Treetops Nursery Bootle

Signs, symbols and spoken language give Treetops Nursery Bootle a recognisable character. Its Makaton Friendly Setting award centres on communication through signs and symbols that can support speech. For a parent whose child needs another way to express a wish or join a conversation, that is a useful practical emphasis.

The nursery accepts children aged 4 to 59 months at 42 Irlam Road, Bootle, L20 4AL. Ofsted rated it Good on 28 January 2025. Communication support, play and opportunities to develop physical skills run through the account of children's day.

Attendance can include personalised hours and either term-time or stretched funding arrangements. Those choices matter for families fitting childcare around different working patterns, rather than following one fixed timetable.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development: children explore through play, with activities led by adults alongside those they choose themselves. Small-world play, books and imaginative experiences sit within that offer. The preschool emphasis is on investigation across the areas of learning, giving children opportunities to follow a question and experiment with resources.

Large, airy rooms provide the indoor setting, while outdoor space offers children of different ages opportunities to explore and exercise. These are useful physical complements to the play-based day. Movement and investigation have space alongside quieter experiences with books.

In January 2025, babies concentrated on moving through soft play, using their bodies to develop strength. Toddlers practised threading pasta onto pipe cleaners, persisting with a task that exercised their fingers and coordination. These examples make the age differences tangible: physical exploration for the youngest children, followed by more precise manipulation as their skills develop.

Communication also had concrete tools in January 2025. Staff used Makaton during the day and paired it with vision boards so children had ways to communicate what they wanted. The value lies in giving a child something usable in an ordinary interaction, rather than limiting communication support to a separate activity.

Popcats, a baby music session, and Spanish Classes add music and language experiences to the curriculum offer. Both are provided without an extra charge to parents. Their place alongside everyday play gives families enrichment within the nursery day rather than another activity bill.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2025, a planned key-person approach shaped care around individual children. Younger children received comfort and reassurance, while older children had help as they played and attempted new skills. That distinction matters: support could respond to a child's stage rather than treating babies and preschool children alike.

Shared, targeted learning plans connected home and nursery in January 2025. Staff involved parents in the plans and shared strategies they could use at home. This gave families a practical role in their child's learning, with support extending beyond the time spent in nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support a strength, with children benefiting from work involving speech and language therapists and health visitors. In January 2025, funding for individual children with SEND also supported dance lessons aimed at developing larger movements. The example shows how support could translate into an activity with a specific developmental purpose.

Independence needed more attention in January 2025. Babies and toddlers were encouraged to clean their hands and faces after eating, and preschool children attempted dressing themselves; however, adults still undertook some manageable tasks for them, including serving food and pouring drinks. Extending children's chances to do things themselves was the improvement priority. It is a useful distinction between helping a child and taking over a task they could practise.

Food is spread across the day, with a light breakfast, snacks and a main meal. Mealtimes also give children opportunities to talk with one another and staff, connecting eating with the nursery's communication emphasis.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.45am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. That closure pattern matters when planning care around work commitments.

Personalised start and finish times form part of the funded-hours approach. Families can use a term-time offer across 38 weeks or a stretched offer across 51 weeks. Additional hours can be purchased when needed and available, allowing paid childcare to sit alongside funded entitlement.

Enquiries can be made through an online form or by calling 0151-347-0097. The address is 42 Irlam Road, Bootle, L20 4AL.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the Early Years 15-hour entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds and the 15-hour or 30-hour extended entitlement for eligible working parents with children aged 9 months and above. Eligibility conditions still apply; these are different routes to funding rather than an entitlement to the same hours for every family.

For funded places, meals and non-food consumables have an age-dependent charging structure. Children aged 9 to 23 months incur no consumable charge; charges apply to children aged two to three and to three- and four-year-olds, with the latter varying by session length and meals. The charge covers food, drinks, nappies, wipes, creams, sun protection and sun hats. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation using its consumables and charges page.

• Practising independence. The January 2025 improvement priority concerned adults doing tasks children could attempt themselves. On a visit, ask how preschool children now practise serving food, pouring drinks and managing their clothing.
• Funding across the year. The choice is between a 38-week term-time offer and funding stretched across 51 weeks, with personalised hours. Compare the arrangement against your working year and the nursery's holiday closures.
• Age-dependent extras. Funded-place consumable charges differ by age, and charges for three- and four-year-olds also depend on session length and meals. A written quotation should match your child's age and intended attendance.

Treetops suits families seeking personalised attendance or a term-time pattern, with stretched funding offering another way to organise care across the year. Its communication offer gives it character: Makaton supports expression, while baby music and Spanish Classes add experiences without extra activity charges. The January 2025 improvement priority keeps the judgement balanced. Helping children communicate deserves attention; so does giving them room to complete everyday tasks themselves.