Footprints Day Nursery Bollington

Stories, conversation and growing independence give Footprints Day Nursery Bollington its clearest character. At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated it Outstanding and found that staff used stories and carefully judged questions to develop children's communication and learning. The detail behind that judgement matters: children had time to think, adults listened to their answers, and familiar books became starting points for discussion.

Set within the grounds of Dean Valley Primary School on Albert Road, the purpose-built nursery has trees around it and secure grounds for play. It accepts children aged 4 to 59 months, spanning baby care through to preschool. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, with operation across 51 weeks of the year.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, that connects play and exploration with learning to communicate, build relationships and become more independent. The September 2022 examples show how those strands came together here, rather than being treated as separate lessons.

Books had different uses for different ages. In September 2022, toddlers were drawn into a story through recurring phrases, while preschool children returned to a favourite book and talked through its ideas. Adults used what children said to decide how to extend the conversation. This gave children an active part in storytelling, rather than simply an audience role.

Questions were another practical teaching tool. During September 2022, staff allowed a pause after asking something, giving children space to formulate their own response. For a parent, the useful distinction is between an adult supplying the answer and an adult helping a child work towards one. The latter was visible in the nursery's interactions.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2022, outings and outdoor exploration gave children new things to talk about. A journey on a service bus helped children connect a vehicle they recognised with its purpose and the experience of travelling on it. A search for snails outdoors introduced language about the traces they leave, even though the children did not find a snail that day. Ordinary experiences became something to investigate and discuss.

The current building and school grounds give outdoor play a clear physical setting. This is a purpose-built nursery among trees, with space within secure grounds. That school-site setting is part of its identity, although it carries no automatic right to a Reception place.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2022, room leaders used a daily briefing to share parents' messages and prepare staff for events affecting individual children. Visits ahead of a room move were included in that planning. For a child changing groups, this meant the transition was considered by the staff team rather than left to the move itself.

Co-operation extended beyond the nursery. During September 2022, staff visited other settings attended by the same children to exchange information about their interests and development. This is a useful example for families using more than one childcare setting: the adults were working to connect the child's experiences across both.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised the nursery's work with other professionals on plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, alongside its use of additional funding to support their progress. These are dated findings, rather than a promise about an individual child's future experience.

Daily routines provided opportunities to practise independence in September 2022. Preschool children helped prepare the lunch tables and used a sand timer when negotiating turns with a toy. Those small responsibilities connected practical care with learning to manage shared activities.

Respect for others had concrete expression too. In September 2022, children explored similarities and differences through mirrors and books, while toddlers made faces using dough in different skin colours. The activities gave staff a way to talk about people through materials children could handle and explore.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and operates for 51 weeks each year. Closures include bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Families planning care around work therefore need to accommodate those breaks as well as their usual weekly routine.

Getting There

The address is Albert Road, Bollington, Cheshire, SK10 5HS, within the Dean Valley Primary School grounds. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01625 662200 or by email to family@footprintsnurseries.co.uk, and there is a Bollington application form.

Funding and Paid Extras

In September 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. That dated participation should be distinguished from the terms of a new booking.

Attending this nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at the school on whose grounds it sits. Families still apply for a state-school place through the local authority admissions process.

• Your child's routine and costs. The nursery spans babies through preschool and opens across 51 weeks. At a visit, ask how your child's care routine would fit the nursery's opening hours.
• Holiday cover. Bank holidays and a week at Christmas are closure periods. Families needing continuous weekday childcare will need to plan around them.
• School-site expectations. Being based within Dean Valley Primary School grounds does not guarantee a Reception place. Keep the nursery decision and the local authority school application separate.

Footprints suits families seeking care from infancy through preschool in a purpose-built setting with school grounds for play. Its September 2022 examples make conversation, practical independence and co-ordination between adults the strongest reasons to consider it. The weekday opening window and operation across 51 weeks are useful practical anchors; the school-site address should be understood as a setting for nursery life, with Reception admissions handled separately.