Opening hours
Business Days: 8 am - 6 pm; Mornings: 8 am - 1 pm; Afternoons: 1 pm - 6 pm; Nursery days: 8 am - 5 pm; Early starts: 7:30 am - 8 am
Children 1st @ Leek
Ofsted: Good
(Aug 2022)
Number of places
140 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Aug 2022
Local authority
Staffordshire
About this day nursery
Children 1st @ Leek, part of the Storal family, offers a welcoming and homely nursery environment in the market town of Leek, catering to children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. The nursery focuses on supporting children's development from an early age through high-quality care and education.
They pride themselves on fostering a close-knit community where children feel safe, happy, and inspired. The admission process is designed to be supportive, starting with an online registration of interest, followed by nursery visits for families to experience the setting firsthand.
Communication with parents is highly valued, with daily updates, learning journals, and parents' evenings to discuss children's progress. The nursery's environment is rich in natural resources, aiming to ignite curiosity and wonder in children.
Their outdoor space is designed to encourage exploration, active play, and discovery. Children 1st @ Leek also provides amenities such as infant formula, homemade meals and snacks, health and hygiene consumables, and various extracurricular activities, all included in the fees.
They facilitate government funding options, stretching the funded hours across their 51 open weeks to accommodate working families.
What it's like
Children feel safe and happy in the well-organised, welcoming provision. Staff promote and sequence children's physical development well, with babies developing from rolling bowls to climbing slides and older children eagerly participating in yoga sessions to gain control of their movements. Staff have high expectations for children's learning, and children make good progress from their starting points.
Homely environmentHigh-quality childcarePersonalised careOutdoor explorationNatural resources
Pricing & funding
Charges are billed monthly using an equalised billing model for consistent payments. Fees include formula, milk, home-cooked meals, nappies, wipes, sun cream, and extracurricular activities. Sibling and full-time discounts are available, and additional charges apply to funded hours to cover consumables.
Funding accepted
15 hours — working parents (9 months–2 yrs)15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
Good to know
- Invoiced monthly with equalised monthly payments to allow for predictable budgeting.
- Fees include formula, milk, meals, snacks, nappies, wipes, and sun cream.
- Fees include extracurriculars such as yoga, Forest School, and community trips.
- Closed during Christmas week and for two staff training days each year.
- Offers sibling and full-time attendance discounts.
- Additional service charges apply to funded hours to cover meals, consumables, and activities.
Key facts
Session types
Business Days (8 am - 6 pm), Nursery days (8 am - 5 pm), School Days (9 am - 3 pm), Mornings (8 am - 1 pm), Afternoons (1 pm - 6 pm)
Food
Infant formula, milk, home-cooked meals and snacks included
Age range
6 weeks to 5 years
Term time / All Year
All Year
Ofsted Inspection
Ofsted rating
Last inspected 25 August 2022
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
What it's like to attend
Children feel safe and happy in the well-organised, welcoming provision. Staff promote and sequence children's physical development well, with babies developing from rolling bowls to climbing slides and older children eagerly participating in yoga sessions to gain control of their movements. Staff have high expectations for children's learning, and children make good progress from their starting points.
Inspector highlights
- Children show that they feel safe and happy.
- Staff promote and sequence children's physical development well.
- Staff have high expectations for children's learning.
- Parents say that staff's written and spoken communication with them is a strength of the provision.
- Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
Areas to develop
- 1pay closer attention to the detail of staff's interactions with children, so that targets for staff's development show precisely what they need to do to improve their teaching.
Inspection #10194191 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report
What parents say
Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection
Parents and carers comment that staff worked to ensure that nursery felt normal when children returned.
Parents say that staff's written and spoken communication with them is a strength of the provision.
They comment that staff are knowledgeable and respond sensitively to any concerns that parents share with them.
Inclusion & environment
How they support every child
SEND provision
When children's progress gives cause for concern, staff consult with parents. Staff plan and implement programmes of intervention effectively. This enables staff to seek timely advice from specialist professionals. Children in receipt of additional funding are supported well, and gaps in children's development and progress close steadily.
Outdoor space
Children eagerly participate in short sessions of yoga. This helps them to gain increasing control of their movements. Some two-year-old children successfully stand on one leg during a yoga session, while others solve the problem by placing their hands on a low surface to complete the move, developing their balance and core strength.
Parent Reviews
4.8
(6)
Georgi Terziev
3 months ago
I am delighted to share my positive experience with Buckingham's nursery, having enrolled two of my children there. I wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful establishment. The staff are exceptionally friendly, professional, and attentive, creating a warm and welcoming environment for the children. My boys are always happy and eager to return home after their day at nursery. They benefit greatly from the engaging learning activities and form meaningful friendships with their peers. The nursery is impeccably maintained, clean, and well-organized, ensuring a safe and comfortable space for the children. Additionally, the food menu is thoughtfully curated, offering nutritious and appealing options. Overall, Buckingham's nursery provides a nurturing and enriching environment that I trust wholeheartedly.
Read on Google
Elizabeth Galley
2 months ago
We are so grateful to have found Children’s First - Buckinghams Nursery. From day one, Miss Amanda and Miss Katie took our son under their wing, making him feel safe, supported and truly understood. They genuinely know each child as an individual and encourage their development with so much care and patience. Our little boy is now thriving he loves going to nursery and comes home happy every day. We feel completely at ease knowing he’s in such wonderful hands and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.
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Annie Foskett
3 months ago
We’ve had such a positive experience with Buckinghams and couldn’t be happier with the care our son receives. The staff are genuinely lovely, kind, and attentive, and it’s clear how much they enjoy working with the children. It’s such a clean, warm, nurturing environment and we feel very lucky to have found it.
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Baldy McBalderson
4 years ago
Best childcare in town.. Great staff.. and my grandchild as been give a 1st class entry in to learning
Read on Google
Anthony Booth
2 years ago
Cosy environment for youngsters with professional staff
Read on GoogleReviews from Google for Children 1st @ Leek. See all on Google Maps
Inspection history
Most recent inspection
25 August 2022
Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.
View full Ofsted reportFrequently asked about Children 1st @ Leek
About the setting
Children 1st @ Leek (Buckinghams) registered in 2018. The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff, with one holding a qualification at level 4, ten at level 3, and one at level 2. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.
- URN
- EY562237
- Registered person
- Breedon House Nurseries Limited
- Day care type
- Full day care
- Register
- Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register
- Establishment type
- Childcare on non-domestic premises
Nearby day nurseries in Leek
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