We Can’t Find This Page Oh, isn't this a bit awkward. Please check the website URL and try again, or find what you need by clicking the home button below Go Back Home

Ducklings Preschool and Nursery is a family-owned & run childcare, providing outstanding services in Milton Keynes and Manchester for 20 years'. Aged 0-5 Years welcome, 30 hours Government funded sessions - childcare tax free. Book a visit today easily online. Central Milton Keynes Oldbrook , Bow Brickhill , Emerson Valley , Monkston Park , Monkston St Barts , Monkston , Shenley Brook End , Tattenhoe Park , Westcroft , Furzton , Blackley Middleton Manchester Childcare preschool nursery Welcome to Ducklings Preschool and Nursery - MK Inspiring School Award Winner - Founded in 2000, Ducklings Preschool is extremely proud to operate across Milton Keynes and Manchester. We strive to create an outstanding, loving, caring atmosphere in a safe and friendly environment. Find a Preschool Book a Visit Our Locations Funding & Fees Why Choose Us Term Dates Parents Hub Staff Hub Our Preschools With multiple settings across both Milton Keynes and Greater Manchester, there's a Ducklings near you. Each preschool offers a warmth, welcoming environment with experienced and caring staff. Bow Brickhill Walnut Tree Shenley Brook End Blackley, Manchester View All Locations What Our Parents Think I couldn't have chosen a better Preschool for our children. The staff are very warm and caring , there's plenty of play, creative activity and encouragement and my children have loved every minute Melissa We've launched our lending library at David Lewis Play Area! What Our Staff Think With Bekki's support I am learning on the job and this (SEND Level 3) course has given me confidence in my practice. Thank you John,Debbie,Bekki. When opportunities are provided internally it make you push yourself and achieve your goals . Thank you all. Shivani Ofsted Outstanding or Good across every setting Experienced & Caring Teams Government Funding Accepted Inclusive & Supportive Part of the Local Community for over 26 years Some articles from our Blog View All Blogs Posts Contact Form I agree to the terms & conditions Submit Your form was submitted correctly. Thank you. We'll be in touch shortly

Make learning tasty! Discover simple, safe cooking activities and fun food-based games to develop skills and confidence at home. Food Fun andCooking Our related blog articles on cooking and food fun can be read by clicking on the titles below; Autism: An Introduction to the Kitchen Early Years in the Kitchen: 5 Tips on Nurturing Your Budding Chef 8 Easy Ways to Sneak Vegetables Into Children's Food Cooking with Children - A better bolognaise Changing Your Child's Fussy Eating Habits Easy Ways to Get Your Kids Interested in Cooking Child Food Safety Healthy Lunchbox Recipes Unique Healthy Recipes for Preschoolers to try! Child Nutrition in the Early Years Cosy and Child-Friendly Winter Food Recipes for the Whole Family Why Children Should Bake at Home for Developmental Benefits How D'Ya like your eggs in the morning Nutrition for Preschoolers: Fun and Healthy Snack Ideas Healthy Preschool Lunchbox Ideas: What to Include and What to Avoid at Ducklings Preschool Healthy Lunchbox Ideas : Article Ducklings Blog Need help knowing what to include in your preschooler's lunchbox? Click here to see our recommended dos and don'ts! Cbeebies Easy Cooking with Kids Recipe Looking for some more recipe ideas? Look no further! Cbeebies provides amazing recipes, for all age ranges, so check this out and try some at home. Printable: Food Flashcards Learning doesn't just happen at school, why not print off these flashcards and use them at home to further learn about cooking and food! Download them here. Printable: Food Likes & Dislikes Activity Sheets These printable sheets not only quiz your child's knowledge on the names of a variety of different foods, it also question whether they like or dislike them! Why not level this activity up too! Simply use these printable sheets, and have samples of each food item too, as a fun way to experiment with new flavours. Sensory Food Exploration - Taste Tray Provide taste, touch, smell, and colour experiences with safe raw ingredients using a taste tray! You can use anything you have, including a muffin oven tray. Make sure that whilst your preschooler is sampling foods, you are encouraging descriptive language (soft, crunchy, juicy, smooth, etc.). Some taste test ideas could include; crackers, cheese, sliced ham, pickles, olives, melon, carrots, celery, apple, raisins, popcorn, cottage cheese, marshmallows, raw peppers etc. Printable: Protein & Fat Food Wordsearch Activity Sheet Print off this food-inspired wordsearch, and let your preschoolers enjoy! To level up this activity, you could even have samples of each food item, so once they have found the word in the wordsearch, they can try and see whether they like that food item! The food items to find are: sushi, pizza, rice, French fries, cake, fried chicken, steak, hamburger, cheese and bread. Printable: Fruit & Vegetable Food Wordsearch Activity Sheet Print off this food-inspired wordsearch, and let your preschoolers enjoy! To level up this activity, you could even have samples of each food item, so once they have found the word in the wordsearch, they can try and see whether they like that food item! The food items to find are: sushi, pizza, rice, French fries, cake, fried chicken, steak, hamburger, cheese and bread. Smelling Jars are a great sensory tool that allows preschoolers to identify and compare different scents, learning to discriminate between them. It also improved memory, focus, builds cognitive association and promotes independent learning. We would recommend using strong scents ( essential oils on cotton wool, kitchen spices, citrus fruits, vanilla extract, but the options are endless!). To expand on this activity, ask your child to play a matching game! Print off photos of the items you select, and see if they can identify the hidden scent to the correct photo. Sensory Food Exploration - Smelling Jars

