Daisy Chain Private Nursery

A conservatory for babies, church gardens for preschool outdoor learning and a strong emphasis on communication give Daisy Chain Private Nursery its character. Based in Breightmet, Bolton, it combines rooms organised around children's development with programmes that bring language, emotional understanding and family participation into the day. The practical appeal is equally clear: children can choose resources for themselves, while staff plan support around their next steps.

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and described happy children with close relationships with staff, including sensitive care for babies. That is a dated judgement, rather than an assessment of today's provision. The current approach includes language screening, a key person system and outdoor spaces for each age group.

There are 59 places in total, with an age range of 1 to 59 months. Flexible attendance and day bookings are offered, with funded and privately paid childcare treated differently in the charging structure.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Bunnies Room occupies the conservatory, where rugs, mirrors and treasure baskets support sensory exploration, while communication and attachment shape the care of the youngest children.

Tiny Tigers combines accessible shelving and low furniture with reading spaces, messy play and outdoor access, giving children opportunities to choose resources and practise early communication and movement.

Bouncing Bears has indoor soft play and a child-sized toilet area, linking physical exploration with practical steps towards independence, including handwashing and toilet training.

The Preppies and Pre-School Room brings together construction, role play, investigation and early literacy activities, with a quiet corner and everyday tasks such as serving snacks and getting dressed to support growing independence.

The rooms make the developmental progression tangible. Resources within children's reach allow them to make choices; facilities suited to self-care give them somewhere to practise those choices. These are useful differences for parents comparing what their child would actually do during the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) supplies the shared framework for care and learning: children develop communication, physical and social skills through play, alongside early reading, number work and exploration of the world. Staff observe children and use those observations to plan what comes next. Development Matters guides staff in matching teaching to each child's current developmental needs.

Communication receives more specific attention through WellComm screening, used to identify language support needs. Babbling Babies, Toddler Talk, Language Through Listening and Nursery Narrative are targeted communication interventions. Their value for families is the connection between identifying a need and planning support, rather than simply adding another activity to the timetable. Super Sounds adds work on listening and early phonics awareness.

REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) involves families in developing language and literacy through ordinary experiences. It extends the learning beyond nursery activities by giving parents a role in the same work. Children can revisit activities through continuous provision, meaning resources remain accessible for them to return to and develop their ideas.

Music also has a concrete place. In March 2026, babies and toddlers shared a Shake, Rattle and Roll music and movement session with their families, while Melody Makers began preschool music sessions supporting listening, rhythm and expression. Preschool children also had Spanish teaching that month. These examples show how enrichment reaches different age groups; they do not imply a fixed weekly timetable.

Outdoor and Community Life

Each age group has its own outdoor space. Preschool children also attend Forest School, an approach centred on learning through outdoor exploration, in local church gardens. The change of environment gives them room for nature-based activity beyond their usual play space.

The curriculum gives indoor and outdoor learning equal weight, with children spending as much time outside as inside. Outdoor experiences are planned to offer different opportunities, rather than reproducing the indoor activities. For a child who enjoys movement and exploration, that makes outdoor learning a substantial part of the day.

Community participation reaches beyond the garden. During March 2026, the nursery helped host Bolton's Big Real Event at the library and visited the church for an Easter experience. World Book Day brought stories and imagination into activities across the rooms. Those dated examples connect nursery learning with families, local venues and shared celebrations.

Relationships and Communication

A consistent key person relationship begins in the baby room, with settling and room transitions planned around children's emotional security. Familiar routines provide predictability, while communication with families helps staff understand children's interests. This gives parents a continuing relationship through which to discuss their child's day and development.

