Jack In The Box Day Nursery Blurton

Outdoor colour hunts, dinosaur fact cards and a bear taken home for family adventures give this Blurton nursery's June 2021 account its character. Learning grew out of things children wanted to do, with counting and early literacy woven into play rather than confined to separate tasks.

At its 28 June 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found that children were progressing well and judged safeguarding effective. Those findings describe that visit. Jack In The Box Day Nursery Blurton has 55 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, that brings learning and care together: play provides opportunities to develop language, explore quantities and practise social skills.

In June 2021, children explored volume by pouring water and sand between containers, while toddlers used tweezers to collect worms and compare their sizes. Dinosaur fact cards extended children's interests. These were concrete ways to give familiar play an extra learning purpose.

The weekly pyramid physical session involved outdoor games, including chasing adults and matching shapes and colours. Older children explored the sounds in their names through rhythms tapped with sticks, and made chalk marks outside. Movement and early writing shared the outdoor space.

In June 2021, families contributed examples of achievements at home and goals such as potty training. Barney the Bear went home with children, who then shared his adventures. That gave family experiences a place in nursery conversation.

The June 2021 safeguarding account included an incident in which a child received medication that had not been prescribed for them, with no impact on the child. The manager acted promptly to prevent a repeat. Senior staff then supervised medication administration, checking it carefully and witnessing it being given.

During the pandemic, telephone calls, video contact, recorded stories and activity packs helped maintain contact with families. These describe the support provided at that time, rather than a current communication routine.

At the June 2021 inspection, Ofsted found effective use of additional early years funding to support language and physical development, alongside good support for children learning English as an additional language. Resources were chosen to address specific developmental needs.

Meals were freshly cooked each day in June 2021, with an alternative offered when a child did not eat the meal. Fruit at snack time also became a talking point, including discussion of a whole pineapple and how it grows.

The address is Blurtons Sure Start, Oakwood Road, Stoke On Trent, ST3 3AR. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas.

In June 2021, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated account of its funding provision.

• Time to answer. In June 2021, some less confident staff moved through questions too quickly. Further staff development was needed: during a visit, how do practitioners now give quieter children time to respond?
• Holiday cover. Bank holidays and a week at Christmas fall outside the opening schedule. Families needing childcare during those periods will need to plan around those closures.

For families seeking weekday childcare across the year, the opening schedule offers a clear practical starting point. The June 2021 picture adds useful substance: outdoor physical games, learning through children's interests and family contributions to nursery life. The Good judgement is dated, and the improvement point about allowing children time to answer deserves attention alongside those strengths.