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Nursery at Kirkham Pear Tree School
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Inspection data and key information above update regularly, however, this review below is refreshed bi-annually and may not reflect recent changes. Contact the nursery directly to confirm current arrangements. If you spot anything outdated or inaccurate, please let us know.
Child-led play and learning shaped around individual needs define the early years provision at Kirkham Pear Tree School. This sits within a special school catering for children and young people aged 2-19 with severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple learning difficulties. The school describes its curriculum as highly personalised, with relationships forming its foundation. For families, the central consideration is how that approach matches their child's needs.
Play provides the starting point. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum combines activities children choose and lead with focused teaching guided by adults. Initially, teaching concentrates on the Prime Areas of Learning and Characteristics of Learning, introducing the specific areas as children become ready. The early years team plans each week around children's interests and achievements, allowing learning to respond to what children enjoy and can already do.
Seedlings activities have connected counting, making and imaginative play through a transport theme. Numbered train tracks supported ordering and number recognition; chalk on black card gave children a way to draw tracks of their own. An Airport Cafe introduced pretend holiday preparations, with children choosing items for a suitcase and helping friends pack. These examples give learning a practical purpose rather than leaving it as an isolated exercise.
Outdoor learning has included riding bikes and cars around the playground while following road signs and inventing routes. Indoors, a winter theme brought dough snowmen and a small-world scene made with cotton wool and sugar cubes. Children explored story props including ice and a fan, while large soft bricks became an igloo in the sensory room and outside. These activities offered different ways to explore a theme through movement, touch, storytelling and construction.
Care programmes and postural management are included in the school's curriculum planning. That makes physical care part of the learning arrangements, rather than a separate consideration for families assessing the provision.
Staff receive safeguarding training and updates, and parents can bring concerns about a child's wellbeing to the Designated Safeguarding Leads. This provides a direct route for raising worries with the safeguarding team.
Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must treat the next placement as a separate admissions question, rather than assume that attending nursery secures it.
Pear Tree's specialist admissions are managed by the SEN office at Lancaster. Children must have a current EHCP detailing severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple learning difficulties to be considered. A family can request a place through the SEN office following a Without Prejudiced Visit (WPV); the local authority may then formally consult the school about whether it can offer a place.
Uniform is optional for Early Years, reducing the clothing requirements for this part of the school. For general enquiries, contact the office on 01772 683609 or email admin@peartree.lancs.sch.uk. The school is at 29 Station Road, Kirkham, Preston, PR4 2HA.
Without Prejudiced Visits are offered to families. They provide an opportunity to consider the specialist setting before requesting a place through the SEN office.
It follows the Early Years Foundation Stage, combining child-led play with focused activities guided by adults. Planning takes account of children's interests and achievements each week.
Activities have included riding cars and bikes in the playground, following road signs and creating their own routes.
No. Uniform is not compulsory for Early Years.
No. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Pear Tree's specialist placements are managed through the SEN office at Lancaster.
Yes. Without Prejudiced Visits are offered to families, who can then request a place through the SEN office.
