Kids Planet Hixon

A large garden in quiet countryside gives Kids Planet Hixon a clear identity. This Hixon nursery pairs outdoor space with an emphasis on practical independence: its June 2024 daily life included children serving food, handling drinks and helping one another at mealtimes. Small tasks mattered here.

At its 25 June 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The improvement point concerned giving children more opportunities to express their ideas and develop their thinking through conversation, a useful distinction for parents weighing the educational offer.

Based at Horn End Cottage on Egg Lane, the nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 37 places in total. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings provide different ways to use the setting, rather than requiring every family to choose the same length of day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build skills through play, conversation and everyday experiences. In June 2024, that translated into activities with a practical purpose. Children experimented with photography, joined science and sports sessions, and explored nature on wonder walks around the community. These walks connected learning with the surroundings beyond the nursery.

Stories also became something children could participate in. In June 2024, staff used costumes and acted out The Tiger Who Came to Tea, giving children ways to explore the characters and their feelings. Books included stories, factual reading and brochures, so reading material extended beyond a single type of text. The value was in what adults did with it: bringing words and characters into shared activities.

Language teaching had a clear next step. During the same month, staff introduced vocabulary linked to children's play, but sometimes moved on before children could explain their own ideas. Learning a new word and having time to use it in a conversation are different opportunities. Parents should keep both in mind.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden is the strongest current physical feature. In June 2024, children moved water using a wheelbarrow, painted on sizeable pieces of material, planted seeds and washed vegetables. These experiences linked movement, making and exploration rather than treating outdoor time simply as a break from indoor activities.

Family involvement extended outside too. In June 2024, parents joined community trips, including visits to a local allotment to gather produce with their children. This gave families a role in shared experiences as well as opportunities to talk with staff.

Udeskole is Kids Planet's group-wide outdoor-learning approach, described as learning through direct contact with nature, including plants and wildlife. It provides context for the group's outdoor ambitions; Hixon's garden and its dated examples of community exploration are the concrete reasons to consider this branch.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, settling support included inviting children into manageable tasks, such as filling a water bottle. Familiar routines then offered further chances to take responsibility: children helped themselves at meals and received guidance with handwashing when needed. Independence was approached through ordinary care routines, with an adult helping where a child needed it.

Movement between rooms was gradual. In June 2024, babies spent time alongside toddlers practising pouring drinks and using an open cup. Sharing an activity with children at another stage gave them a way to rehearse developing skills before moving rooms. It is a useful example of transition being part of the day.

Famly, the parent app included in the fee, provides updates during the day. That gives families a communication route alongside direct conversations with staff. In June 2024, parents also attended stay-and-play sessions, and their suggestions informed changes to the setting's offer.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted praised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including coordination between the deputy manager acting as SENCO, families, staff and other professionals. The practical example was an imaginative wrist-strengthening activity, showing how support could be incorporated into play rather than kept apart from it.

In June 2024, staff met children's future teachers to discuss learning and progress, explored the stories used at their schools, and exchanged assessments with other settings when children attended more than one. These were individual transition arrangements, with information sharing helping adults understand children's preferences and emotions.

The June 2024 team comprised 11 childcare staff, nine of whom held early-years qualifications at level 3 or above. Those figures describe the team at that time. They are separate from the nursery's whole-setting capacity and do not establish the number of children in any room.

Sessions and Attendance

Kids Planet Hixon is at Horn End Cottage, Egg Lane, Hixon, Stafford, ST18 0PR. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 52 weeks of the year.

A Full Day runs from 7.30am to 5.30pm. Morning bookings run from 7.30am to 12.30pm, while Afternoon bookings cover 12.30pm to 5.30pm. A Full Time pattern comprises five full days. The morning and afternoon options therefore provide defined shorter bookings, while the full-time pattern serves families wanting attendance throughout the working week.

Contact is through the Hixon telephone or email enquiry route. A tour can be booked directly with the branch.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid care are offered. Meals and snacks are included in private fees, together with formula milk, wipes, sun cream and nappies; on days when early-years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately. The funded-day charges differ according to the length of the funded booking, so a family's attendance pattern affects more than its hours of care.

Freshly prepared food includes meals and snacks, with provision for dietary needs. Current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation, separating paid care from the charges associated with funded days.

• Conversation and thinking. The June 2024 improvement point concerned giving children more room to explain their ideas. During a tour, ask how practitioners now extend conversations while allowing children time to answer.
• Funding-day costs. Meals, consumables and activities carry separate charges when funding is applied. Compare a quotation for your actual morning, afternoon or full-day pattern, rather than assuming the private-fee inclusions apply in the same way.
• Your child's transition. June 2024 examples included shared activities between babies and toddlers and individual discussions with future teachers. Ask how settling and movement between rooms would be organised for your child.

Kids Planet Hixon suits families who value countryside surroundings, practical play and children learning to do things for themselves. Its morning and afternoon sessions make it relevant to families seeking shorter bookings, while full days and the five-day pattern serve those needing a longer working-week arrangement.

The June 2024 picture combines hands-on experiences with substantial individual support. Giving children more conversational space remains the educational point to explore. For the financial decision, keep private-fee inclusions and funded-day extras separate: the same nursery day can have a different charge structure depending on how it is funded.