Little Explorers Nursery and Forest School Thornton

Woodland exploration gives Little Explorers Thornton its character: daily walks, outdoor play and opportunities for children to follow an idea beyond the nursery garden. At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The strongest detail lies beneath that judgement, in children experimenting, making decisions and practising independence with adults close enough to help.

Based at 263 West Drive in Thornton Cleveleys, the nursery has 50 places in total and accepts children from 3 to 60 months. That capacity describes the whole setting, rather than the size of an individual group. Its converted-home setting sits alongside an outdoor emphasis that extends into woodland and beach experiences.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions give families different attendance patterns. The more important question is whether this approach suits the child: outdoor exploration is a recurring part of learning here, rather than an occasional change of scenery.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the shared early-years foundation: children develop communication, physical skills and relationships alongside early literacy, mathematics and creative expression. Activities are shaped around their interests, with practitioners planning the next steps in their learning. For parents, this means play has a purpose, while a child's curiosity helps determine how that learning happens.

Alongside it, the group-wide Explorers curriculum adds woodland walks, Forest School sessions, yoga and football, with yoga and football taking place weekly. Forest School means repeated learning in a natural setting over time, rather than a single woodland outing. Visits to the beach, church and library, plus community visitors such as police, extend children's experiences beyond the setting. The curriculum outline connects these activities with exploration and responsive teaching.

In March 2024, staff used practical problems to start discussions. After children washed a slide, they considered how it might dry and explored the effect of sunshine. This is a useful illustration of the approach: an everyday task became a reason to predict, explain and listen to another person's idea.

Language received similarly deliberate attention that March. Adults introduced precise vocabulary, and children applied new words to their own construction play. Rather than keeping conversation separate from activity, staff connected words with something children were doing. That gives a parent a concrete picture of how communication was practised.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily woodland walks are part of the current offer. The group-wide outdoor provision includes rope swings, a mud kitchen and a tyre playground, bringing movement and imaginative play into the same space. These physical features matter because outdoor learning can involve making, testing and physical challenge, as well as simply spending time outside.

In March 2024, woodland and beach activities responded to children's ideas. Children made maps with natural materials and created temporary artwork from flowers and stones. Adults also helped them consider risk while working with tools. The emphasis was on learning to judge a task, rather than having every decision made for them.

A children's council gave children a route to influence activities that March. A request to garden led to a garden-centre visit to select plants, followed by learning how to care for bulbs. Their suggestion had a practical consequence. For families who value children having a voice, this is more meaningful than simply inviting opinions.

Connections reached further afield too. In March 2024, children exchanged pictures and took regular video calls with children at an early-years setting in India, using a world map to follow where their work had travelled. Multilingual singing and drama workshops at a local secondary school added other opportunities to hear languages and take part in shared activities.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who helps them build a familiar relationship and adapts care to their needs. Settling sessions take place before joining, giving families time to share home routines and preferences while children play alongside the adults who will care for them. Sleep and nappy-changing routines are discussed before the child starts, so the relationship begins with practical knowledge of the child's day.

Communication continues through conversations at each session and a Learning Journey containing observations, photographs and written comments, with contributions from home. The group-wide home-learning offer uses Tapestry to exchange activity ideas and children's responses, alongside a lending library and an activity library. These give families ways to participate beyond receiving an update.

In March 2024, parents contributed to focus weeks, while staff recorded children's explanations of their drawings and marks in focus journals. This added the child's own account to adults' observations. It also gave parents a way to connect what happened at nursery with what they noticed at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support begins with discussion, rather than a general promise. The key person gathers observations and information from parents; developmental concerns are discussed with the family and the SENDCO. Before a child with SEND starts, a meeting identifies their needs and any adjustments to the environment. Regular meetings then involve parents in decisions about developmental aims.

Practical adaptations include visual timetables, small-group activities and cards that show what happens now and next. With parental permission, staff can refer to professionals such as a Speech and Language therapist and draw on the Area SENDCO. At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children, including those with SEND, made exceptional progress and showed high self-esteem.

The building has a disabled toilet, and a ramp can be used for the step between nursery and garden. The garden is flat, with a further small step into the barked area. These details make accessibility a specific discussion about a child's movement and equipment needs.

Prescribed medication can be administered with a completed Medicine Permission Form; a medical care plan and additional staff training can be arranged where needed. Collection procedures include signing children in and out and using a password for an unfamiliar collector. Across the group, cooks prepare homemade meals.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with a week-long Christmas closure. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, and full days from 8am to 6pm. The morning and afternoon patterns therefore have a defined handover point, which matters when arranging work or another carer's involvement.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or on 01253 858748. Tours can be arranged with senior staff, allowing time to discuss the facilities and daily routines.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through 2 year old and 3 year old free government grant places, alongside private sessions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The prices and funding page provides the route for funding and fee enquiries and links to Thornton's childcare offer and charges.

Getting There and Moving On

The address is 263 West Drive, Thornton Cleveleys, FY5 2RX. For transition to school, staff arrange teacher visits, share the child's Learning Journey and prepare a leaving report. A key person can also accompany a child to their new school if it is close by. This work centres on passing on knowledge of the child and making the next setting more familiar.

• Outdoor learning in practice. Daily woodland walks and regular Forest School experiences are central to the approach. On a visit, ask how these are adapted for your child's age, mobility and comfort outdoors.
• The complete session cost. Morning, afternoon and full-day patterns are offered alongside funded childcare. Ask for a written quotation explaining the funded-hours pattern and how meals, non-food consumables and any additional services are charged.
• A tailored start. Settling sessions and a pre-start SENDCO meeting provide routes to discuss routines and adjustments. Use a visit to work through the specific support your child would need, including access between the building and garden.

Little Explorers Thornton suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon care or full days with outdoor exploration woven through learning. Daily woodland walks, the children's council seen in March 2024 and practical transition arrangements give the review substance beyond the Outstanding judgement.

Its appeal is the combination of children's initiative and adult attention: room to pursue an idea, with a key person and clear mechanisms for sharing information with parents. Families considering funded attendance should weigh the complete quotation alongside the session pattern; those seeking support for SEND have specific arrangements to discuss before starting.