St Philips House, 32 Rutland Street, Blackburn BB2 1UY
The Old Vicarage Nursery, as the name suggests, was once the vicarage to St Phillips Church. Built in the early 1900s, it sits in its own grounds and still retains the original character and charm, giving a feeling of warmth and security for the children.
The Old Vicarage is the ideal environment for young children to experience mixing with their peers whilst still benefiting from smaller group activities.
All staff are professionally trained and are there to help each child learn, feel safe and be happy.
Owner: Susan Chadwick
Person in charge: Michelle Holt (Manager)
Local Authority / Social Services: Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Number of Staff: 14
Service Offered: Nursery School (Privately Owned), Open all year, Full Day Care, Sessional Day Care
Total Places for Children: 62
Age Range: from 0 years 3 months to 5 years 0 months
Opening Days: Mon-Fri
Opening Hours: 0700-1800
When Closed: Bank Holidays & Christmas
Fees Guide: £23.00 - £42.00
Directions:
Within easy reach of Blackburn town centre and the surrounding motorway networks of the M65, M61 and M6.
Visiting:
You will be warmly welcomed for walk in viewings at any time and the staff look forward to showing you around the nursery.
Parking:
Private car parking facilities are available for both parents and staff, together with ample on street parking to the rear of the Nursery.
The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten has a Review Score of 9.4 (9.431)
The Review Score of 9.4 (maximum of 10) for The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.
a) The Average Rating is 4.8 out of 5 from 16 Reviews over all time. This Average Rating is also the rating value for The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten in Google's Search Results - more info
b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.6 out of 5 from 8 positive Reviews in the last 12 months.
Click to show a breakdown of the Review Score
a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating of all Reviews over all time. For each review the Day Nursery / service is rated Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Poor or Very Poor on a number of areas eg Staff, Management etc. The Day Nursery receives points for each rating as follows: Excellent = 5. Good = 4. Satisfactory = 3. Poor = 2. Very Poor = 1. These points are added up and then divided by the total number of completed ratings to generate the average rating.
The Average Rating of 4.786 for The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten is calculated as follows: ( (153 Excellents x 5) + (37 Goods x 4) + (2 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 192 Ratings = 4.786
b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 12 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with 'Extremely Likely' or 'Likely' in answer to the question 'How likely are you to recommend this Day Nursery to friends and family?'
The 5 points available are broken down as follows:
4 points are available for the first 5 Positive Reviews, 3 points for the first Positive Review and then 0.25 Points for each of the next 4 Positive Reviews.
1 point is available for reaching a target number of Positive Reviews based on 20% of the number of registered maximum number of service users. If the target is partially reached then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery with 50 registered maximum number of service users has a target of 10 Positive Reviews, if it has 10 or more Positive Reviews it will receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews will receive 0.7 points.
The 4.645 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten is based on 8 positive Reviews in the last 12 months and is calculated as follows:
3 + 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.25 = 4
Target of 12.4 positive Reviews (62 registered maximum number of service users ÷ 5). 8 Reviews ÷ 12.4 Target = 0.645
When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Crystal G (Mother of Child) on Friday 21 July 2017. Relates to July 2017.
What a fantastic nursery this is, I can't stress it enough. My daughter has enjoyed every second of it. She has come on in leaps and bounds, made lots of friends and I'll be really sad to see her leave here to go to school. The teachers are so friendly and amazing with the children, there's not one negative thing for me to say - absolutely amazing.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 21 Jul 2017:
What a joy it has been having your little girl at the nursery. The time has flown by as we have watched her grow into such a beautiful, polite and confident young lady, ready to stride into Big School with ease. It has been our pleasure getting to know your lovely family and we thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of your daughter's early years. Keep watching us on Facebook and don't forget those school uniform pictures. Love from all of us at The Old Vicarage Nursery xx
Review submitted from a Postal Card by L S B (Mother of Child) on Tuesday 13 June 2017. Relates to May 2017.
Helpful, welcoming staff. Nursery feels like a home from home. We were worried about our young son settling in - staff in baby room are wonderful with him and reassured us and our son opens his arms out willingly to go to a member of the nursery team, particularly two members of staff in the baby dept. Which to us speaks volumes. Home reports are a great idea.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Janeane (Mother of Child) on Thursday 23 March 2017. Relates to March 2017.
