Nanny Plums Nursery

Beach learning and Thursday cooking give Nanny Plums Nursery a recognisable character: children have concrete things to investigate, prepare and talk about. This is a Cleveleys setting with 36 places in total, accepting children aged 3 to 60 months. Its appeal lies in the combination of a small overall capacity and activities that reach beyond the nursery rooms.

At its August 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement is useful: children built their own tyre obstacle course, explored numbers through games and gained independence at mealtimes. Two teaching priorities also matter, especially for parents of babies: making questions more thought-provoking and improving the indoor opportunities for babies to practise walking.

Morning and afternoon sessions are offered, alongside opening hours that extend from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays. That gives families a choice of shorter attendance patterns, rather than an opening window alone.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Unit, whose room description covers 0 months to 2 years, combines sensory exploration, painting, construction and pretend play with books, musical instruments and a quiet sleeping room. For younger children, this means active play and somewhere separate to rest are both part of the room arrangement. The nursery's accepted age range starts at 3 months.

The Main Nursery, for ages 2 to 5 years, brings together dressing-up, construction, music, creative work and mathematics, with cushioned space for quieter play and an outdoor playroom. Meals take place in the main room, which returns to activity space afterwards. Families should think about the whole day here: shared meals, energetic play and quieter moments use different parts of the environment.

Choice is built into the routine. Children can stay with an activity that interests them, play alone or join others, rather than having every part of the session directed for them. Both morning and afternoon sessions finish with a shared story. This provides a recognisable ending after the more open-ended play that precedes it.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS, or Early Years Foundation Stage, provides the framework for learning through play, including communication, physical skills, relationships and later development in literacy, mathematics and creative expression. It is the common foundation for early-years provision; the useful question here is how those areas become things children can actually do.

In August 2025, apples growing in the garden supplied one answer. Staff used them to explore counting, weight and the effect of wind on falling fruit. Number games for toddlers and preschool children involved bean bags, while counting songs brought mathematics into group activity. These examples connect abstract ideas with objects children can handle and experiences they can recognise.

Let’s Cook Thursday adds a practical thread: children prepare fresh ingredients by peeling, slicing and chopping, then eat the dishes they have made. It gives food preparation a place in the learning day, rather than leaving children only to encounter the finished meal. Bilinguasing adds Spanish through songs, games and activities, providing another use for listening and joining in.

Fleetwood Town Community Trust supplies football and multi-skills activities. Staff also lead yoga on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using stretching and breathing. Together, these provide different ways to move: energetic games alongside calmer, more deliberate physical activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

An outdoor playroom helps sustain outdoor activity in wet weather. The wider play space includes trikes, a large sand pit, trees, dens and a mud kitchen. These are useful resources for different kinds of play, from moving around to building, experimenting and acting out stories.

The BEACH SCHOOL programme includes regular learning at the local beach. Other regular outings take children to woods, duck ponds, the library, shops and markets; beach visits can also involve collecting plastic bottles for recycling. The surroundings become part of what children learn about, rather than simply a backdrop for exercise.

Community contact has a quieter side too. Children regularly visit a residential care home to read and sing with older residents. Visitors working in policing, firefighting, medicine and animal care give children opportunities to ask questions about unfamiliar jobs. These experiences extend their conversations beyond the people and routines they already know at home.

Relationships and Communication

The key-person arrangement starts with the relationship a child forms. After some initial sessions, staff look for the practitioner the child gravitates towards and, where possible, make that person the key person. It is a practical approach to settling: the familiar adult becomes the link between care, learning and family communication.

That role includes attention to eating, sleeping and toileting, as well as observations and planning. Parents can choose Tapestry, the online learning journal used to record development, or a physical Learning Journal. A home-nursery diary provides another way to exchange daily messages. The choice matters for families who prefer written pages to digital updates, while keeping the purpose the same: sharing what the child is doing and learning.

In August 2025, babies sought familiar adults when upset or tired, and staff responded with physical comfort and reassurance. Babies also attempted to feed themselves; older children served their own vegetables. Care and independence were therefore happening together, with adults available while children tried manageable tasks for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDCo role provides a named responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities within the staff structure. Families complete an introductory questionnaire about their child's development, giving staff information to use when assessing the child's starting point. Activity planning also takes account of children's interests, abilities, backgrounds and developmental stages.

Staff development has a practical dimension. In August 2025, training about biting had helped staff develop ways to prevent incidents and respond to children. Turn-taking and sharing were also supported through consistent reminders, including helping children ask to join someone else's play. These are everyday situations in which young children need adult guidance.

Meals are freshly prepared on site each day, and an eleven-day menu cycle varies what children eating on the same weekday encounter. The food policy accommodates dietary requirements and allergies, with daily allergen information on a notice board; allergy-affected families should discuss the current arrangements before agreeing a care plan.

An annual, free parent first-aid session teaches responses to common accidents and emergencies. It extends a practical learning opportunity to adults at home, rather than limiting family involvement to updates about nursery activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning Session runs from 7.30am to 1pm; Afternoon Session runs from 1pm to 6pm. Both use a play-based routine and close with story time.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and approximately 10 days around Christmas. That Christmas closure is an important planning detail for households whose working year continues through the festive period.

Getting There

The address is 196 Victoria Road West, Cleveleys, Lancashire, FY5 3NG, between Anchorsholme and Cleveleys town centre. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01253 826372.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible children aged 2, 3 and 4, including 30 funded hours for some 3- and 4-year-olds. Eligibility is a condition of the offer, so this should be considered separately from choosing a session pattern.

• Baby movement. In August 2025, the indoor layout needed to give babies more opportunity to develop walking skills. On a visit, ask how the Baby Unit now provides space for emerging walkers alongside its quieter activities.
• Teaching through questions. The August 2025 inspection called for questions that better develop children's own ideas. Ask how practitioners extend a child's explanation or curiosity during ordinary play.
• Spanish timetable. Bilinguasing introduces Spanish through songs, games and activities. Ask whether sessions run weekly or fortnightly for your child's attendance.
• Funded attendance and extras. The offer includes funded hours for eligible children. Before committing, ask for a written breakdown covering the funded attendance pattern, additional hours, food and non-food consumables.

Nanny Plums suits families seeking either morning or afternoon attendance, with an interest in practical learning and regular experiences beyond the rooms. Cooking, beach learning and community visits give parents tangible reasons to consider it. The August 2025 Good judgement supports that picture, though its priorities for questioning and babies' movement deserve attention, especially for families with emerging walkers.