Atherton House School

Communication gives Atherton House School its clearest character: babies have a sheltered deck for exploration, older children encounter Spanish, and an Elklan Communication Friendly Setting accreditation connects staff training with practical changes to how children talk and listen. This Crosby nursery combines care from early infancy with a deliberate progression towards independence. The detail matters more than the name: this is childcare for children aged three months to five years, with capacity for 60 children.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged Atherton House School Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised a curriculum adapted to children's developmental needs, while asking for sharper staff supervision and more consistent behaviour expectations. Those improvement points deserve attention alongside the strengths. They concern the consistency of children's experience, rather than the number of activities on offer.

Full-day and half-day attendance give families different ways to use the nursery. Its home is a large semi-detached property with a substantial side garden at 6 Alexandra Road, Crosby, Liverpool L23 7TF.

Rooms and Ages

Four named rooms organise the progression through nursery, with overlapping age bands towards preschool. The Baby Room, for three to 20 months, combines sensory materials and books with songs and a sheltered outdoor deck, giving the youngest children opportunities to explore and communicate. Nursery Room, for 20 to 32 months, encourages children to choose resources and put them away themselves, with free movement between indoor learning and an artificial-grass outdoor area.

Kindergarten, for 32 to 42 months, develops listening and independence through stories, group discussion and movement activities such as catching and throwing. Pre-School, from 36 months, blends child-chosen activities with targeted small-group or individual work, alongside outdoor physical activity and regular Spanish sessions. These are different emphases, rather than simply different room labels: the progression moves from early communication towards making choices and managing more of the day independently.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the shared early-years framework: children learn through play across communication, relationships, movement, literacy, mathematics, understanding their surroundings and creative expression. Atherton House adds named approaches and practical activities to that foundation. The framework is the starting point, not a special programme unique to this nursery.

In the Baby Room, Five to Thrive gives time to respond, cuddle, relax, play and talk. That places ordinary interactions within an explicit approach to early development, rather than treating communication as a separate lesson. Baby yoga adds movement, while Makaton gives children a visual and tactile way to express feelings and needs. Together, these offer several routes into participation before spoken language is fluent.

For older children, The Road to School is a readiness programme intended to develop independence and confidence. Pre-School also uses Letters and Sounds Phase One, which develops speaking, listening and awareness of sounds, alongside elements of the Montessori Method. Here Montessori means observing individual needs and supporting purposeful activity at the child's pace; it sits alongside the EYFS rather than replacing it. Families seeking preparation for Reception therefore have concrete practices to weigh, including children choosing activities and receiving targeted support.

Elklan Communication Friendly Setting accreditation adds a setting-wide thread. Staff training is accompanied by visual prompts and comfortable spaces for conversation, with attention to noise, room layout and opportunities to see the speaker's face. These arrangements can make participation easier for a child who needs more than spoken instructions. The useful feature is the combination of adult interaction and the physical environment.

Outdoor and Community Life

The side garden is supplemented by outdoor spaces attached to the younger rooms. Pre-School uses Forest School activities, an outdoor learning approach, and movement sessions intended to develop coordination and teamwork. Outings extend beyond the nursery: children visit places including the library, duck pond and shops, while planned minibus trips include the farm, museum and pumpkin patch. Familiar community destinations give children things to talk about beyond their own rooms.

In November 2022, children collaborated on making an obstacle course more demanding, rode bikes and cars in a designated garden area, and used an outdoor pretend post office to write and send letters. Those examples show how physical challenges and early writing were connected to play at that time. Writing had a purpose, and children had a part in shaping the activity.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key carer responsible for monitoring development. Settling begins with an induction involving a familiar adult, followed by visits shaped around the child's needs; the usual aim is to begin two to four weeks before the start date. Settling sessions carry no charge. This gives parents a practical opportunity to share routines before their child begins regular attendance.

Communication continues through conversations and eyLog, a digital learning journal that can share photographs, video and audio as well as observations. Parents can contribute experiences from home, so the account of development can include more than nursery activities. Younger children also have a daily communication book. For families who want to understand how a child is spending the day, these are complementary forms of contact rather than a single occasional update.