Fantastic nursery!!! My daughter has been here for over a year now and I will be sending my youngest daughter here to in June. Staff are always welcoming and friendly and absolutely fantastic with all the children(and parents), nothing is ever to much trouble and the children do something new every day! I would recommend this nursery to everyone I know it's brilliant!
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 27 Mar 2017:
Thank you Janeane, the staff work incredibly hard to make each day an enjoyable experience for the children, your kind words are the icing on the cake. Happy children = happy parents. As always, if we can help in any way, just let us know and thank you again for your lovely words. x
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Alexa S (Mother of Child) on Tuesday 31 January 2017. Relates to January 2017.
Fantastic nursery which my child loves attending. All staff are welcoming and the children seem to love them. Cannot recommend enough, will be sad to see my daughter leave for school in September as I am sure my daughter will be too.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Good
Care: Excellent
Activities: Good
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Good
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Good
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 31 Jan 2017:
Nursery will seem very strange come September when your little girl goes off to school as we have watched both of your children progress through the ranks of the baby room and finally off to big school. You and your family are very much a part of the Nursery and we will certainly miss you all.
Pre-School is getting ready to start its refurbishment over the coming weeks, with a much needed freshening up all round which we are very excited about so watch this space. :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Donna T (Mother of Child) on Sunday 22 January 2017. Relates to January 2017.
I would 100% recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery. All the staff are very friendly and welcoming. My little boy absolutely loves going, and on days when he's not there he doesn't stop talking about it. He has developed so much since starting at The Old Vicarage and I am very thankful to all the wonderful staff. They offer an early start of 7am which is a godsend if you work shifts like me.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 23 Jan 2017:
I have been chatting with the girls in Pre-School and they were smiling from ear to ear about your little boy and the laughter he brings to Nursery with his bright and cheerful personality. It is so lovely to hear he is enjoying Nursery and likes to talk to you about it. Thank you very much for your review and we are happy to help out with those early starts :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Sadie B (Mother of Child) on Thursday 12 January 2017. Relates to January 2017.
I have used The Old Vicarage Nursery for 4 years now. My little girl went there and thrived through the support and knowledge the staff bring to the nursery. She is now in school and they comment on how well my daughter has done in all areas and I believe this is completely due to the head start nursery gave her. My daughter went through a tough time a few years ago and the support she got from nursery was outstanding and not only did they support my daughter, they extended their support to me also.
My little boy now attends the nursery and he again is thriving and learning new things all the time, the nursery give regular updates and also welcome parent updates and ideas. The staff are very friendly and approachable and the nursery also provides a fantastic variety of meals for the children.
I have spoken with the owner many of times and she is very friendly and helpful. I recommend the nursery to all my friends that have children and one of them now also sends her child there.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 12 Jan 2017:
Thank you, Sadie, for your wonderful words and it has been an absolute pleasure being part of your family. We feel very privileged to have played a part in your little girls early years and it comes as no surprise that she is excelling in school as she is a credit to you and your care. How lucky are we that we get to do it all over again with your little boy as we watch him progress through nursery....our only problem is that time goes too fast. Keep the recommendations coming :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Kerri M (Mother of Child) on Wednesday 30 November 2016. Relates to November 2016.
I recently moved my 17 month old to this nursery after a bad experience at his previous one. He is settling well. All of the staff have gone above and beyond in helping him to settle and he is now back to his normal happy self after nursery visits. This nursery was recommended to us and we will too be recommending to anybody that asks. A clean, happy, friendly and calm environment. Thank you for restoring our faith in nurseries!
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 30 Nov 2016:
Thank you and we are so pleased you have given us the opportunity to share in your little boy's early years. I know the girl's are really enjoying getting to know him and it is our pleasure to have you as part of our nursery family. As always, if you have any questions or queries, please just ask and we will be only too happy to assist. :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Keeley L (Mother of Child) on Monday 3 October 2016. Relates to September 2016.
My daughter is super settled and enjoys every day. I couldn't be happier with the staff and the nursery. Everything is fantastic. The meals are different every day and my daughter isn't the biggest of eaters but she manages to eat all her dinner and dessert every single day!
