Little Ducklings

A working farm, 10 acres of countryside and a separate resting space for babies give Little Ducklings a clear character. Sensory exploration for younger children leads into practical independence and community outings for those approaching school.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Little Ducklings Good and found safeguarding effective. There were also two clear priorities: making learning consistently more challenging and helping younger children understand everyday expectations. Those points matter alongside the outdoor opportunities and carefully planned room transitions.

Based at Holme Garth Farm in Cabus, Garstang, the nursery caters for children through to age five, with its youngest room taking children from three months. Whole-day bookings sit alongside older-room morning and afternoon sessions.

Rooms and Ages

The Ducklings Room takes children from three months to two years, combining daily music, exploration of textures and natural objects with a purpose-built sensory garden. Ribbons, streamers and instruments give babies different ways to respond to sound and movement. Messy play emphasises the experience itself: feeling paint and investigating materials matter more than producing something to take home.

Treasure Baskets include natural materials for children to handle and explore, extending the younger room's emphasis on sensory play.

The Mallard Room serves children from two years until school, with repeatable activity areas, daily singing, stories and early phonics, plus direct access to the large garden. Children can pursue familiar interests and move between indoor and outdoor play.

Older children practise managing coats and shoes, preparing tables and helping themselves at meals. Independence has concrete tasks attached to it.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: communication, physical development, relationships, literacy and mathematics shape children's activities. The key person plans around individual interests and records development in a personal Learning Journey, connecting children's interests with their next steps.

Music is woven through both rooms. Younger children explore instruments and movement, while the older room combines music with stories, sensory activities and early work with sounds. These activities form part of the daily experiences in both rooms.

Preschool sessions begin in the year before school and emphasise attention, listening and managing personal tasks. Topics include growing, healthy living and the surrounding community, giving learning a recognisable connection to children's lives. Afternoon preschool sessions include Letters and Sounds; PE also brings a clothing requirement, with a kit kept at nursery so children can practise changing independently.

In October 2024, children experimented with pumpkins and mixed glittery potions, using pouring and stirring to practise coordination. The weakness was in extending those activities: scientific explanations were sometimes left unexplored. Enjoyable participation and deeper understanding were not consistently matched, which makes the next step in staff questioning an important consideration.

Outdoor and Community Life

The working farm and both gardens provide opportunities to encounter nature. Supplied waterproof suits, wellies, sun hats and sun cream support outdoor play across changing weather.

Preschool outings into Garstang include regular links to Meadowcroft Care Home, the library, the supermarket and the post office. Shopping, borrowing books and meeting older residents give community learning a practical purpose.

In October 2024, children used bicycles and a balancing and jumping course; babies had low climbing equipment. Community experiences included a police officer's visit and visits to elderly neighbours.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who works with parents on an individual plan covering care, wellbeing and learning. A buddy arrangement provides another point of contact when that practitioner is away. That continuity is useful for families sharing routines or coordinating care with another setting.

Settling combines discussion of home routines with individual familiarisation visits. For room moves, parents meet the new team, staff exchange information and children initially visit with their existing key person. Both key people and parents contribute to a transition document. Extra visits support children who find the move difficult.

A private preschool Facebook page shares updates, photographs with consent and information for supporting learning at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO supports families from settling to primary-school transition. Provision mapping covers learning, communication, physical, sensory, social and emotional needs. Key people can coordinate with health visitors, speech and language therapists and other professionals, providing routes to individual support.

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted activities and the environment for children needing additional support, worked with healthcare professionals and helped children make progress from their starting points. That is a dated finding about practice, alongside the nursery's continuing arrangements for individual planning.

The Nest provides quiet rest space adjoining the younger children's room. Sleeping children receive individual checks every 10 minutes; an intercom connects the rooms. Babies can rest separately from ongoing play.

Staff have training in first aid and safeguarding, and designated safeguarding responsibilities are assigned within the team. In October 2024, however, younger children's routines needed clearer expectations: toys were left underfoot and adults sometimes carried children who could have moved or joined activities themselves. The issue concerned how everyday practice supported independence, not simply whether routines existed.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Holme Garth Farm, Cabus, Garstang, PR3 1WL. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for a week at Christmas.

Whole-day fees apply to both rooms. Half-day bookings are restricted to the Mallard Room: mornings run from 7.45am to 1pm, while afternoons run from 1.15pm to 6pm. That age restriction is important for families looking for shorter attendance, because the same choice does not apply to the youngest room.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. A booking deposit is credited against the first monthly invoice, but is not returned if the place is cancelled before the child starts. Fees are reviewed in April and September, so current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early Education Funding is offered from nine months, subject to the relevant eligibility conditions. The offer includes universal hours for children from the term after their third birthday and additional hours for eligible families. The fees and funding information sets out both term-time funding and stretched arrangements tied to attendance.

Term-time entitlement is delivered over 38 weeks. A child attending one day can have entitlement spread across 51 weeks; eligible children claiming 30 hours and attending more than one day can also use a stretched arrangement. A child attending two days and claiming 15 hours instead uses those hours during term time, with private fees applying in the breaks. These distinctions mean the annual attendance pattern matters as much as the headline entitlement.

Where a funding code is required, it must be valid before the new term and reconfirmed every three months; a parental agreement is also required. Funded childcare covers 8am to 6pm, with the earlier opening period supplied free, and claims are capped at 10 hours a day.

Private fees include freshly prepared meals, snacks, nappies and wipes; funded hours carry a separate charge for meals and snacks, with families able to send their own food instead. Cooking responsibilities are shared within the nursery team.

• Shorter sessions depend on age. Morning and afternoon bookings apply only to the Mallard Room. Families seeking shorter days should weigh that restriction against their child's stage and the timing of the move from the younger room.
• Learning beyond the activity. In October 2024, some experiments needed more explanation to extend children's understanding. On a visit, ask how practitioners now develop children's questions and introduce the ideas behind an activity.
• Younger children's independence. Clearer routines were an October 2024 improvement priority, including keeping toys out from underfoot and allowing children to participate for themselves. Ask how these expectations work alongside individual care and settling.
• Funding changes the bill. Stretched arrangements depend on the entitlement claimed and attendance pattern, while funded meals are charged separately. Request a written quotation showing the annual pattern, private hours and food choices together.

Little Ducklings suits families drawn to a working-farm setting, sensory exploration for babies and community experiences for preschool children. The separate Nest, individual room-transition arrangements and regular Garstang outings give that character practical substance. It serves whole-day attendance and, for children in the Mallard Room, distinct morning or afternoon bookings.

The October 2024 Good judgement comes with limitations: deeper questioning and clearer routines for younger children deserve attention. Those improvement priorities and the age-specific session choices are central to the decision.