Children's next steps are planned every two weeks, with an initial assessment after starting and subsequent updates every four months. Meetings accompany the two-year assessment and room changes. Before primary school, Pre-School staff arrange a parent meeting, invite school staff to meet children and prepare transition information. This is preparation and information sharing, with no admissions advantage implied.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

For a child with SEND, the nursery can arrange a more gradual transition and work with relevant agencies. That is a concrete support mechanism to discuss against the child's individual needs. In November 2022, children learning English as an additional language heard and used their home language during play, while staff used sign language and activities addressing pronunciation.

Sleep arrangements allow parents to choose a cot, mat or lie-flat buggy for a baby, and staff discuss the move towards beds with families. Home routines can be followed during settling, and children receive fresh bedding each day. The choice of sleep arrangement matters for a baby whose familiar pattern is still an important part of the day.

A cook prepares two meals daily on the premises, using a three-week menu cycle. Vegetarian and vegan alternatives are offered, and menus can be adapted for many dietary requirements, making an individual discussion important for children with allergies.

Sessions and Attendance

Atherton House offers full-day and half-day attendance and opens from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It operates for 50 weeks a year, closing on bank holidays and over Christmas, from 23 December until the new year's first working day. Families can therefore consider both shorter attendance and a full day within an offer that continues beyond school terms.

Enquiries can be made through the enquiry form or by telephone on 0151 924 5578. After an enquiry, families receive details of the online application process. Fees are paid monthly, with the weekly session pattern spread across the operating year to produce equal monthly payments. Tax Free Childcare payments are accepted.

Getting There

The address is 6 Alexandra Road, Crosby, Liverpool L23 7TF, with roadside parking for collection and drop-off. Merseyrail's Blundellsands Station is a 8-minute walk away, with rail connections to Southport and Liverpool, giving families a public-transport option alongside driving.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside privately paid attendance. The funding guidance for the 2025/2026 academic year set out the 30 hours Working Parent Entitlement from nine months and the 15 hours Universal Entitlement for children over three, spreading both across 50 weeks. That stretched arrangement spreads entitlement through the year rather than concentrating it into school terms.

Food, non-food consumables and activities have separate charge categories on the fee calculator. For stretched funded bookings, the 2025/2026 guidance described contributions towards extras including food, nappies and wipes; families are also asked to provide sun cream and suitable sun-protection caps. Funded hours and the extras bill therefore need to be considered separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the calculator's examples are illustrative rather than a personalised bill.

• Consistency of teaching and expectations. The November 2022 improvement points concerned the precision of feedback to staff and uneven application of behaviour expectations. On a visit, ask how supervision now addresses those points and how staff give children consistent choices and boundaries.
• The move towards preschool. Kindergarten covers 32 to 42 months, while Pre-School starts at 36 months. Ask how a child's readiness and routines determine the move between these overlapping stages, especially if maintaining familiar relationships is important.
• Funding and the total bill. The 2025/2026 guidance used stretched funding, while the charge structure separates food, non-food items and activities. Request a current written quotation for the intended full-day or half-day pattern, including the current funding arrangement and any alternatives to charged extras.
• Deposit refund terms. Deposit terms conflict over whether the whole deposit is returned before school starts or only part is credited to the final invoice. Obtain the applicable cancellation, notice and refund terms in writing before paying.

Atherton House suits families considering either full-day or half-day attendance who want communication threaded through care and learning. Five to Thrive, the Elklan Communication Friendly Setting arrangements and regular Spanish give that emphasis substance, while sheltered baby outdoor space and individual sleep choices bring the youngest children's practical needs into view.

The Good judgement from November 2022 provides a dated quality assessment alongside improvement points on consistency. For parents comfortable with separately charged extras and seeking gradual preparation for primary school, the combination of key-carer continuity, parent contributions through eyLog and structured transition work makes this a nursery worth considering.