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 04 Oct 2016:
Fantastic to hear that your little girl has settled into the nursery so quickly and she is enjoying the experience. My son was exactly the same at nursery with food and it always put my mind at rest that he was eating well amongst his peers and learning to try new tastes. Thank you for your comments, they are lovely to hear :-)
Review submitted from a Postal Card by Sarah P (Mother of Child) on Friday 16 September 2016. Relates to September 2016.
Both my sons have attended this nursery since they were 9 months old. With both of them, I have seen a vast improvement in self-confidence, speech and their ability to interact with other children and the nursery teachers. I have found that staff and management are very focused, friendly and most importantly approachable. The location is peaceful, safe and provides a safe environment. It has the provision of home cooked, delicious and healthy food. The internal and external facilities are excellent, with a wide range of well-structured age appropriate activities. Would recommend to any parent. Thank you.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 16 Sep 2016:
Thank you very much for your lovely words and I have already fed back your comments to Nursery! We have loved watching both of your boys grow and develop and they are, without a doubt, very much a credit to your husband and yourself. Thank you for your continued support of Nursery xxxxx
Review submitted from a Postal Card by C O (Mother of Child) on Thursday 15 September 2016. Relates to September 2016.
Very friendly staff. Good with children and parents. Food always very good and reasonable rates would recommend to my friends.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Good
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Good
Care: Excellent
Activities: Good
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Good
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 15 Sep 2016:
Nursery works very hard in the kitchen and we very much appreciate your comments about our offering and also for your recommendation to friends. Many thanks :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Cindy H (Mother of Child) on Thursday 15 September 2016. Relates to September 2016.
I love this nursery and have recommended it to all my friends and family. I feel as though the staff take the time to get to know me and my daughter on a personal level and I feel very comfortable leaving my child at the nursery. I find all the staff are hands on in getting to know the children, including the Manager. I feel very included in my child's development at the nursery through daily sheets and parents evenings.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Good
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Good
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Good
Care: Good
Activities: Good
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Good
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Good
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 15 Sep 2016:
Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback on your nursery experience and we really appreciate your very kind words. Thank you also for your ongoing recommendations to family and friends and we are so pleased you feel part of the nursery family :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Kelly F (Mother of Child) on Thursday 15 September 2016. Relates to September 2016.
Both my children have attended and I cannot say a bad word about either experience. Fantastic staff who put so much effort into planning and making the children's days fun yet educational. A pleasant and warming arrival every morning from staff. My little girl loves going to the nursery which makes the drop offs a lot easier in the morning. Never had any issues in the last 5 years. Relevant documents of procedures are clearly displayed in the entrance as well as the home cooked menu for each day. The nursery provides plenty of opportunities for parents to stay and play/have lunch with children which is great as I love seeing what my child is like at nursery. Staff are always willing to discuss your child's progress and have children's files on hand for you to look through. An all round excellent nursery to which I always recommend family and friends. Could not have asked for a better experience for my children and myself.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 15 Sep 2016:
WOW Kelly, thank you for these wonderful words as they mean so much to everyone! Always a pleasure seeing you and the family in nursery and we thank you all for your continued support over the years xxxxxx
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Laura W (Mother of Child) on Thursday 15 September 2016. Relates to September 2016.
Both my children have attended Old Vicarage Nursery and both have been very happy. Really pleased how both my children have grown into confident and happy little girls.
Will be sad when my youngest leaves August 2017 as this nursery has played a special part in my children's start of life in learning.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Good
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 15 Sep 2016:
We have loved every minute of being part of your family since you became part of our family. You know I struggle at graduation to hold back the tears when it's time to say goodbye and next year will be no exception as your youngest leaves us for big school. Thank you for your lovely words and they will most certainly be relayed back to everyone in nursery :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Donna R (Mother of Child) on Wednesday 14 September 2016. Relates to July 2016.
My son attended this nursery from aged 7.5 months til age 4. He was always entertained and he made lots of friends. The staff were very approachable and on the few occasions that I had to raise concerns, I felt comfortable to do so. The staff were very attentive to him and activities were varied and interesting.
