Partou Whalley Meadows Day Nursery & Forest School

Daily woodland exploration and weekly swimming give Whalley Meadows a clear outdoor character. Its on-site forest school brings children into a woodland area for activities led by a forest school leader, while a vegetable patch adds gardening to the nursery day. These are practical reasons to consider it for a child who enjoys moving, exploring and getting involved.

Partou Whalley Meadows Day Nursery & Forest School occupies Olympic House in Whalley and has 58 places in total, caring for babies through preschool age. At its 29 July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The judgement comes with two useful reservations: staff practice needed more consistent oversight, and parents needed more help to continue learning at home.

Full days, morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside term-time attendance, giving families several ways to organise care.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: physical exploration, conversation and early writing sit within that everyday learning. Alongside it, the group-wide Partou child led curriculum shapes activities around children's interests. Here, that includes arts, French lessons and sport, giving children different ways to take part rather than one fixed activity dominating the day.

In July 2025, books prompted children to explore unfamiliar animal vocabulary, including the name for a young sheep. Older children worked on recognising their written names and connecting letters with sounds; pencils, paint and chalk gave them different ways to practise making marks. These examples make preparation for later learning tangible. It involved conversation and practical activity rather than simply completing a task.

For babies, time spent playing on their fronts helped develop the strength needed for sitting and moving. In July 2025, staff used their understanding of development to decide what children should learn next. The important distinction is between providing an activity and choosing one that fits a child's stage.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest school sessions involve exploring woodland, with daily access to the nursery's own woodland area. That makes outdoor learning part of the regular offer. The vegetable patch provides another hands-on setting, connecting gardening with the nursery's outdoor life.

Weekly swimming lessons extend physical activity beyond the nursery, and visits to a local care home bring children into contact with another generation. For families who value experiences beyond the nursery rooms, these are substantial parts of its character.

In July 2025, children practised balancing and climbing on beams, with staff helping them tackle the challenge. The sand shed also encouraged shared projects: children built castles and excavated together. There was a social purpose as well as a physical one, with children cooperating over something they wanted to make. Community outings at that time included a local forest area and library.

Relationships and Communication

Settling received careful attention in July 2025, both when children first joined and when they moved between rooms. Familiar routines and staff guidance helped make those changes understandable. For a family considering a baby's first experience of nursery, the room move matters too: adjustment continues after the initial start.

Care routines were handled respectfully in July 2025. Staff spoke with children before helping with nappy changes or wiping noses, giving them a part in what happened to their bodies. Older children took responsibility for everyday jobs, including preparing tables and putting resources away. Small tasks gave them opportunities to contribute to the group.

Regular progress updates are included within the care fee. In July 2025, staff also gathered information about children's interests at home and used it to plan activities. At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that relationships with parents were good, but advice to help families extend learning at home needed strengthening. Communication about the nursery day and practical guidance for home are different benefits; the latter was the improvement point.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In July 2025, children used mirrors to examine their features before painting portraits of themselves, exploring how they resembled and differed from others. Toothbrushing and handwashing were also part of daily life at that time, making personal care something children practised themselves.

Meals are cooked at the nursery using a seasonal menu. Food and drinks are covered by a separate meals and snacks charge, so families need to distinguish the food offer from the cost of care.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. A full-day booking runs from 8am to 6pm; morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. An early drop-off session covers 7.30am to 8am. These are separate booking choices, so an early start should be considered alongside the main session rather than assumed to be part of it.

Both year-round and term-time attendance are offered. Bank holidays are closure days, Christmas Eve finishes at 4pm, and the nursery closes between Christmas and New Year. Charges run across 51 weeks, including bank holidays, which matters when comparing the annual cost with the days a child actually attends.

Getting There

The address is Olympic House, The Sidings, Whalley, Clitheroe, BB7 9SE. Whalley Train and Bus Stations are nearby, giving public transport users named points around which to plan their journey.

The branch enquiry form accepts questions about fees and other nursery matters; the contact number is 01254 825550.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Lancashire Local Authority. For eligible families, funding typically covers 15 or 30 hours a week over 38 term weeks, with a maximum of 10 funded hours a day; for year-round attendance, these are stretched across 51 weeks to give 11.17 or 22.35 funded hours each week. Term-time attendance retains the 15 or 30 weekly hours over 38 weeks. This changes how much of a weekly booking funding covers.

Funding pays for care. Meals and snacks carry a separate charge, as do consumables, including sun cream, wipes and nappies; both categories are charged during funded sessions too. Families should compare the whole charge structure, including any privately paid care, rather than treating funded hours as covering every part of the day.

Joining involves either a non-refundable registration charge or a deposit to reserve the place, with eligibility governed by the terms and conditions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Consistency of teaching. In July 2025, leaders did not always pick up differences in how successfully staff taught the curriculum. During a visit, ask how staff practice is now reviewed across the nursery.
• Learning beyond nursery. Support for extending learning at home was a July 2025 improvement point. Ask for an example of the practical guidance families now receive alongside progress updates.
• The full cost of funded attendance. Meals, snacks and consumables are charged during funded sessions, and annual charges include bank holidays. Compare a written quotation for your chosen pattern with the closure calendar.
• A baby's settling plan. July 2025 settling arrangements covered both starting nursery and changing rooms. On a visit, discuss how that plan would work for your child and ask about the youngest room's daily group size.

Whalley Meadows suits families who value daily woodland activity and weekly swimming, whether they need full days or shorter morning and afternoon sessions. Term-time attendance adds another practical option. Its outdoor offer is concrete, with woodland exploration and gardening complemented by contact with the local care home.

The July 2025 Good judgement supports consideration, while the improvement points give families a clear agenda for a visit. Consistent teaching and useful guidance for learning at home deserve attention alongside the appealing activities. The separate food and consumables charges also make the complete quotation essential to the decision.