Kids Planet Poulton Carr Head

A forest garden, cooking over a fire pit and a teepee for stories give Kids Planet Poulton Carr Head a clear outdoor character. This Carr Head Lane nursery combines spaces for active exploration with a sensory room for babies. The contrast matters: outdoor learning leads the offer, but quieter experiences have a physical place too.

At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, found that children made excellent progress through carefully sequenced, individualised learning, and judged safeguarding effective. Those findings give substance to the outdoor emphasis. Activities served clear learning purposes rather than simply filling the day.

Children aged four to 60 months are accepted, with 89 places in total. Four rooms have separate outdoor areas. Full-day, morning, afternoon and Short Day bookings give families several ways to use the nursery.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play, conversation, books and physical experiences turn those expectations into everyday learning. Udeskole is the nursery's outdoor approach, put into practice through all-weather exploration, natural materials and cooking at the fire pit. Its value lies in what children actually do outdoors.

In January 2025, staff built early number learning around babies' emerging mathematical interests. Books also connected activities across different settings: Dear Zoo became a starting point for learning about animals during a zoo visit. For parents, that is a useful example of teaching that follows an interest and then extends it, rather than treating a story and an outing as unrelated experiences.

Daily sports coaching formed part of the January 2025 experience. Children practised ball skills, including throwing and dodging, while discussions covered drinking enough during exercise and how their bodies worked. Dinosaur football brought language into movement, with coaches helping children pronounce dinosaur names. Yoga connected breathing and movement with understanding emotions. Physical activity carried more than one purpose.

Outdoor and Community Life

Each of the four age-appropriate rooms has its own outdoor space, giving different stages of development a separate setting for play. The teepee adds a place for group conversations, reflection and stories, while the forest garden supports exploration and practical experiences. A nursery allotment is being developed to introduce children to growing fruit and vegetables; it remains a project in progress.

Regular outings include Blackpool Zoo, Stanley Park and art galleries. These take learning beyond the nursery's own garden and introduce children to animals, public spaces and art. They also make the community curriculum concrete: children encounter places rather than learning about everything indoors.

In January 2025, fire-pit activities involved learning rules, listening to instructions and trying practical challenges such as using flint and steel. Visits to a care home gave children opportunities to talk with older people, including conversations about changes in transport. Café outings provided another reason to communicate. These experiences linked social confidence with a real task or conversation.

A sensory room gives babies an indoor space for multi-sensory experiences, alongside the outdoor emphasis elsewhere. For a family choosing care for a younger child, this is a useful counterweight to the more energetic activities: the environment includes somewhere designed for calmer engagement.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff spotted emerging developmental gaps early, acted promptly and accessed outside agencies when needed, while strong relationships with parents supported the exchange of information. That is the clearest evidence of how additional support worked at that point. It describes a response to individual needs rather than a general promise of inclusion.

During January 2025, parents shared children's changing interests with staff daily. Families also joined sessions around the camp fire, where children explained safety rules while sharing stories and hot chocolate. Children were able to show parents something they had learned, making communication about nursery life an experience they could share.

The group-wide Famly app, included in this branch's offer, supplies updates in real time. It gives parents another way to follow their child's day. Fresh meals and snacks cater for dietary needs, with food included in private fees but charged separately on days when early years funding is applied.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Carr Head Lane, Poulton-le-Fylde, FY6 8JB. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, across 52 weeks; bank holidays are closures. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01253 886119 or by email to poultoncarrhead@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk.

Full Day and Full Time bookings run from 7.30am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, with Afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. Short Day runs from 9am to 3.30pm, offering a shorter daytime pattern rather than either of the half-day options.

Early Bird covers 7.30am to 8am, and ad-hoc hourly bookings are also priced. Ad-hoc sessions cost more than regular bookings, so a predictable attendance pattern and occasional extra care have different charging structures. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid care. Private fees include meals and snacks, formula, wipes, nappies and sun cream. The branch also includes sports activities and its parent app in that offer, reducing the everyday items families need to supply separately.

On days with early years funding applied, meals, activities and consumables carry separate charges. The charge category depends on the funded hours used that day: the half-day category applies at 5.5 hours or less, the short-day category between 5.5 and 8.5 hours, and the full-day category at 8.5 hours or more. This distinction matters when comparing a privately paid booking with one using funding: the same attendance pattern can have a different breakdown of costs.

• Outdoor learning in practice. Fire-pit cooking, the forest garden and all-weather exploration are central to this setting. During a tour, ask how these experiences are adapted for your child's age and confidence.
• Your attendance pattern. Morning, Afternoon and Short Day sessions have different start and finish times. Match the actual session boundaries to your working day, and compare regular bookings with the higher-priced ad-hoc option.
• Funding and extras. Meals, consumables and activities are charged separately on funded days. Request a written quotation that separates these categories from any privately paid hours.
• Starting with a baby. The sensory room provides a calmer indoor space alongside outdoor learning. Ask how settling, feeds and sleep would be organised around your baby's routines.

Kids Planet Poulton Carr Head suits families who want outdoor experiences to form a substantial part of nursery life, with a sensory room offering a quieter option for babies. The forest garden, teepee and outings to Blackpool Zoo and Stanley Park give that preference practical substance.

It also serves families choosing morning or afternoon care as well as those needing full days or a Short Day. The January 2025 judgement provides a strong quality reference point; the decision on costs needs the separate treatment of private fees and funded-day extras kept clearly in view.