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Likely
Overall Standard: Good
Facilities / Outside Space: Good
Learning: Good
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Good
Care: Good
Activities: Good
Staff: Good
Food / Nutrition: Excellent
Management: Good
Cleanliness: Good
Safeguarding: Satisfactory
Value for Money: Satisfactory
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 15 Sep 2016:
So pleased to hear your son has settled in well in big school and it was always going to be the case owing to his confidence and bright personality shining through. Always happy to help resolve any issues or concerns, and I'm glad that we were able to do so to your satisfaction on the rare occasion we needed to. Your dedication to parent partnership within nursery is greatly missed as is all of the family. :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Melissa V (Mother of Child) on Tuesday 13 September 2016. Relates to September 2016.
Staff are friendly and helpful. The nursery is clean and tidy with lots to do and I feel at ease leaving my daughter here. Would like to see bibs/aprons provided but only a minor concern :-) I feel well informed of what my child has done throughout the day. Overall view.....HAPPY!
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Likely
Overall Standard: Good
Facilities / Outside Space: Good
Learning: Good
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Good
Care: Good
Activities: Good
Staff: Good
Food / Nutrition: Good
Management: Good
Cleanliness: Good
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Good
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 13 Sep 2016:
We are so pleased to hear you are happy with the nursery and your lovely little girl enjoys her time with us throughout the week. We have noted your comment about bibs/aprons and would like to put your mind at rest that these are provided for all the children, particularly in your child's age group.
Our practitioners sensitively support children, particularly at this age, through the weaning process and whilst children are developing their hand/eye co-ordination that allows them to feed themselves, this can sometimes lead to more messier mealtimes. We have addressed this issue internally and thank you for your constructive comment and appreciate your valued feedback :-)
Review submitted from a Website Submission by Lorraine G (Mother of Child) on Thursday 8 September 2016. Relates to January 2016.
Since attending The Old Vicarage Nursery, my daughter has become a very confident little girl. Her developmental level now greatly exceeds her age and her social skills have greatly increased. She looks forward to her sessions and always thoroughly enjoys her time here. Her teachers are very passionate about their work which shows in all areas of my child's learning. This nursery is highly recommended. Thank you xx
How likely would you be to recommend The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten? Extremely Likely
Overall Standard: Excellent
Facilities / Outside Space: Excellent
Learning: Excellent
Resources / Equipment / ICT: Excellent
Care: Excellent
Activities: Excellent
Staff: Excellent
Food / Nutrition: Good
Management: Excellent
Cleanliness: Excellent
Safeguarding: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Sue Chadwick, Director at The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten responded to this review on 09 Sep 2016:
Thank you very much Lorraine for this wonderful review. It is an absolute pleasure to be involved in your little girl's early years and she is a credit to you :-)
March 2015
February 2015
Job Title: Nursery Manager
Joined: 2014
Description:
Michelle is responsible for the daily running of Nursery, ensuring the children are encouraged to develop to their full potential in a stimulating and fun environment. With over 22 years experience in private day care, Michelle is incredibly passionate about her work and the children she care for.
Qualifications include a BA Hons Degree in Early Years Childcare, coupled with a Foundation Degree in Young Children's Care, Learning and Development. This is the highest 'stand alone' qualification to be attained in the Early Years field and Michelle brings with her a wealth of knowledge which greatly benefits the children and staff within Nursery.
Job Title: Deputy Manager - Pre-School Team Leader
Joined: 2011
Description:
Miss Cat is one of our most creative staff members and enjoys taking part in activities which allow the children to bring out their own creative side. Having been part of the Old Vicarage for some time, Cat has continued to develop her professional career and to enrich this development, Cat is undergoing additional management training as well as enhanced safeguarding through training and practice. Miss Cat is also undertaking further academic studies to obtain her degree in childcare.
Job Title: Team Leader - Baby Room
Joined: 2006
Description:
Miss Kellie went into childcare in 2005 and she enjoys watching the children achieve their 'firsts' by way of steps, words and writing, as well as joining in with the children for creative activities.
Kellie also enjoys watching the children become so enthusiastic about all of the events held at Nursery, especially the annual visit from Father Christmas.
To further develop her professional qualifications, Kellie is undertaking academic studies to obtain her degree.
Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten to verify any information. Our terms and conditions can be viewed here. The Old Vicarage Nursery & Nature Kindergarten has an Enhanced Service – more info.
