The Parish Nursery

An indoor climbing wall, a garden that supplies vegetables for lunch and outings to the HALO give The Parish Nursery a character that extends well beyond its main playrooms. This Haslingden setting combines space for energetic movement with quieter sensory exploration. Children can balance, grow things and explore their community, rather than spend the whole day in one room.

The nursery takes children from 3 months and has 52 places in total. Its main nursery rooms are the Baby Room, Lower Tweenies and Upper Tweenies, with separate provision for school-age children. At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That judgement is dated: the practical offer below includes current arrangements, while observations from that visit retain their March 2022 context.

Attendance includes full days and half days, alongside funded arrangements across the year or, for children over two, during term time. The choice matters for families fitting childcare around different working patterns. Physical space and an adaptable start are the strongest practical attractions here; the March 2022 recommendations on planning, staff feedback and baby-room hygiene deserve equal attention.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room serves children up to 24 months and combines sensory exploration with a main room split into two connected areas, access to a sensory room and a separate outdoor space for babies. The arrangement gives the youngest children different places for quieter exploration and active play, with arrangements tailored to their individual routines.

For children aged two to three, Lower Tweenies emphasises growing independence, with access to sensory and physical spaces and free movement between its main room and the outdoors. Upper Tweenies, for children aged three and above, brings early reading, writing and mathematics into play, alongside communication, cooperation and practical independence, with outdoor access from the main room. These are stages with different emphases, rather than interchangeable room names.

The shared Physical Room adds substantial indoor movement equipment: balancing steps and soft play at varying heights sit alongside climbing equipment and a climbing feature wall. It gives active play a place indoors as well as outside. The sensory room provides a different pace, using textures, sound and light away from the busiest play areas. Having both spaces allows the day to include movement and quieter exploration.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, learning through play sits alongside language, relationships, movement and increasing independence. Parish adds its In the Moment curriculum, in which staff respond to children's interests and needs as they arise, using everyday experiences as opportunities to learn. The approach sits alongside the statutory framework.

In March 2022, language work included introducing descriptive vocabulary during babies' exploration, while older children took part in targeted speaking activities. A book of the week gave staff a starting point for introducing unfamiliar words, and story sessions used props and interactive books to hold children's attention. These examples show how conversation and stories could become teaching opportunities rather than simply fill time.

Planning was less consistent. In March 2022, activities did not always build sufficiently on what children already knew or address what they needed to learn next. Staff feedback also needed to become more precise so that practitioners could improve how they put the curriculum into practice. For parents, the useful distinction is between following a child's interests and making sure the resulting activity extends their learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outside, the adventure trail offers climbing and balance challenges on the grass, while bikes and scooters use the tarmac. Sand and water activities add a different kind of exploration. Sheltered options include a hut and covered decking used for books and sensory resources, so outdoor time can accommodate quieter play as well as movement.

Gardening has a practical purpose. Children help with planting, watering and harvesting vegetables that are used in nursery meals, connecting what grows outdoors with what arrives on their plate. The garden plot also provides opportunities to care for herbs and plants. This makes food and nature tangible parts of the day.

Local outings include the HALO, parks, supermarkets and care homes. Further trips use the nursery minibus, with destinations including farms, cinemas and sea-life centres. The value is the change of context: children encounter everyday community places as well as larger destinations. These are outings, rather than a promise of a fixed weekly timetable.

Relationships and Communication

Settling visits are not capped, and staff follow children's established routines when they begin. Families therefore have scope to build familiarity before the regular attendance pattern starts. Each room has its own regular staff, with familiar colleagues covering absences, which supports continuity rather than making every change of practitioner a fresh introduction.

In March 2022, staff stayed nearby when new children needed reassurance and adjusted their interactions to individual needs. Parents received continuing information about both development and the nursery day, with guidance about extending learning at home. These were practical links between home and nursery, rather than communication confined to formal reviews.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDCo works with families, practitioners and outside professionals, and a specialist Inclusion Teacher contributes advice and tailored next steps. The Physical Room also serves as a key worker space for individual activities. These are concrete support mechanisms: specialist advice can inform planning, while a separate space allows work with a child away from the main group.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that developmental monitoring and prompt involvement of outside professionals supported children with SEND well. Current support arrangements should be understood through the SENDCo and Inclusion Teacher roles, rather than treating that dated judgement as an individual guarantee.

