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Botanic Lodge Nursery Limited

Botanic Lodge Nursery Limited is a day nursery in Liverpool for children aged 1 to 4, with 60 registered places. Ofsted report card, 30 July 2026: Expected standard in 4 areas, Needs attention in 2 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Botanic Road, Liverpool, L7 9LH

Key facts

Type
Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
1 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
60 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
18 February 2025 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 30 July 2026

Who runs it

Botanic Lodge Nursery Limited is run by Botanic Lodge Nursery Limited (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Expected standard
  • Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention
  • Achievement: Needs attention
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
  • Leadership and governance: Expected standard
  • Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 30 July 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Different-aged children experience inconsistencies in the quality of education. The curriculum on offer for babies is too simple, and some staff working with babies do not maximise opportunities that arise to effectively extend their language development and wider learning to a consistently high standard. Babies generally enjoy exploring and splashing during water play. This builds their confidence to try new things and supports their exploration through their senses. They also participate in singing songs, such as 'Little Peter Rabbit' with puppets. This supports them to hear some new words through songs and music.

All children across the nursery show that they feel happy and safe. They build secure bonds with staff that are caring and nurturing and know them well. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who may face other barriers to their learning or wellbeing, receive targeted support to meet their individual needs. This is a real strength. It is evident that these children make positive progress through highly effective partnership working with a wide range of other professionals. Children show a clear understanding of the boundaries at the setting. They listen and behave well throughout the day. Toddlers and pre-school children benefit from an engaging curriculum and high-quality interactions that support them to make notable progress from their starting points. They show superb enjoyment and engagement as they paint with flowers outdoors. As they paint, they discuss the petals, stems and leaves, and how new colours are mixed and created. They also show delight in making cakes in the mud kitchen and receive skilful support to discuss the different ingredients. As they play, they use lots of mathematical language and compare different quantities. They also show keen focus and interest as they search for treasure when playing in sand, and discuss the shiny treasure and gems. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and carers to promote regular attendance and are proactive in seeking explanations for non-attendance. This helps to create a positive safeguarding culture at the setting.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff are passionate about offering inclusive care and education. They have high integrity in relation to this. They offer individualised support and care, sometimes without funding in place to meet the differing needs of more vulnerable children. When funding is secured, it is used in an impactful way. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from one-to-one support for key periods during the day. This helps them to manage busier transitions and parts of the day, such as mealtimes, with extra support. Leaders and staff have also invested in creating a welcoming sensory room that is used to help children regulate their feelings and emotions, as well as for targeted learning interventions.

There is a well-established culture of early identification at the setting. Staff carry out baseline assessments when children join. They make swift referrals to ensure that children receive additional support in a timely manner. The level of partnership working with external professionals is impressive, and children are evidently making progress through these collaborative relationships. Despite all these strengths, some inconsistencies in curriculum and teaching for babies broadly impacts the full effectiveness of their SEND provision. Leaders and staff successfully help children to feel a real sense of belonging, which is particularly true for children that speak English as an additional language. This is apparent when they gain key words in their home language, to help them settle in and celebrate and acknowledge their heritage.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

While babies show that they are happy and content, there are some differences in practice throughout the nursery. Some staff working with babies do not consistently provide high-quality interactions as they play. This means that babies do not consistently engage in purposeful learning throughout the day. While the knowledgeable and experienced leaders have started to take appropriate action to improve this, such as arranging additional training for some staff members, these improvements are at an early stage, and more focus and attention is required to ensure babies benefit from a consistently high quality of teaching and learning experiences. Despite this, babies participate in a range of experiences, such as painting a box and hearing the names of different colours. They also hear 'one, two, three' as they test what happens when a car goes down a ramp.

By contrast, toddlers and pre-school children experience a fun and engaging range of activities throughout the day. This is evident, as older children are supported to make predictions, and discuss what they think will happen when mixing chalks and water together. Children also show focus and enjoyment as they wash muddy construction vehicles in water, and talk about the function of different trucks and diggers. Furthermore, older children enjoy making models with play dough, and are guided to discuss their intentions and hear words, such as 'stretch' and 'mould'. Older children learn and play extremely well in a calm and encouraging atmosphere.

Achievement: Needs attention

The inconsistencies in the curriculum and learning opportunities for babies means that babies do not securely make the full progress that they are capable of. Despite this, babies generally show appropriate levels of interest as they explore. They like looking at farm animal 'touch and feel' books, and hear words such as 'soft' and 'bumpy', as they explore the different animals. In addition, they learn how to handle tools, such as paintbrushes, as they participate in painting activities.

