Moss Side Children's Nursery

A willow dome for stories, a fairy garden and children harvesting vegetables give Moss Side Children's Nursery a recognisable outdoor character. In Stalmine, its garden is part of the learning space rather than simply somewhere to let off steam. Cooking and outings extend that practical approach: children help make food and explore places beyond the nursery.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 29 July 2024 and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The setting has capacity for 30 children, with a current age range starting at 9 months and extending to 5 years. That whole-nursery figure should not be read as the size of a baby's group.

Full-day and sessional care serve different attendance needs. The strongest reasons to consider Moss Side are its outdoor provision, learning through everyday tasks and detailed mechanisms for supporting additional needs; the July 2024 concerns about explaining learning to parents and developing staff's teaching knowledge also deserve attention.

Rooms and Ages

Rainbow Room, Green Trees Room and Red Roses Room are the named rooms. The building includes a room for babies, a larger space that can be divided, and another room opening onto a patio. This gives the nursery ways to separate activities while retaining access to outdoor play.

Children can explore across areas and mix with different ages. For parents, this makes the organisation of the day as relevant as the room names: the curriculum centres on children's interests and what they are ready to learn, rather than describing a rigid progression through separate spaces.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning through play across areas including language, physical development and mathematics. Moss Side plans teaching around what children are doing and returns to previous experiences so they can build on them. Birth to Five Matters supports that teaching. Children also have time to attempt tasks themselves, with opportunities for independence built into routines.

Forest School adds exploration of the natural world through practical outdoor experiences. It sits alongside the EYFS rather than replacing it. Growing produce and preparing food give children tangible tasks with a purpose: fruit salad, pizza and soup are among the dishes they help make, while birthday baking involves children in both making and decorating cakes.

In July 2024, mathematics included comparing weight and size, counting during play and estimating while measuring a washing line. These were everyday situations with mathematical questions built into them. Displays also connected children's work with photographs of their activities, giving them material to revisit and discuss rather than artwork that merely decorated a wall.

Outdoor and Community Life

The willow dome provides a quieter setting for storytelling and relaxation; a raised patio supports planting, and a winding route accommodates wheeled play. The fairy garden adds another place to explore. Children help grow and harvest fruit and vegetables, linking the garden with what they prepare and eat.

Outings include farms, the Butterfly House, parks and the beach. The nursery uses its van as well as walks to explore the surrounding area. In July 2024, children also travelled by minibus to a garden centre, where choosing seeds and paying for them brought decision-making and everyday transactions into their learning.

Relationships and Communication

A key person gathers information with parents about each child's interests and needs. Parents can join settling sessions, and home visits by the manager and key person take place where possible. These arrangements give staff information about the individual child before expecting them to adjust to nursery routines.

Communication includes parents' evenings, newsletters, activity updates, development meetings and reports. There is useful structure here, but the distinction between hearing about activities and understanding their learning purpose matters. In July 2024, explanations of what each age group was learning did not consistently equip parents to extend that learning at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received effective support, including work with outside agencies, and that children made good progress from their starting points. Current support arrangements include a SENCO, termly development checks and Targeted Learning Plans, which set achievable goals when additional help is agreed with parents.

Parents' consent is part of referrals and joint work with other professionals. Inclusion Development Support Services provides an inclusion-teacher link, and an Early Help Assessment can coordinate agencies involved with a child. Practical access includes moveable ramps, an accessible toilet, a garden path suitable for wheelchair users and raised growing beds.

Kitchen facilities and an employed cook support food provision, while the allergy policy provides for an alternative meal resembling other children's food. In July 2024, independence developed through babies feeding themselves, toddlers managing clothes and older children preparing snacks; these examples show how care routines also offered opportunities to practise skills.

Transition work includes inviting teachers into nursery and sharing information about children's development. Where a child has additional needs, meetings can bring together parents, nursery staff, teachers and other professionals, and the key person may accompany the child to the next setting.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Moss Side Lane, Stalmine, Poulton-le-Fylde, FY6 0LP. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with an early opening at 7.30am bookable. Full-day and sessional care are offered across 51 weeks, excluding bank holidays; the Christmas closure lasts one week.

The contact route includes a message form and telephone enquiries on 01253 700181. There is parking on the nursery premises, which gives families a practical option for journeys from the surrounding rural area.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including Free Entitlement for two- and three-year-olds. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their chosen attendance pattern.

• Learning updates. The July 2024 improvement point concerned parents understanding learning in each age group. At a visit, ask to see how an activity update explains the skill being developed and how families can build on it at home.
• Teaching development. In July 2024, staff training covered required topics more securely than knowledge of teaching across the curriculum. Ask how subsequent development has helped practitioners explain and extend learning during play.
• Your attendance and care package. Full-day and sessional care, plus a bookable early opening, offer different ways to organise attendance. Ask for the sessional timetable and a written breakdown covering funded hours, meals and consumables; allergy-affected families should also confirm current meal arrangements.

Moss Side suits families seeking either full-day attendance or sessional care, with outdoor exploration and practical activities prominent in the nursery day. The willow dome, growing spaces and cooking give that offer substance. Its additional-needs arrangements are also specific enough for parents to discuss their child's support in concrete terms.

The balance rests on teaching and communication as well as the garden. The Good judgement from July 2024 supports serious consideration, while the two improvement points make explanations of learning and staff development sensible priorities for a visit.