Little Achievers Forest School Nursery

A setting within 120 acres of farmland gives Little Achievers Forest School Nursery its defining character: outdoor learning shaped by seasons, textures and changes in the natural world. At Ramsgreave Hall Farm in Blackburn, preschool children can access forest school sessions within their nursery attendance timetable.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 3 April 2025 inspection, with strengths in children's relationships, language and literacy, alongside improvement points about younger children's learning, hygiene routines and staff coaching. The nursery has capacity for 75 children, with a current age range of 3 to 60 months. Its accommodation spans two levels, with preschool rooms upstairs.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets requirements for learning, development and care through play, conversation, physical activity and relationships. The Reggio Emilia Approach supplies inspiration for learning through exploration; children tackle realistic challenges themselves, investigating, solving problems and communicating ideas.

Forest School adds learning through the changing outdoor environment, including seasonal differences and exploration of smells and textures. Preschool children can take part within their usual attendance timetable. That makes the outdoor approach relevant to the nursery week, rather than an activity families must fit around it.

In April 2025, babies handled books with different textures while adults supplied words for what they felt. Toddlers encountered unfamiliar vocabulary through stories, and preschool children acted out scenes from their book of the week. These were different ways of engaging with language at different stages: sensory exploration for babies, conversation for toddlers and storytelling through action for older children.

Dough-making brought another practical strand to the day in April 2025. Younger children explored ingredients, while older children shaped dough and discussed what they were making. Manipulating the material gave their fingers exercise relevant to early writing. Storytelling and hands-on activity worked alongside each other.

The April 2025 findings also identified a weakness that matters for parents choosing baby or toddler care. Younger children did not consistently receive the help needed to take their learning further, and their involvement sometimes suffered. Outdoor opportunity and an ambitious curriculum therefore need to be considered alongside the quality of the adult interaction each child receives.

Outdoor and Community Life

The farmland supplies a changing backdrop for observing and investigating nature. The acreage describes the surrounding setting, rather than the size of the children's play area.

In April 2025, younger children practised climbing, balancing and propelling scooters. Older children operated a sit-on digger, coordinating its movement to collect and empty sand. These examples give substance to the outdoor emphasis: children had tasks involving movement, persistence and control, as well as opportunities to explore.

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding and established SEND support, with targeted learning plans reviewed every half term, timely referrals to outside agencies and children making progress from their individual starting points. For families whose child needs additional help, the practical mechanism was observation followed by a plan and regular review, rather than support resting on a general promise.

Relationships were another important part of daily care in April 2025. Staff learned about new babies' individual needs and responded with comfort and reassurance. Adults also helped children deal with disagreements by listening to each other and explaining their feelings. That connected emotional care with the ordinary social challenges of sharing a nursery day.

Parents receive learning journeys using photographs, written observations and communication to follow their child's development. These also form a keepsake of nursery life. For a family, their value is in connecting what a child does during the day with the learning taking place, giving something concrete to discuss beyond whether the day went well.

Health teaching in April 2025 included conversations about food, sugar and caring for teeth, alongside daily exercise. However, adults did not consistently demonstrate appropriate hygiene, including handwashing after attending to children's noses. The improvement point concerned the example staff set as well as the routines children were learning.

Staff coaching also needed greater consistency in April 2025. Mentoring arrangements were at an early stage, and the quality of adult-child exchanges varied. This matters across the nursery day: a resource or activity becomes more useful when an adult responds thoughtfully to what a child is doing and helps extend it.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. The nursery closes for one week at Christmas. This gives families an opening window across much of the year, while the Christmas closure needs to fit their wider childcare arrangements.

Getting There

The address is Ramsgreave Hall Farm, Higher Ramsgreave Road, Ramsgreave, Blackburn, BB1 9DQ. Enquiries can be made through the nursery's contact form or by telephone on 01254 924386.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded places are accepted for children aged 2, 3 and 4, including 30 hours. Funded hours can be taken during term time or spread across the 51 weeks the nursery opens, allowing eligible families to consider how support fits their childcare year. Eligibility conditions still apply; participation in funding does not guarantee a particular place or attendance arrangement.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Care for younger children. In April 2025, learning support was less consistent for younger children. On a visit, ask how practitioners extend babies' and toddlers' play and how coaching helps staff respond to each child's interests.
• Health routines. April 2025 findings highlighted inconsistent handwashing after staff attended to children's noses. Ask how hygiene practice is checked throughout the day and reinforced through staff mentoring.
• Outdoor learning and upstairs preschool rooms. Preschool children can access forest school sessions within their nursery attendance timetable, and preschool rooms are on the first floor. Discuss how children move between these spaces and how outdoor participation is adapted to your child's needs.
• Funding across the year. Funded hours can be used term-time or spread over 51 weeks.

Little Achievers Forest School Nursery suits families who want outdoor exploration to form part of preschool attendance, with learning journeys connecting nursery activity to home. Its funding arrangements accommodate both term-time use and support spread across the opening year. The farmland setting and practical outdoor activities give it character; the April 2025 concerns about younger children's learning, hygiene and staff interaction remain important points to discuss when choosing care.