Tiddlywinks Nursery Crumpsall

Caterpillars becoming butterflies, children's artwork displayed in a local gallery and music shared with a nursing home gave Crumpsall's nursery day a clear connection to the wider world in April 2022. These were experiences children could talk about and build learning around. At its 21 April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with communication and language a clear strength and improvements needed in group-activity organisation and everyday independence.

Tiddlywinks Nursery Crumpsall, at 1 Cromhurst Street in Manchester, accepts children aged 4 to 60 months and has 56 places in total. It opens on weekdays during term time. That calendar is a significant practical consideration for parents whose working year continues through school holidays.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage brings learning and care together, including developing language, physical skills and everyday independence through stories, movement and self-care routines. In April 2022, activities connected children's interests with the next things they needed to learn, giving play a purpose beyond keeping children occupied.

Stories and rhymes supported younger children's language that April, while older children explored life cycles through caterpillars becoming butterflies. They used words such as chrysalis and cocoon to describe what they had observed. A real change they could watch gave unfamiliar vocabulary something concrete to attach to.

Physical activity also entered imaginative play. In April 2022, an older children's treasure hunt involved following directions and pretending to climb mountains. It combined listening, movement and make-believe within the same activity, rather than treating each as a separate task.

The organisation of quieter learning needed attention. In April 2022, a storytelling group sat near children who were singing, making it harder for some to listen. The issue was the competing activity nearby. For a child who needs quiet to concentrate, how staff arrange simultaneous groups matters as much as the books they choose.

Outdoor and Community Life

Community experiences extended learning beyond the nursery in April 2022. Children visited a local art gallery where their own work was exhibited, and the nursery was working with a local nursing home on music sessions. Seeing their artwork in a public setting connected making pictures with an experience outside nursery; music offered a shared activity with another generation.

These examples give the dated nursery experience its character. They also provide useful points of reference for families interested in how learning connects with people and places beyond the children's immediate group.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2022, familiar practitioners helped younger children settle, while older children sought out their friends. Staff responded promptly when children became upset and helped them recognise their emotions. Comfort and learning about feelings worked together: children received help in the moment as well as support in understanding what they felt.

Parents knew their child's key person and the next steps staff were working towards that April. That relationship gave families an identifiable person with whom to discuss development, rather than leaving progress as a general nursery conversation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, making very good progress towards their next stage of learning. Staff understood how to raise concerns, and recruitment checks and risk assessments formed part of the safeguarding arrangements at that time.

Everyday independence was less consistent in April 2022. Children knew the handwashing routine and used the bathroom confidently, but adults sometimes poured drinks or cleaned children's faces without first offering them a choice. The improvement needed was practical: give children more opportunities to take part in their own care across the age groups.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. The nursery closes for bank holidays and school holidays. Families planning care around work need to align that calendar with their own commitments, especially across the holiday periods.

Getting There

The address is 1 Cromhurst Street, Crumpsall, Manchester, M8 5FN.

Funding and Paid Extras

In April 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated participation statement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Term-time calendar. The nursery closes during school holidays as well as bank holidays. Families needing care across their working year should account for those breaks before choosing it.
• Space for listening. In April 2022, neighbouring singing and storytelling activities competed for children's attention. On a visit, ask how quieter groups are organised now.
• Children doing things for themselves. The April 2022 improvement point concerned adults taking over tasks such as pouring drinks. Ask how practitioners give children choices and opportunities to manage everyday care.

For families whose childcare needs follow a term-time calendar, Crumpsall merits consideration on the strength of its dated language work, imaginative activities and community experiences. The April 2022 examples are concrete: learning new vocabulary through butterflies, following directions through a treasure hunt and seeing artwork beyond nursery.

The two improvement points are equally useful decision criteria. A nursery day needs space for children to listen and opportunities for them to do things independently. Those are the aspects to weigh alongside the weekday opening window and holiday closures.