Portico Nursery

Softer spaces for babies, an upstairs preschool and a separate room for smaller activities give Portico Nursery at Mere Grange a clear physical identity. Children have space to explore and somewhere to pause. The nursery accepts children aged three months to five years and has capacity for 118 children in total.

At its December 2025 inspection, Ofsted assessed inclusion and behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines at Strong standard, with achievement, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance at Expected standard; safeguarding standards were met. The practical improvement was consistent encouragement of independence, especially for babies and younger children. That matters in the small tasks that gradually become a child's own responsibility.

Rooms and Ages

Three rooms span the baby, toddler and preschool stages across two floors. Their layouts give families concrete differences to consider as children grow, from flexible sleep routines to bathrooms designed for developing self-care.

Baby Room accommodates up to 15 children from birth to two years, with a milk kitchen, separate changing space, quieter areas for younger babies and places for messy play, pretend play, movement and rest. Flexible routines allow for children's different sleeping patterns. For parents of a young baby, the room's cap and its mix of active and quieter spaces are useful details to weigh together.

The 2-3's Room accommodates up to 25 children, combining freely accessible play areas with activities that adapt to changing interests and a bathroom arranged for potty and toilet training. Practitioners work with parents on children's needs. This makes the move towards toileting a shared task between home and nursery.

Preschool is upstairs, with capacity for 40 children, freely accessible activity areas, adult-led experiences, a separate space for smaller activities and a bathroom that allows staff to help while remaining in the room. Children can return to an activity and practise it again. At mealtimes, they sit with their key person and talk about their day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning and care: in December 2025, children here developed language through water play, explored movement using ramps and talked about textures during creative activities. These are tangible ways to connect new words with something a child can feel or do.

During that month, babies explored climbing, sensory activities and mark making on a large scale. Older children used imaginative and investigative play, including dolls and water at different temperatures. Shared stories, songs and small-group activities gave children opportunities to listen, contribute and practise taking turns.

Learning also included conversations about emotions and experiences that developed coordination. Mathematical vocabulary was an identified curriculum priority in December 2025. For families, the useful picture is of learning woven into practical experiences, with language running through several kinds of play.

Relationships and Communication

Daily diary books in Baby Room record eating, drinking and sleep, giving parents a practical account of their child's care. Flexible sleeping routines recognise that babies do not all need rest at the same time. That connection between nursery routines and information taken home is valuable when a family is establishing its own rhythm.

In December 2025, babies rested in darkened, calm spaces, with regular checks and sleep records accessible to parents. Staff offered comfort when children's emotions changed and used familiar stories and props to help them identify feelings. When disagreements arose, adults helped children understand what had happened and put relationships right.

School preparation in December 2025 included meeting new teachers and practising lunch routines with lunch boxes. Room moves also involved sharing information between staff. These concrete preparations give children something familiar to draw on during a change of setting or routine.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified individual needs promptly and adapted support through visual sequences, simpler language, sensory strategies and collaboration with families and professionals, helping children with SEND participate and progress. Support was reviewed and adjusted as needs changed.

The December 2025 examples included physical activities guided by physiotherapy advice for babies with emerging needs. Additional funding supported extra adult time or sensory resources. The practical value lies in matching help to the child, then reviewing whether that help is working.

Independence needed more consistent attention across rooms in December 2025. Children were not always encouraged to attempt tasks such as putting on their own coats. Warm adult support and opportunities to try things independently both matter; this is a useful point to explore during a visit.

Sessions and Attendance

Portico Nursery is at 106 Mere Grange, Leaside, St Helens, WA9 5GG. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Those closures need to fit a family's wider childcare arrangements.

Enquiries can be made on 01744 833777 through the Mere Grange contact route. Application and fixed-contract packs are provided for this branch, alongside a funding-options pack. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• Independence in the youngest rooms. Consistent encouragement of self-care was the December 2025 improvement priority, especially for babies and younger children. On a visit, ask how practitioners now give children time to attempt manageable tasks before helping.
• An upstairs preschool. Preschool occupies the upper floor and includes a separate space for smaller activities. Discuss how your child's movement, accessibility and room-transition needs would work with that layout.
• Your attendance and total bill. Mere Grange has fixed-contract and funding-options packs. Ask which booking pattern fits your week and how funded hours, meals and consumables would be treated within it.

Portico Nursery suits families seeking care across the year, with clearly differentiated spaces from babyhood to preschool. Baby Room's quieter areas and flexible sleep routines have practical appeal, while the upstairs preschool gives children space for both freely chosen and adult-led activity.

The December 2025 assessment gives inclusion and everyday routines particular weight. Consistency in developing independence remains the decision point to examine closely. For parents who value individual support and a clear connection between care routines and learning, Mere Grange merits consideration.