Hygiene was a specific concern in March 2022: baby-room staff did not consistently clean their hands after wiping children's noses, creating a risk of spreading infection. Older children were learning handwashing and toothbrushing and practising independence through dressing themselves, managing personal care and helping prepare the lunch table. The contrast makes baby-room hygiene an important discussion point for families with younger children.

A nursery cook prepares homemade meals using a four-week menu cycle; some vegetables come from the nursery garden. The allergy policy includes recording and sharing dietary needs, measures against cross-contamination and annual staff training in allergy awareness and food hygiene.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6pm, and operates for 51 weeks of the year. It closes on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year. Bank-holiday charges continue, while the Christmas closure week is not charged. The minimum childcare booking is two days.

Private childcare includes full-day and half-day patterns. Funded attendance across the year includes 22.5 hours over two days, using either 7.30am to 5.30pm or 8am to 6pm. For children over two, the term-time options are 15 hours across two days, from 8.30am to 4pm, or 30 hours across three days, with the same choice of longer daily windows. The different funded patterns affect both the number of attendance days and the collection time.

Tree tops is the nursery's before-school, after-school and holiday club for children aged four to eleven, with its own multipurpose room, toilets and access to a separate play area. Holiday sessions run from 9am to 3pm or from 7.30am to 6pm. School transport includes Helmshore Primary School, and minibus transport is included in the club's care charge. This is a childcare transport arrangement, with no implication of an admissions advantage.

Getting There

The address is Lower Lane, Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancashire BB4 5RA. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01706 222 788 or by email to smile@parishnursery.co.uk; visits can also be arranged through the nursery.

Funding and Paid Extras

Working-family funding of 15 or 30 hours is offered from the term after a child turns nine months, with term-time delivery an option once children are two or older. The nursery also accepts the Golden Ticket entitlement for eligible two-year-olds and the 15-hour entitlement for three-year-olds. Eligibility conditions still apply to the relevant entitlement.

On funded days, hot meals, trips and resources carry an additional charge, with a packed-lunch option. These extras are separate from the funded childcare hours themselves. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees and funding page explains the attendance options and charge structure.

• Baby-room practice and learning plans. The March 2022 recommendations covered consistent baby-room hygiene, better use of children's next steps and sharper feedback to staff. At a visit, discuss how handwashing is managed and how an activity is adapted to extend an individual child's learning. These questions connect directly to the weaknesses identified at that time.
• Funded days and family costs. Meals, trips and resources are charged separately on funded days, and a packed lunch is an alternative. The two-day minimum and continuing bank-holiday charges also affect the overall commitment. Have the written quotation set out the pattern and extras together so the cost matches the intended attendance.
• School-club collection times. The club information gives an after-school start of 3pm, while the fee schedule gives 3.15pm; before-school care is described both as ending at school opening and at 8.45am. Confirm the timetable for the particular school before planning collections around it.
• Settling and dietary needs. Settling visits have no fixed limit, and children's home routines are followed when they start. Discuss the settling plan during a visit; for a child with an allergy, confirm current meal preparation and dietary procedures as part of that conversation.

Parish suits families choosing between full-day and half-day childcare, as well as those comparing term-time funded attendance with an across-the-year pattern. The combination of a Physical Room, sensory space, outdoor adventure trail and food-growing activities gives children several ways to explore. Unlimited settling visits are another useful practical feature.

The balance is clear. There is substantial provision for movement, quieter activity and individual support, but the March 2022 recommendations make teaching precision and baby-room hygiene important parts of the decision. Families who value varied spaces and community outings have concrete reasons to consider Parish, while weighing the attendance commitment and funded-day extras carefully.