TicTots Day Nursery & Creche Bolton

A sensory room gives children space to explore different resources at this Bolton nursery within Total Fitness on Waters Meeting Road. In March 2023, older children had opportunities to swim and babies explored their reflections in low mirrors. Physical activity was part of nursery life at that visit.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its inspection on 22 March 2023. That judgement needs reading alongside the specific improvements requested: clearer learning expectations for baby-room staff, more consistent help with older children’s emotions and stronger staff coaching.

The nursery has 88 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 59 months. That is whole-setting capacity, rather than the number sharing an individual room or attending together.

Rooms and Ages

Babies Room, Ladybirds Room and Preschool Room are the room names used at Bolton. The sensory room also supports exploration with different resources, giving children another way to engage with materials beyond their main room.

In March 2023, babies explored toys that responded to their actions and watched themselves in mirrors positioned close to the floor. Younger children experimented with water and instruments. These are concrete examples of discovery through movement, sound and repetition, rather than an abstract description of early learning.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences contribute to learning alongside personal care. It is the framework this nursery must follow, rather than an additional programme that sets it apart.

In March 2023, older children invented stories, worked on puzzles and assembled robots from craft materials. Singing, dancing and yoga also featured in the day. The activities allowed different forms of expression, from making something with their hands to experimenting with movement.

The baby curriculum was less consistently translated into suitable activities at that visit. Some practitioners expected understanding of counting and shapes beyond the babies’ developmental stage, and children lost interest. The practical issue was matching an activity to the child, rather than simply offering more activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

In March 2023, outdoor provision included play equipment, walks took place daily and older children had opportunities to swim. Younger children used a slide, while babies practised pulling themselves upright using low furniture. Physical experiences therefore extended from early movement to more demanding challenges.

Children also practised using climbing equipment and persisted with unfamiliar tasks. For parents, those examples show how movement formed part of learning, as well as a chance to expend energy.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised support for children with SEND, including work with outside professionals that helped children progress. Staff supervision, child-protection knowledge and recruitment checks were part of that safeguarding assessment; the finding belongs to that dated visit.

In March 2023, support for children who spoke English as an additional language included speech specialists, communication plans shared with families and sign language for use at home. Parents received updates about their children, and events helped families learn about subjects including autism spectrum disorder. That connected nursery support with what families could do between attendance days.

Independence was visible in small routines at the same visit: children helped put toys away, managed their coats and took part in serving food. Staff also discussed toothbrushing, visits to the dentist, vegetables and healthy eating. Everyday care provided opportunities to practise skills children would use beyond nursery.

Support for frustration was uneven in March 2023. Some older children needed more consistent responses when emotions became difficult to manage, and staff coaching needed strengthening. Those concerns matter alongside the positive account of relationships and additional support.

The address is Total Fitness, Waters Meeting Road, Bolton, BL1 8TT. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, with closures on bank holidays and for two weeks at Christmas. Families planning care around working hours should allow for those breaks as well as the daily closing time.

The enquiry form allows families to select TicTots Bolton and enter their preferred attendance days, times and start date. This gives the nursery a specific request to respond to rather than a general enquiry.

In March 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated participation fact, rather than a statement about today’s funding arrangements.

• Baby learning. In March 2023, activities were sometimes pitched beyond babies’ development. On a visit, ask how practitioners now choose experiences suited to a baby’s interests and abilities.
• Emotional support and coaching. The March 2023 improvements included responses to older children’s frustration and feedback to staff. Ask for concrete examples of how both are handled now.
• Funding and everyday costs. Funded education formed part of the offer in March 2023. Request a current written quotation explaining funded attendance, private hours, meals and consumables separately.

TicTots suits families interested in a nursery with sensory exploration and a history of active experiences, including swimming for older children. Its Bolton rooms and sensory room give the setting more substance than a general promise of learning through play.

The Good judgement is useful, but the baby curriculum, emotional support and coaching concerns deserve equal attention. Families choosing care for a baby should make the first of those a central part of their visit discussion.