Munchkins Village Nursery

A multi-level sensory lodge for babies gives Munchkins Village Nursery a clear point of difference: outdoor exploration starts with the youngest children, rather than waiting for preschool. Its Victorian building spans two floors, with a quiet ground-floor space for younger babies and direct access to their own garden. This Burscough nursery combines substantial outdoor provision with an everyday emphasis on conversation, play and growing independence.

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good. The principal improvement point concerned the layout of learning opportunities for the youngest children, who could not always reach what was intended for them independently. That is a useful qualification to the appeal of the gardens and indoor spaces.

Munchkins has 75 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 59 months. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings are offered, with age-dependent minimum attendance rules. Families considering baby care should pay particular attention to those rules: under-twos attend full days only.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room extends across the ground and first floors; the youngest babies use the quieter ground-floor room, which opens directly onto the dedicated baby garden. That connection gives outdoor play a practical place in baby care, rather than making it solely an activity for older children.

Minis, for children aged two to three, has a daily pattern combining circle time, planned activities, outdoor play and a midday sleep period. The Pre-school routine combines stories, group discussion, indoor play and outdoor sessions. These are recognisable stages of the day, with room for children to play as well as take part in adult-organised activities.

Across the building, open-plan rooms are divided into activity zones, creating separate places for play within shared spaces.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS structures learning across areas including language, physical development, relationships, literacy and mathematics: in everyday terms, conversation, movement and play sit alongside early reading and number experiences. This is the common early-years framework. Munchkins also uses Development Matters, a non-statutory guide to children's development, to help practitioners plan progression.

Planning starts with watching children play, listening to their interests and talking with parents. Activities can then develop from what a child already understands or wants to explore. Transport, insects, animals and healthy eating are examples of themes used in the curriculum, delivered through child-led play, adult-guided activities, individual work and small groups. The value for parents is the connection between a child's interests and the next learning opportunity, rather than a timetable of topics alone.

In September 2022, stories, singing and discussion featured throughout the rooms. Adults introduced vocabulary through children's experiences, including learning about insects and their habitats. Children also recognised the music signalling tidy-up time and helped clear spilled soil with a broom. These small routines gave them opportunities to take responsibility for their shared surroundings.

Outdoor and Community Life

The sensory lodge is a purpose-built, multi-level playhouse for under-twos in the baby garden, accessible throughout the year. Older children have climbing structures in the toddler and preschool garden, where physical challenge and imaginative play can overlap. The outdoor provision gives different age groups their own spaces and different ways to explore.

Elsewhere in the gardens, a water wall, fruit and vegetable patches, playhouses and an outdoor classroom beneath a gazebo support activities beyond climbing. Scooters, trikes and tandem trikes add movement and shared play. Those details make the outdoor spaces useful for several kinds of experience: investigating water, growing food, inventing games and practising physical skills.

In September 2022, children's experiences included canal cruises, library and woodland trips, and a Fire Brigade visit. Children explored a microlight aircraft in the car park on one occasion. These were concrete opportunities to encounter people, places and objects beyond familiar nursery play, with new subjects to talk about afterwards.

Relationships and Communication

Parents contribute information about children's interests to curriculum planning, while staff observe how children play and listen to their questions. This gives families a role in shaping learning: an interest noticed at home can inform what happens during the nursery day. The daily routines also retain time for spontaneous activities, so the structure does not account for every moment.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, identified successful key-person relationships and parent partnership, and found that teaching was adapted to support children with SEND. The key-person arrangement then drew on staff knowledge of children and their families to tailor care.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Current leadership includes a manager with SEND training, and the team has supervisory roles for baby, toddler and preschool provision. Staff undertake continuing training. That structure gives parents clear areas of responsibility to discuss when considering how support would work for their child, including communication between a room team and management.

All nursery staff have paediatric first-aid training, and an automated external defibrillator is installed on the premises. Minis has a midday sleep period within its routine, recognising that rest remains part of the day for this age group. For families balancing nursery attendance with sleep at home, that is a practical element of care to discuss alongside play and learning.

Food is prepared fresh each day in the nursery kitchen, with alternatives for allergies or religious requirements. Children sometimes help with cooking, including pizza-making, so food can also become a hands-on activity.

School preparation had a designated staff member responsible for it in September 2022. This placed responsibility for the move to school with a particular role, rather than leaving transition solely to individual room routines.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full Day Session runs from 7.30am to 6pm; Morning Session is 7.30am to 12.30pm; Afternoon Session runs from 1pm to 6pm. The difference matters for work patterns: a morning booking ends before the afternoon session begins.

Under-twos can attend only full-day sessions and must book at least two full days each week. From age two, the minimum is one full day or two half sessions per week. The younger-child rule therefore calls for a more substantial weekly commitment, while older children can attend through a shorter-session pattern.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01704 807202. The address is 31 Junction Lane, Burscough, L40 5SN.

Getting There

Burscough Junction train station is next to the nursery, a useful geographical reference for families considering rail travel. The premises include a car park, and access to the baby-room entrance uses a video intercom.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is offered for eligible age groups. Nursery fees include home-cooked meals and snacks, making food part of the paid-session package rather than a separate lunch arrangement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; eligibility and the terms of a particular funded booking need to be considered separately from the private-session pattern.

• Baby attendance commitment. Under-twos must attend at least two full days each week, and morning or afternoon sessions are not offered to them. This needs to fit both the family's working pattern and the amount of nursery care wanted.
• Independent access to activities. In September 2022, some intended learning opportunities were difficult for the youngest children to access. During a visit, ask how the present room layout enables babies to reach and choose activities.
• Funded booking costs. Funded childcare is offered, while meals and snacks are included in nursery fees. Ask how funded hours are scheduled and which food or non-food items the proposed funded quotation covers.

Munchkins suits families seeking baby care through full-day attendance, and families with children aged two and above who want either full days or morning and afternoon sessions. The sensory lodge, separate baby garden and outdoor classroom give its physical provision substance. Its curriculum planning connects children's interests with activities, supported by a daily rhythm of play, stories, outdoor time and rest.

The Good judgement dates to September 2022, and the improvement point about younger children's access to activities deserves attention when visiting. For parents whose required attendance matches the minimum bookings, the strongest attraction is the combination of age-specific outdoor spaces and opportunities for children to do more for themselves.