Our Ducklings community has raised over £400 for Crackerjacks Children’s Trust through our recent pyjama party! Children and staff swapped their everyday clothes for their favourite pyjamas this Thursday, bringing a little extra cosiness to preschool while supporting an important cause. It was a lovely opportunity to have fun together and show how small acts of kindness can add up to something wonderful. Crackerjacks Children’s Trust supports children with disabilities and their families, helping provide specialist equipment, sensory toys and respite breaks. We’re delighted that our Ducklings families have helped contribute to this work. Alongside the excitement of coming to preschool in pyjamas, the fundraiser gave us a gentle way to introduce the children to helping others. Learning to be kind, thoughtful and caring is an important part of growing up, and occasions like this help bring those values to life. A big thank you to our Ducklings community To every family who donated, every child who joined in and every member of staff who helped make the day special—thank you. Your generosity and enthusiasm made this fundraiser possible. We know that families have many demands on their budgets, and we truly appreciate every contribution. Together, you helped us raise more than £400 to support children and families through Crackerjacks. Lots of cosy pyjamas, a shared act of kindness and a brilliant fundraising total. Well done, Ducklings! 💛

Looking for a fun, creative Halloween activity to enjoy with your little one? We've got you covered! Halloween is just around the corner, and that means it's time for pumpkins, costumes, autumn adventures and lots of spooky fun! For many families, decorating a pumpkin is one of the most exciting Halloween traditions. But if you've ever tried to carve a pumpkin with an enthusiastic toddler or preschooler nearby, you'll know it can be a little tricky! At Ducklings Preschool, we believe that Halloween activities should be fun, creative and suitable for little hands. That's why we've created ten FREE printable pumpkin face templates, featuring everything from happy pumpkins and silly smiles to friendly Halloween characters. Whether you're decorating your very first pumpkin, looking for easy designs for younger children or planning an afternoon of Halloween crafts, our templates are a fantastic place to start. And the best part? They're completely free to download and print! Simply download the PDF, print your favourite designs onto A4 paper and get ready for some Halloween fun! Parents and carers: All cutting and carving should be completed by adults. Younger children can help choose, colour and decorate their pumpkin faces. How to Use Our Printable Pumpkin Faces Our templates are designed to make pumpkin decorating simple, creative and enjoyable for the whole family. Here's how to get started. Step 1: Choose Your Favourite Pumpkin Face Download our free printable pack and let your little one choose their favourite design. Will they pick a happy pumpkin, a cheeky grin or a friendly Halloween cat? Giving children opportunities to make simple choices is a wonderful way to develop independence and confidence. Step 2: Print Your Template Print your chosen pumpkin face onto a sheet of A4 paper. You can print all ten designs or just the ones you'd like to try. Our templates have bold outlines, making them easy for children to colour and for adults to use as a guide when decorating pumpkins. Step 3: Get Your Pumpkin Ready Choose a pumpkin with a reasonably smooth surface. Give it a gentle wash and dry it thoroughly before decorating. If you're planning to carve your pumpkin, an adult should handle the sharp tools and remove the pumpkin's top and contents. Younger children can still enjoy helping by exploring the pumpkin's seeds and stringy insides under close supervision. Step 4: Transfer Your Design An adult can cut out the facial features from the printed template or use the design as a tracing guide. For carving, secure the paper to the pumpkin and carefully transfer the shapes using a suitable marking tool. Remember that curved pumpkin surfaces can make tracing a little challenging, so don't worry if the finished design isn't perfect! Step 5: Decorate Your Pumpkin! Now for the fun part! Adults can carve the chosen design, while children can help with safe decorating activities. For toddlers and younger preschoolers, we recommend using paint, stickers or other age-appropriate craft materials instead of carving. You could even paint the face directly onto the pumpkin. Once finished, display your creation somewhere your child can admire their hard work! For illuminated pumpkins, battery-operated LED lights are a much safer alternative to candles around young children. Pumpkin Decorating for Toddlers: No Carving Required! Although pumpkin carving is a popular Halloween tradition, young children don't need to use sharp tools to join in. In fact, there are lots of exciting ways to decorate pumpkins without carving them at all! Here are a few of our favourite ideas. Pumpkin Painting Give your little one some washable, child-safe paints and let them decorate their pumpkin however they like. They might create a smiley face, paint their favourite colours or cover it in dots and patterns. Painting is a fantastic way to support creativity and hand-eye coordination. Colour Your Pumpkin Face Print one of our free templates and let your child colour it in using crayons or pencils. They can choose their favourite colours and create their very own Halloween masterpiece. You could even cut out the finished design as a decoration, with adult help. Pumpkin Stickers Use large, age-appropriate stickers to decorate your pumpkin. Children can create faces, patterns or colourful designs without needing paint or sharp tools. Explore What's Inside a Pumpkin If an adult is carving a pumpkin, why not turn the inside into a sensory learning activity? Allow your child to explore the pumpkin flesh and seeds with close supervision. Ask questions such as: Is it wet or dry? Does it feel smooth or slimy? What colour is the inside? Can you see lots of seeds? What does the pumpkin smell like? Exploring different textures is a wonderful way for young children to learn about the world around them. Avoid offering loose seeds to children who may put them in their mouths, and wash hands thoroughly after handling raw pumpkin.

