Tarbiyah Nurseries

Independence starts with small tasks at Tarbiyah Nurseries: choosing an activity, practising pencil control and learning to manage familiar routines. This Cheetham Hill setting combines play areas for construction, stories and imaginative play with a settling period that includes parents. The practical emphasis is on helping children take part for themselves.

Ofsted rated Tarbiyah Nurseries Good at its 29 January 2024 inspection. Alongside the positive judgement, learning targets needed to match children's existing skills more closely, and group activities needed better preparation to sustain attention. Those are useful distinctions for parents: an encouraging overall assessment still leaves specific teaching questions to explore.

At 3 Smedley Lane, Manchester, M8 8UJ, the nursery has 96 places in total for children aged 24 to 60 months. Private full-day, morning and afternoon care sits alongside shorter admission sessions.

Rooms and Ages

Four rooms organise provision by children's stage of development. Sun Room and Earth Room are named spaces. Across the setting, the Home and Role-Play Area gives children opportunities to recreate family experiences and practise social interaction, while construction resources encourage building and hand control. These are recognisable starting points for children who learn by making and pretending.

The Sensory Area encourages exploration and conversation about textures. In the Writing Area, children practise holding pencils and making marks, including attempts at their names. A Book Area provides space to choose stories independently. The arrangement gives children different ways to participate rather than making every activity depend on a whole-group instruction.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the shared framework for learning and care: language, relationships and physical development sit alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Here, those areas translate into play with materials, conversation, stories and mark-making. Following the framework is the baseline; the useful question is how activities match each child's next step.

In January 2024, practitioners extended children's spoken English by describing their play and introducing vocabulary connected to what they were doing. Preschool children also practised listening for sounds, an early preparation for reading. Dough activities exercised hands and fingers, while outdoor ball play involved throwing and catching. Physical activity therefore included both small movements and larger coordination tasks.

Learning was not consistently pitched at the right stage in January 2024. Some children were asked to anticipate colour-mixing results before they could confidently identify colours. During one story activity, distributing props diverted some children's attention from the reading. The improvement priorities were precise: start from what a child can already do, and organise group activities so the resources support attention.

Relationships and Communication

Settling includes time with a parent or carer accompanying the child. Children can take different amounts of time to become comfortable with new people and routines; the arrangement gives practitioners and families an opportunity to build familiarity together. A key-person approach provides a regular relationship with someone who knows the child and their family.

Termly electronic newsletters carry nursery dates, events and staffing updates through Our Online School App and other nursery communication channels. In January 2024, coffee mornings also gave parents practical information, including ideas for looking after children's teeth. This combines routine notices with opportunities to discuss everyday care.

School preparation in January 2024 used local school uniforms to prompt conversation, alongside stories and discussion of friends or siblings who had already started school. That makes the change more concrete for young children. These activities prepare children for the experience of school rather than conferring an admissions advantage.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support strong, with coordinator-led staff development, individual support funded for some children and resources such as fidget tools helping concentration. These findings relate to that inspection, rather than guaranteeing a particular support package for every child.

Current recruitment arrangements include DBS vetting, and staff have completed paediatric first-aid training. Some team members pursue further childcare-related study. These are practical arrangements and professional development, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

A chef prepares food on site using a four-week menu rotation, and the nursery's dietary arrangements allow alternative meals for children's requirements and allergies. Families managing allergies should confirm current preparation and serving practice before joining.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Private care runs throughout the year except national public holidays. Full-time sessions run from 8am to 6pm; the private AM session runs from 8am to 12:45pm, and the private PM session from 1pm to 6pm. The admission process also includes approval of shorter sessions from 9am to noon or 1pm to 4pm. These are different booking patterns, so the agreed session matters more than the overall opening window.

Private bookings require at least two full days or three half-day sessions each week. Completed applications and supporting documents enter a waiting list organised by the intended starting term; management then confirms the accepted sessions and start date by telephone. A submitted form alone does not confirm a place.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. Admission proceeds through a viewing, confirmation and settling. This provides a sequence for joining, with session approval before the child starts.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours per week for eligible two-year-olds and 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds, with 30 hours for those meeting the extended-hours criteria. Private care can be combined with funded hours, with the funding deducted from the private-care price. Eligibility and the agreed booking remain separate matters.

Food is included in private sessions: a full day includes breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks; the AM session includes breakfast, lunch and a snack, while the PM session includes tea and a snack. Funded sessions carry a separate snack charge, and additional services beyond the funded session are charged separately.

Private bookings require a registration charge and refundable deposit before starting. Deposit repayment is conditional on one month's notice when ending the place or reducing sessions; the contract also requires at least four weeks' written notice for termination or session changes. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Matching learning to ability. January 2024 teaching sometimes moved ahead of children's existing skills, and story props could interrupt attention. During a visit, ask how practitioners now choose next steps and prepare group activities.
• Choosing the right booking. Private AM and PM sessions have different hours from the shorter admission sessions, and private care has a weekly minimum. The weekly minimum needs to fit your working week.
• Food and care supplies. Private-session food is included, while funded sessions carry a snack charge.

Tarbiyah suits families seeking morning, afternoon or full-day private care, as well as those considering its shorter sessions. Parent-accompanied settling, a key-person relationship and practical play areas give the offer clear shape. The Good judgement from January 2024 is encouraging, but the teaching priorities deserve attention: activities should start from children's actual abilities and keep them involved. The strongest fit is for parents who value gradual settling and everyday independence, with an attendance pattern agreed carefully around their child's needs.