Little Learning Ladder

A reading garden for toddlers, a separate sleep room for babies and a private outdoor play area give Little Learning Ladder a clear character: children have spaces for quiet moments as well as energetic exploration. This family-run nursery occupies The Chips in New Islington, Manchester, and accepts children aged two months to five years, with capacity for 72 children in total.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that individual adjustments helped children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. Those are dated judgements. The current offer includes age-based rooms, live parent communication and practical support for the move to primary school.

In February 2023, children confidently expressed their opinions, shared resources and approached unfamiliar adults to talk. Staff respected children's choices and sought their consent during personal care. In February 2023, respectful relationships were evident in everyday care as well as activities.

Full days, morning sessions and afternoon sessions provide different attendance options, alongside a term-time pattern for children attending solely through the 15-hour funded entitlement.

Rooms and Ages

The Red Room serves babies and younger toddlers, with sensory resources including instruments and natural materials, accessible toys, a separate sleep room and a separate eating area. Keeping play materials within children's reach gives them opportunities to make choices early, while the room's provision for individual routines helps connect nursery care with home life.

For children aged two to three, the Blue Room combines a quiet reading garden with a creative area containing water play, a sand pit and a mud kitchen. Children can choose accessible resources themselves, so quieter book time and hands-on exploration sit alongside role play and construction rather than competing for the same space.

The Pink Room caters for children aged three to five, with computers, accessible learning areas and activities involving names, letters, sounds and numbers. Its emphasis is on preparation for primary school, with topic-based home learning extending that work beyond nursery.

Room allocation takes development as well as age into account. That is useful for families whose child is ready for some experiences associated with the next stage but still needs support with others: the arrangement allows the discussion to centre on the child rather than a birthday alone.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides learning here, covering children's language, physical development, relationships and early work with books, mathematics, creativity and the wider world. In everyday terms, role play, reading, making things and exploring materials provide ways to develop these skills through play. This is the shared early-years framework, rather than a special nursery programme.

Regular jolly phonic sessions in the Pink Room sit alongside identifying letters and sounds and learning to recognise and write a name. The concrete addition is repeated attention to these early literacy skills. Home activities relate to the room's current topic, giving families a connection with what their child is doing rather than a separate set of tasks.

In February 2023, preschool children demonstrated recently learnt counting in Chinese, while younger children recalled signs for colours. Staff also explored a different culture each month through food, festivals and discussion. These were specific examples of children encountering other languages and ways of life, not just seeing them represented in displays.

The same visit identified a teaching point that deserves equal weight: some adults moved through questions too quickly and sometimes used imprecise vocabulary. Children needed longer to formulate answers and more accurate language to learn from. That distinction matters when assessing a busy activity: participation and time to think both count.

Outdoor and Community Life

The purpose-built Outside Play Area is private and inaccessible to the public. Outdoor time also draws on the nearby Nature Park, with opportunities to be outside during the day when weather allows. For an urban nursery, these are useful physical resources for movement and exploring the natural world.

Recent activities connect the rooms with their surroundings. In July 2025, Blue Room children took painted rocks to the Marina to make a rock snake, while some baby-room children went out in Ancoats. These are dated examples of outings, rather than a fixed timetable of trips.

In March 2026, children under two had a return visit from Jo Jingles for singing and dancing, and children celebrated Holi with coloured powder. The music visit adds a concrete experience for the youngest children; the festival activity shows how cultural learning can become something children take part in.

Relationships and Communication

The Red Room's practitioners work with families to continue babies' individual home routines. Its separate sleep and eating spaces make those routines a practical part of the room's organisation, rather than treating every baby's day as identical. This is an important feature for children making their first move into nursery care.

Parentzone provides live updates during the day, with spoken feedback at collection. The two channels serve different purposes: the app keeps parents connected while their child is attending, and a conversation allows the day to be discussed in context. A parent coffee morning took place in February 2026, adding a dated example of contact beyond the daily handover.

In February 2023, adults asked children's permission before personal care and responded to individual choices. Children shared books and toys with one another and listened to staff. These examples place everyday respectful interaction alongside the more visible learning activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In February 2023, staff worked with families and other professionals to adapt provision to individual needs. Those adjustments drew on families' knowledge of their children and professional advice.

Current first-aid arrangements include trained staff, first-aid bags in each room and an on-site defibrillator. Families receive a full account when a child is hurt, and management can review CCTV footage. These are concrete arrangements for responding to an incident; they do not replace the dated safeguarding judgement.

The kitchen team cooks fresh food daily, served in a shared dining space at tables organised by age group, and fees include food and refreshments except where separate funded-place terms apply. Seasonal menus include meals made from scratch, and the dietary policy covers preferences such as vegetarian, vegan, Halal and Kosher food, with individual discussion for allergies and intolerances.

Preparation for primary school includes support for both the child and family, alongside the Pink Room's early literacy work and home activities. This is transition support centred on skills and familiarity with learning, rather than an admissions arrangement with a named school.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at Unit 1, Chips, 2 Lampwick Lane, New Islington, Manchester, M4 6BU. It opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 7pm throughout the year, closing for bank holidays. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve have an earlier closing time of 3pm.

A full day runs from 7.30am to 7pm; mornings run from 7.30am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 7pm. These are separately named booking patterns, giving families a choice between a whole day and attendance concentrated in one part of the day.

Children attending only through the 15-hour government-funded arrangement attend during term time, across three sessions. This differs from the year-round private attendance offer and matters for families planning care during holidays. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email to the nursery management team.

Getting There

There is a designated pick-up and drop-off area, a bus stop outside and New Islington's Metro station across the footbridge. Piccadilly and Victoria train stations are a short walk away, giving families several transport options alongside road access.

Funding and Paid Extras

The 15-hour government-funded offer covers eligible two-year-olds and all three- and four-year-olds, with children qualifying from the term after the relevant birthday. The fee structure also includes 30-hour funded arrangements; eligibility and the chosen attendance pattern remain separate from the existence of that offer.

Private fees include meals, snacks and drinks, plus nappies, wipes, creams, dental supplies and sun cream; formula milk and non-prescription medicine are excluded. For children attending solely through the 15-hour funded arrangement, meals are charged separately and parents provide nappies and wipes, while eligible funded children have no registration charge.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The important distinction is the package attached to the attendance arrangement: the inclusive private fee and the funded-only terms treat food and everyday supplies differently.

• Conversation and thinking time. In February 2023, adults sometimes asked questions too rapidly and used imprecise vocabulary. During a visit, ask how practitioners now give children time to answer and model accurate language.
• Your baby's daily routine. The Red Room has separate sleeping and eating spaces and accommodates individual routines. Continuity with home routines is a useful consideration for babies starting nursery.
• Funded attendance and extras. The 15-hour funded-only pattern is term-time, with separately charged meals and nappies and wipes supplied from home. Compare the written quotation with the sessions and holiday cover your family needs.
• Dietary arrangements. The nursery works individually with families on allergies and intolerances. Confirm how your child's requirements would be handled in the kitchen and shared dining area.

Little Learning Ladder suits families seeking either full-day care or morning and afternoon sessions, as well as those whose needs match its term-time funded-only pattern. The strongest practical features are easy to identify: babies have separate sleep provision, toddlers have a reading garden and creative play spaces, and parents receive live updates through Parentzone.

The February 2023 Good judgement provides a dated assessment, with clear strengths in children's relationships and clear improvements required in adult questioning and vocabulary. Taken together with the current rooms and attendance options, this is a nursery worth considering for families who value individual routines, hands-on learning and several ways to organise the week.