We've been keeping a little secret… and we're so excited to finally share it with you! At Ducklings Preschool Blackley, we've been working behind the scenes on a very special project. It's taken a little time, a lot of planning and plenty of enthusiasm from our wonderful team, but we're delighted to announce that we're opening our very own FREE outdoor community lending library! And the best part? It's not just for our Ducklings families — it's for the whole community to enjoy! With permission from Manchester City Council, our new lending library will be installed in Boggart Hole Clough, near the David Lewis play area, at the park entrance opposite Ducklings Preschool Blackley. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, carer or simply a local family who loves a good story, we hope our little library will become a much-loved part of the Blackley community. A Little Library with a Big Purpose At Ducklings, we've always believed that learning doesn't stop at the preschool door. Some of the most valuable learning experiences happen when children are exploring their local community, spending time with their families and discovering new things together. Our outdoor lending library has been created with one simple idea in mind: To make books, stories and learning opportunities more accessible to families in our community. We want to encourage children to develop a love of reading from an early age, while giving parents and carers access to useful resources, creative activities and new ideas to enjoy together at home. And of course, we hope it encourages everyone to share a little kindness along the way! How Will the Community Lending Library Work? Our lending library is designed to be simple, welcoming and completely free to use. There are no membership forms, borrowing fees or complicated rules. Simply take a book, enjoy it and help us keep the stories going (by donating any read books you believe others may enjoy) We'll be regularly updating the library with new resources, including: Children's books: Picture books, bedtime stories, early learning books and much-loved favourites for young readers. Parenting books: Helpful resources covering child development, parenting and the early years. Themed books: Seasonal stories and books exploring different topics, celebrations and interests. Storytelling props: Resources and ideas to help families bring their favourite stories to life. Activity inspiration: Simple educational activities that parents and carers can enjoy with their children at home. Our Blackley team will be adding new books and resources every week to keep things fresh and exciting. We'd also love the local community to get involved! If you have children's books or suitable parenting resources at home that are no longer being used, why not give them a new home by adding them to our lending library? A book your child has outgrown could become somebody else's favourite bedtime story. We simply ask that any donated books are clean, in good condition and suitable for families to enjoy. How Can You Support Our Lending Library? There are lots of simple ways you can help make our little library a success. Visit and enjoy it. Pop along, choose a book and share a story with your little one. Donate a book. Have a children's book sitting on a shelf that your family no longer reads? Give it a new home! Tell your friends. Help spread the word to other families in Blackley, Harpurhey, Moston and the surrounding areas. Help us look after it. Treat the library with care and let our team know if something needs attention. Share your stories. We'd love to hear which books your children are enjoying and see how the library is being used by our local community. Every little contribution helps! One Little Library, Hundreds of Stories to Share This project might seem like a small addition to our local park, but we hope it makes a big difference. A single book can spark a child's imagination, introduce a new word, inspire a conversation or become a treasured part of a bedtime routine. By making books freely available and encouraging families to share resources, we're hoping to create more opportunities for children across Blackley to discover the magic of reading. We're incredibly proud of our Ducklings Blackley team for bringing this idea to life, and grateful to Manchester City Council for supporting the project. Most importantly, we're excited to see how our wonderful local community helps it grow. So next time you're visiting Boggart Hole Clough, keep an eye out for our little library. Pick up a book, share a story and help us spread the joy of reading! With love, The Ducklings Preschool Blackley Team