Settling begins with preliminary visits after a place is reserved, alongside an optional home visit. The usual arrangement is an hour with a parent present, followed by two further hour-long visits; children who find the process difficult can have additional visits. The important feature is the opportunity to extend the introduction around the child's response.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to share children's development with parents. It supports discussion about learning and future plans, rather than leaving communication entirely to brief conversations. In March 2026, literacy Stay and Play sessions for the older rooms and a Parents' Evening gave families further opportunities to take part and discuss the preschool experience.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCo works with families and external professionals, supported by Communication Champions and practitioners trained in Elklan communication and language work. The curriculum also includes collaboration with the Local Authority SEND team. These are identifiable routes for discussing additional needs and organising support.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that some children needing speech and language support were being missed and that some staff's questioning gave children too little opportunity to think and converse, so it required quicker identification and better questioning. The current screening and intervention arrangements are relevant to those concerns, but do not establish that the inspection actions have been completed.

The Mini Minds Wellbeing Programme uses Wellasaurus to help children recognise emotions and regulate their responses. Think Equal addresses empathy, inclusion and relationships. Alongside these programmes, the preschool quiet corner provides a physical space for reflection, connecting emotional learning with somewhere children can pause.

Meals and snacks are made on site by the nursery cook, with menus organised into three weeks; the allergy arrangements include discussing suitable alternatives with parents. Families receive information about what their child has eaten, while feeding and weaning routines are discussed individually.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 647/649 Bury Road, Bolton, BL2 6HX, in Breightmet. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. The normal paid day runs from 8am to 5pm, with an early bird arrangement from 7.30am to 5pm and a late stay from 5pm to 5.30pm. Flexible session options are also offered.

Attendance needs to fit the closure calendar. The nursery closes on Bank Holidays, and the preceding Friday finishes at 4pm. There is also a short Christmas closure, a week at Easter and two weeks during the summer holidays. These breaks matter for families organising childcare throughout the year.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01204 361120 or by email to office@daisychainsnursery.co.uk. Bookings require a retainer, returned at the end of attendance when four weeks' notice has been given; cancelling a reserved place means the retainer is not refunded. Places are normally allocated in order of application, with possible preference for siblings or bookings suited to particular age groups.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 and 30 funded hours are offered, with the entitlement spread over 47 weeks rather than delivered solely over 38 term-time weeks. Additional hours are privately paid. The fees and funding page explains the attendance and charge structure; current prices should be obtained in the nursery's written quotation.

For unfunded childcare, meals, snacks and consumables are included in the fee. Funded attendance has separate charges for food and non-food items, described as voluntary: the breakdown includes breakfast, snacks, hot lunch and high tea, alongside sun cream, spare seasonal clothing and the toothbrushing scheme. The breakdown also includes Tapestry and birthday or Christmas celebrations. Families comparing funded and private attendance therefore need to compare the whole arrangement, rather than treating them as having identical inclusions.

• Language support. The September 2022 improvement points concerned identifying speech and language delays and giving children better opportunities to converse. At a visit, ask how WellComm results lead to intervention and how progress is reviewed with parents.
• Youngest children's arrangements. Baby Bunnies Room centres on attachment and sensory exploration. Discuss the starting age for your child, the number of babies sharing the room and how feeding and rest routines would work.
• Attendance and closures. Day bookings, early starts and flexible options sit alongside Easter, summer and Christmas closures. Match the proposed booking and funded-hours arrangement to your working week, including the earlier finish before Bank Holidays.
• Food and funded extras. Funded attendance separates food and consumable charges from entitlement hours, while private rates include them. Review the written quotation and, if your child has an allergy, confirm the current arrangements for suitable meals.

Daisy Chain Private Nursery suits families seeking full days from 8am to 5pm, early bird extended days from 7.30am to 5pm or flexible attendance. Its strongest practical attractions are the progression between purposefully equipped rooms, communication programmes and outdoor learning in both nursery spaces and church gardens.

The balance needs attention too. Holiday closures must fit family plans, and funded attendance carries a different charge structure from privately paid care. The dated Good judgement provides useful context alongside the September 2022 language-support improvement points. For parents who want to participate in learning and understand how individual support is organised, the key person arrangements and Tapestry journal offer concrete starting points.