Kids Planet Poulton

Bus rides, conversations with care-home residents and visits to the local market give Kids Planet Poulton a character rooted in the town around it. In June 2024, these experiences sat alongside language-rich play, storytelling and practical counting. Everyday life supplied plenty to learn about.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, while identifying inconsistent teaching practice across the team and asking experienced practitioners to share their skills more effectively with newer colleagues. That balance matters: there was much to value, but the standard of children's experiences was not yet equally strong throughout the setting.

Based on Breck Road in Poulton-le-Fylde, the nursery has 76 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. Full days, mornings, afternoons and a shorter day give families several attendance patterns to choose from.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means play and everyday routines help children build communication, physical skills, early understanding and independence, rather than learning being confined to a formal lesson.

In June 2024, staff built activities around what children could already do. Conversations accompanied babies' nappy changes, connecting actions with words, while older children explained unfamiliar vocabulary and discussed their ideas. The useful detail is the exchange: children had opportunities to speak and explain, as well as listen.

Storytelling also led into action. Children remembered a story about a shark, discussed its events and recreated it through imaginative play, turning cardboard cones into pretend telescopes. Books became starting points for movement, conversation and invention. Paint mixing gave children another reason to compare discoveries and tell others what they had made.

Mathematics had a practical purpose too. In June 2024, puzzles and construction play introduced counting and shapes, and children worked out the plates needed at their meal table. These examples connected number ideas with a task children could understand. Outdoors, one child devised a game with a hoop, ball and bat, then explained how it worked to other children.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular local outings remain part of the nursery's offer, with parks, shops and the library close to its central Breck Road location. The surrounding town gives children places to explore beyond nursery activities and opportunities to encounter everyday community life.

In June 2024, outings included the station, library and local park, with recurring visits to a care home and market. At the care home, children talked with residents while using dough and threading equipment. Market visits brought conversations about produce and healthy choices. These were different experiences with different people, rather than simply a change of play space.

Visitors added further activity in June 2024. A yoga teacher introduced breathing exercises for managing emotions; football coaches worked on movement and ball skills; a dance teacher supported agility and confidence. The combination linked physical activity with how children felt and expressed themselves. It also gave them contact with adults bringing different skills into their day.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, staff gathered information about children's interests and experiences at home to help them settle. Children sought comfort and assistance from practitioners, while adults encouraged them to consider other people's views and work through disagreements. For families, the practical point is that settling began with knowledge of the individual child, rather than expecting every child to respond in the same way.

Communication extended beyond a brief conversation. In June 2024, families received newsletters and electronic updates, alongside meetings and drop-in opportunities to discuss learning. Books and activity bags could be borrowed for use at home, including materials about a new sibling, a first haircut or visiting the dentist. That made support relevant to events children might actually be facing.

Famly is the parent app included in the nursery's group-wide fee package, providing updates in real time. It gives families another way to keep connected with their child's day alongside conversations with staff.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described staff monitoring children's development, seeking early help with parents when learning gaps emerged, and collaborating with families and other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The practical strength was the connection between noticing a need and involving the people who could help.

In June 2024, information for parents covered dental health and the effects of dummies on speech. Children could get drinking water themselves, and fruit and vegetables featured in tasting and pretend play. These small routines connected care with growing independence and awareness of healthy choices.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, across 52 weeks of the year, with bank-holiday closures. Its attendance choices include Full Day and Full Time bookings from 8am to 6pm, Morning from 8am to 1pm, Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm, and Short Day from 8.30am to 3.30pm. Adhoc hourly care is also offered.

Those patterns serve different needs: a morning or afternoon keeps attendance to part of the day, while the shorter day finishes before the full-day collection time. The distinction is useful when matching childcare with work, family routines or the amount of time a child will spend away from home.

Getting There

The address is St. Johns RC Club Church Hall, Breck Road, Poulton-le-fylde, FY6 7HT. The central location is accessible by public transport and close to the village centre, parks and library.

Enquiries can be made directly by telephone on 01253 894989 or by email at poulton@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid care are both offered. The group-wide package includes meals and snacks, sun cream, formula, wipes and nappies in private fees; on days when early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately. This distinction matters when comparing the cost of a private booking with a booking using funded hours.

Sports activities and the parent app are also included in the group-wide private fee package. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which should distinguish paid childcare from charges associated with funded attendance.

• Consistency across the team. The June 2024 improvement point concerned sharing experienced staff's practice with newer colleagues. During a tour, ask how that sharing works across the people who would care for your child.
• Your child's daily pattern. Morning, Afternoon and Short Day bookings have different finish times from Full Day care. Use the visit to discuss how settling and rest would fit the pattern you are considering.
• Funded-day extras. Meals, consumables and activities attract separate charges on days using early years funding. Request a written breakdown for your intended sessions so the childcare and extras are clear together.

Kids Planet Poulton suits families seeking either full-day care or shorter morning, afternoon and Short Day attendance, with local outings adding substance to children's experiences. Its June 2024 examples of conversation, community visits and practical learning give parents concrete reasons to consider it.

The qualification is consistency across practitioners, the improvement point from June 2024. Families who value learning connected to ordinary life have a useful starting point here; the session choice and funded-day charge structure deserve equal attention when deciding whether it fits.