Little Feet Day Nursery

Covered outdoor play, a classroom for school leavers and dinosaur-themed wellbeing activities give Little Feet Day Nursery in Breightmet, Bolton, a recognisable character. Vegetable growing, self-serving at lunch and sensory rooms bring different paces to the day.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good, judged safeguarding effective and found effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through families and professionals. Weaknesses concerned adult behaviour modelling, independence and opportunities for children to express ideas.

Little Feet has capacity for 70 children aged 12 to 60 months. Full Day Session and School Time Session bookings offer different attendance patterns.

Rooms and Ages

Tiny Feet serves babies and toddlers, Dinky Feet serves toddlers, and Pre-school provides the next stage. Resources and the visual surroundings are matched to children's developmental stages, rather than using the same arrangement throughout the nursery. These stage labels describe the rooms; the nursery's overall accepted age range remains 12 to 60 months.

The School Ready Room gives school leavers a classroom with spaces for early number work, drawing and writing, books, and small-world or construction play. Children use it at different points in the day, including for individual work with an adult. Their work contributes to a changing display, while their food room becomes a space for messy activities in the afternoon. Preparing for school here includes practical routines as well as early literacy.

Two sensory rooms, on different floors, provide quieter spaces with lights, textures and sounds. Staff can use them for a story, songs or exploration with a child. Their value is the choice of pace: a nursery day can include quieter adult-supported moments alongside more active play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes communication, movement, relationships, literacy, number work, creativity and exploration. Little Feet adds 12 room-adapted curriculum goals, including hygiene, dressing, sharing, cutlery use, confident communication and reading enjoyment. End-of-term reviews record progress and next steps, with parents contributing priorities.

Mini Minds Matters uses dinosaur-themed mindfulness and affirmations for emotional wellbeing. School leavers also have individual letters and sounds phonics activities. These additions sit alongside the Early Years Foundation Stage's learning and welfare requirements.

In November 2023, babies explored mirrors and body parts with adults. Crawling, climbing and threading spaghetti through a colander developed physical skills for later writing; older children practised dental care and putting on shoes and socks. Play gave children practice in usable everyday skills.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two outdoor play areas, upstairs and downstairs, have roof protection for play throughout the year. A play house, bikes, scooters, tunnels and chalkboards support movement and imaginative activity, while preschool children grow herbs, vegetables and other plants. Children spend time outside daily. Families need to equip them for changing weather, even with the shelter overhead.

Little Feet's Forest School is for school leavers aged three to four. It uses child-led outdoor activities such as exploring seasonal changes, walking, making and building; when the programme is running, children attend one session each week. There is no additional charge for it.

Swimming is a separate opportunity through Swim School at Sharples High School. Weekly sessions are for children aged three to four who are fully toilet trained and can follow guided instructions, with transport included in the session charge. Classroom children also make regular trips and walks, including visits to a local church for significant occasions and to libraries or museums. These experiences extend learning beyond the nursery's rooms.

Relationships and Communication

Each child starts with a key person for communication about learning and concerns. Weekly observations and photographs, next-step updates four times a year and twice-yearly parents' days track development. Daily handovers cover eating, sleep and play.

Two charged, two-hour settling visits build familiarity and inform a starting assessment with parents. Children can bring a teddy or dummy; parents can telephone during the day.

Staff undertake further training and research, with a childcare apprenticeship programme through Bury and Bolton College. For two-year-olds, the stated ratio is one adult to four children, better than the statutory minimum of one to five. This concerns staffing, not room size.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SENCO roles form part of the staff structure. The progress check between ages two and three gives parents a written account of development; where significant concerns or SEND are identified, individual educational planning involves relevant professionals. This provides a practical route from noticing a difficulty to planning support.

Collection arrangements identify authorised adults on enrolment forms, with a password procedure for an alternative collector notified in advance. Policies also cover safe sleep, medicine and sickness. These are arrangements families can discuss in relation to their child's routines and needs, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

A nursery cook prepares meals each day, with vegetarian alternatives at every mealtime and provision for special dietary or religious requirements. Meals and snacks are charged separately, including during funded attendance; nappies, wipes, formula and sun cream are supplied by parents.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 1 Bury New Road, Breightmet, Bolton, BL2 6QE. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. The nursery closes on bank holidays and for one week over Christmas, so families need another arrangement for those closures.

Full Day Session runs from 7.30am to 6pm; School Time Session runs from 9am to 3pm. The shorter pattern gives families a different option from booking the full opening window. Acceptance of a place requires a completed enrolment form and a deposit based on one week's fee. Payments are due at the beginning of the child's week and can be made weekly or monthly.

Enquiries can be made on 01204 521 507 or by email to admin@littlefeetnursery.co.uk. Nursery visits can be arranged by telephone.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes provision for eligible children from the term after they turn nine months, the Free Early Years Entitlement from the term after the third birthday, and 30 hours funding. The nine-month entitlement starts below Little Feet's current accepted age range of 12 to 60 months: entitlement age and the age at which this nursery accepts children are separate matters. Funding codes require revalidation every three months.

The Free Early Years Entitlement provides up to 15 hours weekly, with 570 hours across at least 38 weeks. Extra hours are charged privately, alongside separate food charges.

Parents provide nappies, wipes, an unopened formula tub where needed, and sun cream. Swimming and other outside activities cost extra; Little Feet's Forest School does not. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; its fees page explains the charges.

• Independence and adult interaction. In November 2023, Ofsted identified occasions when adults raised their voices, answered questions before children could respond and missed opportunities to develop skills such as pouring drinks. On a visit, ask how staff now allow thinking time and help children practise doing things themselves.
• Swimming has entry conditions. The sessions require children to be aged three to four, fully toilet trained and able to follow guided instructions. Consider whether that activity fits your child's stage, alongside the separately charged transport-inclusive sessions.
• Food and everyday supplies add to planning. Meals and snacks are charged separately, while families bring nappies, wipes, formula and sun cream. For a child with dietary needs, discuss the current meal arrangements before joining.
• A shorter session still needs a closure plan. The 9am to 3pm School Time Session offers a different daily pattern from the Full Day Session, but bank holidays and the Christmas closure still need to fit your family's arrangements. Ask how funded hours would fit your intended attendance.

Little Feet suits families choosing between its Full Day Session and School Time Session, especially those who value sheltered outdoor play and practical preparation for school. The classroom, sensory rooms, gardening and optional swimming give children several different settings for learning. Regular key-person updates make the child's progress a continuing conversation with parents.

The November 2023 judgement supports a positive assessment, with clear reservations about adult interaction and opportunities for independence. Those are useful points to explore alongside the everyday appeal. For families whose hours and charge arrangements fit, this is a nursery with a substantial programme beyond its basic room structure.