Toddlers and pre-school children make evident progress at the nursery. They benefit from a range of meaningful activities that supports them to learn a range of knowledge and skills. Older children also receive attentive and skilled support to help them target and close any gaps in their learning. They are consistently busy, either leading their own play or receiving guidance to move their learning on to the next level. Older children enjoy drawing with chalks and discuss their creations with confidence. They also develop their imagination as they make mud cakes and discuss different flavours. Furthermore, they show well-developed independence skills, as they help with tidying up and make choices during the day. Consequently, they are well prepared for their eventual move on to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff create a calm and harmonious atmosphere throughout the nursery. Staff have high expectations for behaviour. They set clear and concise boundaries that children respond to very well. Leaders and staff are reflective when considering children's differing needs and types of behaviour. They recognise that many children benefit from extended outdoor play. Children have ongoing opportunities throughout the day to free-flow across different spaces to maximise their interest and engagement. Staff also utilise their sensory room during the day. Children enjoy using the space to regulate their emotions and have some quieter relaxation time.

Children at the setting behave very well. Older children show positive attitudes and great engagement in the activities. They are very polite and curious. They also display developing skills of collaboration as they play. This is evident as they engage in meaningful discussions and play together without always needing an adult fully involved in their play. This means that older children benefit from an positive balance of child-initiated and adult-led play and learning. Overall, babies show suitable levels of engagement as they explore and play. They enjoy singing nursery rhymes and listening to stories, showing that they form trusting relationships with familiar adults. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and carers to encourage consistent attendance. They are also vigilant and proactive if a child does not attend as expected, and follow up with parents and carers to seek an explanation. This helps to establish positive safeguarding arrangements at the nursery.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children show that they feel happy and safe at the setting. Babies and children build trusting relationships and seek comfort and reassurance when needed. This helps to build their confidence and curiosity. Children's independence is fostered effectively at the setting. This is evident as older children make choices about their play and self-serve their food at mealtimes. This helps them to develop their independence skills. Children are well supported to learn about active and healthy lifestyles. This is apparent when they benefit from healthy meals, and learn about different foods and their health benefits. They also enjoy having daily opportunities to play outdoors in the garden and benefit from frequent visits to the close-by park. This helps to develop their balance and coordination as they run, jump and climb. Furthermore, children engage in growing vegetables and learn about where food comes from. They also participate in projects to develop their awareness of oral health. This helps them to learn about their bodies and self-care skills in a purposeful way.

Equality is at the heart of this nursery. Children learn about different backgrounds and cultures through exploring books and resources. They also engage in cultural celebrations, for instance, when celebrating Eid. This supports them to gain awareness of diversity and the wider world.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

The nursery is run by an experienced and attuned management team. They are dedicated to their roles and have clearly made lots of positive contributions to the development of the nursery. Overall, they make accurate evaluations of the nursery and have arranged additional training for some staff members to continue to develop their knowledge and skills. This is evident when staff engage in promoting children's wellbeing and inclusive-practice training. Leaders are starting to measure the impact of training on staff teaching and practice. However, this is still in its infancy.

Staff discuss positive levels of wellbeing at work and feel well supported in their roles, for example, through termly supervision meetings and team meetings throughout the year. Parents and carers express high levels of appreciation for the work of the team. They state that staff are very caring and committed. They also comment on feeling well involved in their children's learning. They receive photographs, updates and assessments on the information-sharing app and through ongoing discussions about their children's new achievements. Leaders and staff organise a range of stay-and-play parent events to build relationships with families. Children also benefit from 'mystery reader' sessions, where a parent or carer comes and reads a book to them and their peers. This experience supports children's love of books and boosts their early-literacy skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • improve and embed an ambitious curriculum for babies and further develop the way in which staff working with babies extend their language and learning skills to help them to make the full progress they are capable of (by 27 August 2026)

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 30 July 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.

The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.

Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.

Source: Ofsted reports

Funded childcare hours in England

All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.

Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.

Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.

The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.

Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)

Other nurseries nearby

  • Botanic Lodge Nursery - Day nursery, Liverpool L7 9LH, ages 0 to 4, 63 places, under 0.1 miles
    Ofsted, 9 July 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Field Of Dreams Nursery - Pre-school, Liverpool L7 0LH, ages 0 to 4, 66 places, 0.3 miles
    Ofsted, 15 February 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Life Bank Nursery at Kensington Children's Centre - Day nursery, Liverpool L7 2QR, ages 0 to 4, 78 places, 0.5 miles
    Ofsted, 19 July 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Chatham Nursery School Birth to Five - Day nursery, Earle Road L7 6HD, ages 2 to 3, 30 places, 0.6 miles
    Ofsted, 16 May 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Little Seedlings Day Nursery - Day nursery, Liverpool L15 0HT, ages 0 to 4, 46 places, 0.7 miles
    Ofsted, 12 December 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

Botanic Lodge Nursery Limited on the Ofsted website