Springfield Montessori Nursery

A forest, bike track and mud kitchen give Springfield Montessori Nursery an outdoor identity that goes well beyond a single play area. Its grounds extend across 1.5 acres of green belt in Aughton, while each main room has outdoor space of its own. For children, that means both an age-specific place to explore and larger surroundings to discover as they grow.

At its December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and found that its carefully planned curriculum supported outstanding progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. The practical character is equally clear: room groups generally move together, younger children have their own outdoor areas, and preschool learning combines small-group teaching with access to the forest and greenhouse.

Springfield has capacity for 111 children and accepts children aged 6 to 59 months. It operates throughout the year, with weekday opening hours extending from early morning into the evening. The Famly App gives parents a way to follow their child's nursery day on a phone or tablet.

Rooms and Ages

Friendships shape the room organisation. Children generally remain with their room companions as they progress through the nursery, moving together in September; a small number transfer from Bluebell to Poppy in January. That gives room changes a social thread: children can make the move alongside familiar peers rather than starting again with an entirely different group.

Snowdrop serves babies aged between 0 and 1, with staff trained specifically in baby care and a garden looking over the field. Bluebell, for children aged between 1 and 2, encourages independence through activities such as feeding themselves and has a sizeable outdoor area of its own. Poppy also serves the 1 to 2 age band, combining attention to the key-person relationship with a rubber-surfaced outdoor area that children can move into freely.

Daffodil occupies two large indoor spaces, with shared outdoor access and a dedicated toilet area; its children turn 3 during the year, and activities develop confidence, self-help and independence around their interests. Sunflower is the purpose-built preschool for children turning 4 during the year, combining small-group work on reading, sounds and counting with access to the greenhouse, top field, forest and mud kitchen.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, the day brings together play chosen by children and activities led by adults, indoors and outside. The important distinction is between that shared framework and Springfield's particular arrangements: additional activity spaces, small-group preschool teaching and outdoor environments attached to individual rooms.

The Sensory Room, Montessori / Teaching Room and Quiet Activity Room extend the space beyond the main rooms. Children from different rooms can come together in small groups to use them, and two interactive screens support sensory activities and teaching. These spaces make it possible to change the setting and scale of an activity, rather than keeping every experience within a child's usual room. The rooms and learning arrangements explain how those spaces fit together.

In December 2023, children explored sounds, textures and scents. Adults used a pan and colander to help them investigate why some containers hold water and others let it escape. Everyday objects provided practical questions about cause and effect.

Outdoor and Community Life

The bike track, forest and mud kitchen give outdoor play different purposes, from movement to exploration and handling materials. Sunflower's greenhouse adds another physical setting to the preschool day. Outdoor access is also built into the younger rooms, so the grounds are not solely a destination for the oldest children.

In December 2023, children used broad outdoor spaces for running and climbing and explored the natural woodland area. Community experiences included food collections, charitable donations and visits from parents and professionals who talked about their work. These were concrete introductions to helping others and understanding the jobs people do, rather than an abstract lesson about community.

Relationships and Communication

Poppy explicitly builds a close relationship between each child and their key person as children develop a stronger sense of themselves. The room-group arrangement adds a different kind of continuity: friendships can remain part of a child's daily life across room changes. These are two separate supports, one through a familiar adult and the other through familiar peers.

Parents can use the Famly App to follow day-to-day nursery experiences. In December 2023, families also took part in discussions about their children's development and future learning, and staff consulted them about nursery plans. The combination gives communication both an everyday channel and a broader purpose: understanding what a child is working towards, as well as what happened that day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised SEND support that combined professional liaison, regularly reviewed individual plans and adjustments to equipment, activities and the environment. That finding matters because it describes mechanisms, rather than a general promise of inclusion: staff changed the conditions of participation around children's needs.

In December 2023, adults made space for children to play independently, alongside others and in small groups. Outdoor supervision also allowed children to consider risks while attempting physical challenges, including climbing trees. The balance was between adult oversight and children's own judgement, with exploration remaining part of the experience.

For preschool children, preparation for school includes small-group work on letters, sounds, numbers, counting and reading. Children develop at their own pace. This is preparation through learning and increasing independence, with self-help skills already receiving attention in Daffodil before the move into Sunflower.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 59 Springfield Road, Aughton, Ormskirk, L39 6ST. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Closures include bank holidays and Christmas. Families can contact the nursery by telephone or use its contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children from 9 months can use Early Education Funding of between 15 and 30 hours at Springfield. Funding is delivered on a stretched basis rather than through term-time-only places, and additional hours beyond a child's daily funded entitlement are charged separately. Eligibility remains a condition of the offer; the funding should be considered alongside the hours a family needs across the year.

Food and snacks carry a separate charge. Parents choosing to supply food must provide everything for the day, give 12 weeks' notice and sign an agreement covering the nursery's food policy, including labelling, ingredients and safe preparation.

Spanish and Music and Movement are separately charged activities for preschool children whose parents choose to opt in. Their optional status matters when comparing the core childcare arrangement with extras. Springfield also accepts Tax-Free Childcare, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Room changes and friendships. Most groups move together in September, with a smaller Bluebell-to-Poppy move in January. During a visit, discuss how your child's age and development would fit that pattern and how the change is prepared for.
• A stretched funding arrangement. Funded hours run across the year, while additional hours and food are charged separately. Compare the complete written quotation with your intended attendance, rather than treating the funded entitlement as the whole cost picture.
• Supplying food requires planning. The alternative to nursery food involves providing every meal and snack, a signed policy agreement and 12 weeks' notice. Families managing allergies should discuss current food-handling practice before choosing that arrangement.
• Preschool extras are opt-in. Spanish and Music and Movement sit alongside Sunflower's small-group teaching and outdoor experiences. Ask what each activity involves before deciding whether it belongs in your child's week.

Springfield suits families seeking care across the year who value outdoor exploration, continuity of friendships and a gradual move towards preschool independence. Its character comes from concrete arrangements: younger rooms have their own outdoor spaces, room groups generally progress together, and Sunflower combines small-group teaching with access to the forest and greenhouse.

The December 2023 Outstanding judgement gives a strong dated assessment of the provision. For a family decision now, the attendance and charge structure deserves equal attention: stretched funding, separately charged food and opt-in preschool activities all affect how the arrangement fits household routines. The appeal is substantial, especially for parents who want outdoor space to be part of ordinary nursery life rather than an occasional outing.