Portico West End

A school conservation area, a mud kitchen and music through Tiny Tweeties give Portico West End a recognisable character. Based within the grounds of West End Primary School in Ormskirk, it combines a separate Baby Room with adjoining spaces for older children. The practical appeal is the variety of environments: children can investigate outdoors, move to music or spend quieter time in the sensory room.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 25 October 2022. Its current capacity is 68 children, with an accepted age range from three months to five years. That whole-setting figure is separate from the capacity of an individual room and does not describe how many children attend together.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room places resources within babies' reach and emphasises sensory exploration and relationships with a key person, making the environment accessible to children who are still developing movement and communication.

For older children, the 2-5's Room has capacity for 44 across adjoining rooms, with free movement between learning areas and an emphasis on exploring, developing ideas and following children's interests.

Ten continuous provision areas give older children choices within the space. Resources are adjusted around their interests, while staff use questions that invite more than a brief answer. This arrangement gives children opportunities to choose an activity and pursue an idea, rather than relying entirely on adult-led tasks. The shared age grouping is also a practical consideration for families choosing care for a toddler or a child approaching school age.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, learning includes talking, playing, investigating materials and building the physical and social skills needed to take part in nursery life.

Tiny Tweeties adds music and movement sessions intended to support listening, early language and physical coordination. It gives rhythm and movement a named place in the nursery's activities, alongside children's own choices and interests.

In October 2022, younger children explored resources positioned at different heights, encouraging them to reach, stand and crawl. Threading shapes also gave them practice coordinating hands and eyes. Older children's interest in volcanoes prompted an experiment with water, food colouring and oil. The useful feature was the connection between an existing fascination and something children could investigate themselves.

Language was woven into practical activities in October 2022. Making play dough became an opportunity to introduce descriptive vocabulary, while stories invited children to supply missing words or invent an ending. These examples show how conversation and imagination could develop through ordinary play, rather than only through a separate language activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Weekly visits take children to the school's conservation area, where den building is among the activities. Preschool children prepare snacks for picnics, giving them a practical reason to practise handling food and doing things for themselves. The nursery's outdoor space also includes a bug hunting area and mud kitchen, adding investigation and messy play to the day.

In October 2022, children climbed a leaf-covered hill, moved around trees and balanced across stepping stones made from tree stumps. However, outdoor teaching and learning still needed development to match the indoor experience. The physical opportunities were evident; the educational use of the outdoor area was an improvement priority.

Relationships and Communication

A key-person arrangement supports relationships with children and families. In the older room, parents' comments contribute to a monthly evaluation used to shape planning for individual children. That gives family observations a defined place in decisions about nursery activities.

In October 2022, familiar adults offered younger children comfort, and photographs of their families were displayed in learning spaces. Staff encouraged sharing, taking turns and polite exchanges at snack time. These were concrete ways of connecting emotional reassurance with learning to live alongside other children.

Team development also had a regular structure in October 2022: staff met weekly and received supervision to discuss and develop their work. This matters because the consistency of adults' responses can shape a child's experience as much as the resources around them.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its October 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described timely support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, involving parents, other professionals, assessment and additional funding. Those findings relate to that inspection date.

The sensory room provides a place for relaxation and smaller key-group activities. This adds a quieter setting alongside the shared older-child space and outdoor play. Independence also deserves attention: in October 2022, children served food and mixed paint themselves, but staff did not consistently give older children opportunities to manage their own personal care.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery closes on bank holidays and for a week over Christmas, so families needing care during those periods should factor those closures into their plans.

Getting There

The address is West End Primary School, Grimshaw Lane, Ormskirk, L39 1PA. Nursery parking includes disabled spaces, and the building's accommodation is on a single level.

Place enquiries can be made through the nursery's contact form or by telephone on 01695 571757.

Funding and Paid Extras

In October 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Its childcare offer and charges page provides West End application packs covering fixed contracts, flexible contracts and funding options. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

School transition has a concrete communication pattern: weekly conversations with the Reception teacher and a termly meeting between the nursery manager and school headteacher. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Outdoor learning. Developing outdoor teaching was an October 2022 improvement priority. During a visit, ask how the conservation area, bug hunting area and mud kitchen now contribute to planned learning.
• Growing independence. Older children's personal care was another October 2022 improvement point. Ask how staff encourage children to manage these routines themselves, alongside preparing picnic snacks.
• The shared older-child space. The 2-5's Room spans adjoining rooms and has capacity for 44. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how activities and quieter periods work for children at different stages.
• The contract choice. Fixed, flexible and funding-option application packs are offered for West End. Ask for a written breakdown covering the attendance pattern, funded hours, meals, consumables and any other charges before choosing a contract.

Portico West End suits families who value outdoor investigation, music and movement, and regular communication with the school on the same site. Tiny Tweeties, the conservation area and the sensory room give that appeal substance. The October 2022 Good judgement is a useful dated assessment, with outdoor learning and older children's independence the clearest areas to explore on a visit.