Sandcastles Nursery and Beach School
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Morecambe for from 2 years up to school age, open 08:00 to 17:45, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2014, with 42 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Sandcastles provides government Funded Early Years Education through 'Universal 3&4's', 'Working Parent 2,3,4's' and 'Golden Ticket 2's' entitlement.
Worth knowing. The government funding does not finance foods, non-food consumables, enhanced additional activities nor attendance beyond funded hours. Sandcastles offers two attendance packages "Full service" which incurs charges and "Fee Free" which is fully free for parents but requires parents to supply all foods and consumables each day and doesn't allocate children membership of our daily PreSchool club sessions.
What childcare usually costs in Lancashire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Lancashire from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
LA4 6AAWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 24 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in this loving and caring environment. They form close bonds with their key workers and enjoy their time at the nursery. Staff provide children with an array of opportunities that are tailored to suit their individual needs and interests.
All children develop strong foundations for learning and a sense of pride in their community. Children learn from their positive interactions with the staff, who have high ambitions for children's achievements. Staff supervise children well and are attentive to their individual needs.
Children develop high levels of self-esteem and demonstrate pride in carrying out tasks for themselves. For example, children eagerly put their belongings away on entry to the nursery. They are immediately excited to see their friends and enthusiastically explore the learning environment. Leaders ensure that children have an allocated key member of staff who provides consistent support. Before children start at the nursery, staff speak with parents to find out about their children's individual needs and interests. Staff then use this information to plan and support introduction visits. During skilfully organised settling-in sessions, staff offer constant support for children as they learn about the routine. Even the newest children demonstrate feelings of security with staff members and settle quickly.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- extend children's language and thinking skills by using more effective techniques while they play.
- 24 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 5 February 2019Good
- 11 March 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Sandcastles Nursery and Beach School
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.