Streatham House Nursery

Art-gallery trips, baby sensory play and rooms divided into Robins and Owls give Streatham House Nursery a recognisable character. Its eight rooms span early exploration to school preparation: babies have sleeping zones, while older children choose accessible materials and practise bathroom independence.

At its 22 December 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with Outstanding judgements for behaviour and attitudes and personal development, and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated assessment, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision.

Streatham House Nursery cares for children from three months to five years at 2-4 Victoria Road West, Blundellsands, L23 8UQ. It has capacity for 80 children. Full-day and half-day attendance are both offered, making the setting relevant to families with different childcare patterns.

Rooms and Ages

Robins and Owls each has four play rooms and an Education Manager. Introduced in September 2021 to reduce room transitions, the two sides work together as one nursery.

Observers, for babies aged three to 16 months, combines sensory and black-and-white areas with space for crawling and early walking, outdoor access and quiet places to rest. Daily sensory play and frequent singing put sound, texture and movement within babies' reach. Parents share eating, sleeping and play routines, giving staff practical information about each baby's day at home.

Discoverers, for children aged 16 to 26 months, uses open-plan play, craft and messy-play areas, a home corner and an outdoor play area to support increasingly mobile children. Paintbrushes with water and sticks used in sand introduce mark-making through movement rather than requiring children to sit with a pencil. Miniature tables and chairs also mark the move towards feeding themselves alongside other children.

Explorers, for children aged 24 to 36 months, has spaces for construction, reading, role play and craft, with accessible storage that lets children choose their materials. Adventurers, from 36 months, combines art, early literacy and practical independence with its own bathroom and cosy corners for quiet time. These are environments built around different stages of development, rather than the same activities repeated in every room.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets standards for learning, development and care. The learning-through-play curriculum combines children's choices with adult-supported projects: construction, stories, mark-making, water play and nature exploration let children investigate and practise ideas individually and together.

Adventurers uses Letters and Sounds to develop listening, concentration and early reading. Dough disco, threading and building give children ways to exercise their hands, while recognising their name, putting on a coat and managing toileting connect learning with everyday independence. Pictures of artists and work with natural materials encourage children to make art themselves; gallery and museum trips provide further starting points.

Elite Sports Coaching visits weekly for a multi-skills programme covering balance, ball control and coordination. Yoga includes animal movements for younger children and quieter sessions for preschool children. These additions bring movement into the learning day in different ways, from practising control to making time to pause.

In December 2021, chalkboards, dinosaur and vehicle tracks in sand, pincers and dough combined early writing with finger exercise. Puppets supported storytelling; log beams and an imaginary outdoor bear hunt linked movement with imagination.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor play area has walls and fencing around it, with trees and bushes adding natural surroundings. Walks into Crosby Village extend children's experiences beyond nursery play spaces. Discoverers also visits a local duck pond through the park, giving younger children an opportunity to observe the world outside their room.

The nursery minibus supports outings including Explorers' trips to Imagine That and pumpkin picking. Library, farm and museum visits extend children's experiences beyond the nursery.

For children finishing nursery, the Graduation Ceremony includes a cap and gown. It gives the move to school a tangible milestone, alongside the quieter work of practising independence and sharing information with the next setting.

Relationships and Communication

A Key Carer gives each baby a familiar link between nursery and home, with activities planned around interests shared by the family. Online daily diaries record babies' experiences and observations. This is useful communication for parents of children who cannot yet explain their day themselves.

Settling begins with a familiar adult and adapts to the child and family. Sessions aim to start four weeks before attendance, allowing extra time if needed. Staff initially follow home routines; babies may retain individual routines.

Families discuss babies' cot, mat or flat-backed pram options and toddlers' move to beds. Bedding is fresh daily and washed afterwards, keeping sleep arrangements individual and parents involved in changes.

The eyLog app shares photos, video and audio observations and accepts contributions from home. Written updates every three months and room- and school-transition meetings give parents regular accounts of progress and conversations around changes.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2021 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified developmental concerns promptly and worked with parents and other professionals, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Support involved action when concerns arose.

Each room has a leader and a permanent staff team, with other staff covering absences and time away from direct care. Practitioners receive first-aid training. Access to the main building is controlled by staff, and collection arrangements use passwords and identifying information for the person collecting.

A cook prepares meals on the premises each day, using a three-week menu rotation. The nursery's dietary policy offers vegetarian and vegan alternatives and adaptations for many allergy requirements, so families managing an allergy should discuss their child's needs and confirm current arrangements.

School preparation also includes communication with the receiving setting. Schools are invited to meet children who will attend them, and transition reports share information that helps the next staff team understand the child. This complements the practical preparation in Adventurers without implying an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Full-day and half-day bookings are offered. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; those opening hours should be distinguished from the length of an individual half-day booking. Fees are invoiced monthly, with payment due on the first of the month.

The Christmas closure begins after 23 December, with reopening on the first working day of the new year. The nursery also closes on bank holidays. An enquiry form provides the initial contact route, and enrolment uses an application pack returned with a deposit.

Getting There

The address is 2-4 Victoria Road West, Blundellsands, L23 8UQ. The nursery can also be contacted by telephone on 0151 924 2445.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the expanded offer for nine-month-old and two-year-old children, alongside funding for three- and four-year-olds. Private childcare is also offered. Eligibility and the funding a child actually uses affect the individual calculation; the calculator's results are illustrative, and current prices should be obtained in the nursery's written quotation.

Food, non-food consumables and activities are separately charged categories on the fees page. Nappies and wipes are supplied, while families provide sun cream; bottles come from home, and medically required alternative formula is also supplied by parents. A deposit includes an administration charge, with the remaining refundable part returned or credited at departure provided the appropriate notice is given; the deposit is non-refundable if the family decides not to take the place.

• Room progression. Robins and Owls each has a sequence of rooms, and the age bands overlap. During a visit, ask how staff decide when your child is ready to move and how continuity with their key person is managed.
• Younger children's language. In December 2021, some conversations with younger children used language that did too little to extend vocabulary. Ask how practitioners now build more challenging words into play and everyday exchanges.
• Learning environments. In December 2021, changes to rooms had not yet brought the new teaching ideas into use throughout the nursery. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how those ideas now work in your child's room.
• Languages and the childcare quotation. Adventurers' timetable includes French, while the activities programme includes Spanish. Clarify which language sessions apply to your child's room, and request a written quotation separating funded attendance, private hours and the food, consumables and activity charges.

Streatham House Nursery suits families seeking full-day or half-day attendance, from baby sensory play to preschool independence. Baby diaries, individual settling and sleep arrangements, accessible resources and school-transition communication give families practical support.

Letters and Sounds, Elite Sports Coaching and gallery visits add substance for older children. The December 2021 Good judgement sits alongside priorities for younger children's vocabulary and room environments, both useful topics for a visit.