Kiddiewinks Day Nursery & K2 Pre-school

Countryside walks, library visits and children building rockets from their interest in planets give Kiddiewinks its Ambleside character. The offer spans care from 3 months through to preschool, with K2 Preschool placing play and growing independence at the centre of its work. There are 75 places in total, covering children up to 5 years old.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good and found safeguarding effective, alongside positive learning attitudes and secure relationships with practitioners. The practical detail behind that judgement matters: children were learning to share, manage food for themselves and persist with unfamiliar tasks. Two improvement points qualify the picture, concerning how parents influence provision and how consistently children receive targeted learning support.

Kiddiewinks operates on Vicarage Road, with weekday opening hours from 7.30am to 5.30pm. Its combination of nursery care and preschool education makes it relevant both to families starting childcare with a baby and to those approaching the move to school.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, this means that play, conversation, physical activity and everyday routines contribute to learning, rather than education being confined to a formal lesson. K2 Preschool emphasises exploration through play, with planned activities intended to stretch thinking and help children become more independent.

In February 2024, children's interests supplied useful starting points for activities. An interest in space led to factual books about planets and the construction of rockets, with children bringing the new vocabulary into their play. This connects reading, making and conversation around something children already want to explore. Counting toy dinosaurs and representing numbers with fingers brought mathematics into play too.

Stories also opened up conversations beyond the plot. In February 2024, older children explored Handa's Surprise through discussion about individual differences and similarities. More demanding stories gave them something substantial to think and talk about. Songs, discussion and shared books were used to extend vocabulary, while babies expressed choices through gestures and sounds.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School activities add an outdoor-learning element alongside countryside walks and visits to the local library. These experiences broaden the setting beyond its indoor rooms and give children opportunities to encounter their surroundings directly. Outdoor play areas are part of the nursery's facilities.

In February 2024, the garden supported movement at different stages of development: older children practised controlling bikes and cars, while babies pulled themselves upright and began taking steps. Staff helped children think about risk during active play. Community outings also took children to the park, shops and library, introducing people and places beyond the nursery itself.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2024, key-person relationships helped babies feel comfortable with familiar adults. Practitioners used patient explanations and demonstrations when children needed help sharing or taking turns. These are useful details for parents weighing how a setting handles the everyday moments that can unsettle a young child, rather than simply how many activities fill the day.

Independence developed through ordinary routines. Babies practised feeding themselves; older children used serving utensils at snack time and worked on handling their lunch. Dressing and handwashing also formed part of preparation for the next stage. The emphasis was on practising manageable tasks with adult support.

Parents received face-to-face updates and information through an app in February 2024, including what children had enjoyed and their next learning steps. Books and activities went home for families to share. That gave parents a practical connection with nursery learning, although receiving updates and influencing how the nursery develops are different things.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The February 2024 inspection identified that parents' contributions needed to inform evaluation more fully and that effective learning-support strategies were not used consistently enough, leaving some children without the targeted help they needed. This is the material qualification to the otherwise positive account: a child whose learning needs extra attention requires more than a general programme of enjoyable activities.

Home-cooked food includes meals and snacks. For families, that makes food part of the care offer alongside play, conversation and daily routines.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Vicarage Road, Ambleside, LA22 9DH. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. This gives families a clear operating window for planning work and childcare.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 015394 34040 or through the contact form. There is also an online registration form; submitting it does not secure a place. That distinction matters when organising a return to work or another change in family routine.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children from 9 months to 4 years, and K2 Preschool offers flexibility in using the 15/30 hours entitlement around work. Eligibility remains relevant: the age range of the offer does not mean every family qualifies for the same entitlement. The useful practical feature is flexibility in arranging entitlement hours, rather than an assumption about a particular attendance pattern.

• Targeted learning support. In February 2024, effective strategies were applied unevenly, with consequences for children needing additional help. During a visit, ask how staff identify a learning gap and keep the response consistent across the child's week.
• Parents' influence. The February 2024 improvement point concerned using parents' ideas more fully to shape provision. Ask for an example of a change made following family feedback, beyond routine app updates.
• Funding and everyday costs. K2 Preschool offers flexibility with the 15/30 hours entitlement, while meals and snacks are part of the food offer. Request a written quotation showing the attendance arrangement and how meals and non-food consumables are treated.
• Registration and planning. Completing the registration form does not guarantee a place. Discuss the intended start date and attendance arrangement before relying on childcare for a work commitment.

Kiddiewinks suits families seeking childcare from infancy followed by play-based preschool education, with countryside walks, library visits and outdoor activity contributing to the experience. K2 Preschool's flexibility with entitlement hours may also matter to parents fitting childcare around work.

The February 2024 picture combines attentive everyday care with learning built around children's interests. The decision point is how consistently that experience reaches a child who needs more targeted help, and how effectively parents can influence provision. Those are concrete matters to explore alongside the practical attendance arrangement.