create another opportunity for discussion with parents.

The daily routine changes with age. Babies and toddlers have messy play, singing, time outside and a period for sleep or quiet rest; preschool children have circle time, planned learning, creative activities and free play. A recognisable structure offers continuity, while settling sessions establish how the nursery can accommodate a child's home routine.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor spaces include a mud kitchen and climbing apparatus, with additional activities prepared each day. Children across the age groups use these areas with support or independently, according to their stage. The garden therefore serves different purposes: movement, imaginative play and exploration of the natural world.

In December 2023, children explored leaves, protected a moth they discovered and developed mathematical skills through an outdoor game. Inside, smelling cinnamon and cloves prompted new vocabulary, while conversation cards at the dining table encouraged longer discussions. These examples show how everyday materials and routines were used for learning, rather than separating learning from play and meals.

Relationships and Communication

All about me meetings take place before a child starts, bringing together information about family life, care and learning. Settling sessions then explore the child's familiar routine so staff can reflect it where possible. For a baby or toddler, that makes the starting point personal rather than simply fitting everyone into the same timetable.

ParentZone gives families updates about meals, nappy changes, sleep and learning, and allows parents to add photographs and notes from home. Communication is designed to work in both directions. Termly parents' evenings provide time to discuss progress and activities that can be continued at home, while stay-and-play sessions take place during the year.

At the December 2023 inspection, Ofsted identified weaknesses in involving every parent in learning and assessment, in helping children understand behavioural boundaries and in applying hygiene training consistently. The hygiene example involved a baby's bottle within other children's reach; staff removed it before it was accessed, and leaders acted immediately to address practice. The point for families is consistency, rather than whether routines and communication systems exist.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Keyworkers use information from families to personalise activities, with children's own contributions included in Focus Week planning. Progress checks for younger children are shared with parents, creating a specific opportunity to discuss development. These are concrete mechanisms for recognising individual needs; they do not amount to a blanket assurance about specialist support.

Meals are freshly prepared in-house, and the nursery uses eat better, start better to guide menu planning. Its allergy arrangements include individual care plans and, where needed, work with healthcare professionals; it also has a strict nut-free policy.

Children are encouraged to serve themselves during meals, adding another everyday opportunity to practise independence. For younger children, the timetable includes nap or quiet time, while ParentZone records sleep alongside other care routines. The combination helps parents follow both what their child has been doing and how their basic needs have been met.

Sessions and Attendance

Conkers is on Dewhurst Road, Langho, Blackburn, Lancashire BB6 8AF. It opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

Full-day bookings run from 7.30am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 7.30am to 12.30pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm; half-day bookings are also offered. The registration form allows families to request weekdays and choose full days, mornings or afternoons, giving a clear starting point for specifying the attendance pattern they want.

Registration begins with a visit, booked directly or arranged after a registration request. Telephone, email and a contact form provide enquiry routes. The nursery also works with schools locally to support transition, while preschool activities practise choosing tasks, concentrating and taking greater responsibility for everyday routines.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds, universal 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds, and extended 30-hour funding for working families with three- and four-year-olds. Conkers also accepts Tax-Free Childcare. Eligibility conditions remain part of each arrangement; participation does not itself establish a family's entitlement.

The fees and funding page sets out private childcare alongside funded arrangements. Fully funded days have a contribution charge and separate charges for lunch and tea. Optional meal charges and all-inclusive fees are offered; families who decline the opt-in arrangement provide meals and other essentials themselves. Food and those essentials therefore need to be considered alongside the childcare hours in a written quotation.

A non-refundable deposit and a registration charge are required. Fees for the first month are due before the child starts, with subsequent payments made monthly in advance; illness and holidays do not remove the obligation to pay. These terms make the total booking commitment more useful to compare than the session price alone.

• Learning between nursery and home. December 2023 improvement priorities included parental involvement, behavioural boundaries and hygiene consistency. During a visit, ask how ParentZone, Focus Week and parents' evenings now connect home observations with daily practice.
• Toddler staffing and preschool layout. Before choosing an age-group space, ask to see the current preschool layout and have the usual toddler staffing arrangement explained for your child's attendance pattern.
• The funded booking package. Fully funded days carry a contribution charge and separate lunch and tea charges, with opt-in arrangements for food and essentials. Request a written quotation that separates these from childcare hours and explains how the deposit is treated.
• Allergy arrangements. Individual allergy care plans and a nut-free policy are part of the nursery's arrangements. Families affected by allergies should confirm current practice and how their child's plan will work at meals.

Conkers suits families choosing morning or afternoon sessions as well as those booking full days, especially where outdoor play and individual planning are priorities. The toddler space, baby care facilities and preschool outdoor access give the age groups practical differences, while Focus Week and ParentZone give parents defined ways to contribute.

The Good judgement from December 2023 is a useful endorsement with clear qualifications. Communication, behavioural support and hygiene consistency deserve attention when assessing the nursery's present practice. For families attracted by the garden and personalised planning, those are the questions that make a visit purposeful.