Kids Planet Old Vicarage

A purpose-built second building for children aged two and above gives Kids Planet Old Vicarage a concrete point of difference in central Barrow-in-Furness. Added in 2004, it sits alongside provision for younger children, with indoor and outdoor spaces and regular outings beyond the nursery. This is a setting whose physical layout deserves attention when choosing care across different ages.

At its 26 September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, were progressing well. That judgement belongs to 2022. It provides a useful starting point, rather than an assessment of every aspect of today's offer.

The nursery accepts children from three months to 60 months and has 105 places in total. Full Day, morning, afternoon and shorter daytime bookings give families several attendance patterns to consider.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, learning includes communication, movement and growing independence through play and ordinary routines, rather than being confined to formal activities.

In September 2022, younger children's learning emphasised physical development and personal skills, with later experiences building towards school preparation. Babies practised feeding themselves and standing with support from their surroundings; older children handled their own drinks and coats. These are small tasks with practical value: children get opportunities to do things for themselves throughout the day.

Older children also had freely accessible opportunities for early writing, mathematics and using technology in September 2022. They could return to these activities as their interests developed. Children helped prepare vegetable soup and tasted it later, connecting a hands-on task with conversations about food. The experience went beyond simply being served lunch.

In September 2022, staff needed to match language and questions more closely to children's development, and explain how behaviour affects other people. Some language directed at babies was overly complicated, while older children needed more opportunities to think through problems. Those points matter alongside the positive judgement, especially for parents weighing how adults extend conversation and respond to difficult moments.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular outings to nearby amenities and attractions extend the current offer beyond the buildings. Their value is the connection with the surrounding town: children's experiences need not be limited to the same indoor resources and outdoor spaces.

The branch also includes Kids Planet's group-wide nature-based outdoor approach, involving wildlife exploration, vegetable growing and active play. These give outdoor time a practical purpose, with opportunities to investigate living things and move energetically. In September 2022, older children were choosing their own activities outside, adding a dated example of how outdoor space supported independent play.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2022, babies who had recently started nursery had already developed close relationships with staff. Adults offered comfort to new children, and babies responded through sounds and laughter. For families beginning childcare, the useful detail is the attention to relationships during the early weeks.

Communication also worked in both directions in September 2022. Staff sent photographs and home-learning ideas to families, while children brought photographs of home experiences to share. Those experiences then influenced nursery activities, giving practitioners something personal to build on rather than treating home and nursery as separate parts of a child's life.

Famly, the parent app included in the branch's group-wide offer, provides real-time updates. That gives families a current communication channel alongside the more detailed picture of parent partnership from 2022. The distinction matters: an app is a means of communication, while the quality of the conversations depends on how staff use it.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In September 2022, the special educational needs co-ordinator set individual targets, and practitioners planned activities from children's starting points. This describes the mechanism behind the dated positive SEND finding: support was tied to what each child needed to learn next.

Behaviour management in September 2022 relied on encouragement and praise, but explanations of why an action was inappropriate were less consistent. Families should weigh both sides of that picture. Helping a child stop an action and helping them understand its effect are different parts of learning to manage behaviour.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 112 Hartington Street, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 5SS. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Thursday, across 50 weeks of the year. The nursery can be contacted by telephone or email, and offers tour booking and an application route.

Full Day runs from 7.30am to 5pm; Morning is 8am to 1pm; Afternoon is 1pm to 5.45pm. Morning Plus starts earlier, at 7.30am, and ends at 1pm, while Afternoon Plus runs from noon to 5pm. These variations let families compare an earlier start with a later finish rather than assume every part-day booking has the same shape.

Short Day covers 9am to 3pm. Full Time is labelled with an 8am to 5.45pm window, and Late Bird covers 5pm to 5.30pm. Adhoc hourly care is another charging pattern. The difference between some session endings and the opening hours needs resolving before a booking is agreed.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, alongside privately paid care. For private fees, meals and snacks are included, as are nappies, wipes, formula milk and sun cream; freshly prepared food caters for dietary needs. On days when early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately, with separate Half Day, Short Day and Full Day charge categories.

This distinction is central to comparing costs: the private-fee package and a funded booking have different treatment of the same extras. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The quotation should make the attendance pattern and funded-day extras clear together, so a family can assess the whole arrangement.

• Session endings. Afternoon and Full Time end at 5.45pm, while the opening hours end at 5.30pm and specify Monday to Thursday. Confirm the operating days and exact collection time for your chosen pattern before booking.
• Conversation and behaviour. The September 2022 improvement points concerned age-appropriate language, more demanding questions for older children and explanations of behaviour. During a tour, ask how practitioners now handle these parts of the day.
• Funded-day extras. Meals, consumables and activities attract separate charges on days using funding. Request a written quotation that distinguishes those charges from additional private hours.

Kids Planet Old Vicarage suits families comparing morning or afternoon care with Full Day or Short Day attendance, and those who value outdoor experiences and outings alongside indoor learning. The second building for children aged two and above gives the offer a clear physical shape; Famly adds a practical route for updates.

The September 2022 Good judgement supports consideration, with useful examples of independence and relationships. Its language and behaviour improvement points deserve equal attention. The decision rests on matching the child's needs with the present daily practice and agreeing a session pattern whose hours and charges are clear.