Tiny Steps Nursery

Storybook room names, a sensory room and two outdoor play areas give Tiny Steps Nursery in Longsight a recognisable character. This purpose-built setting at 76 Greville Street, Manchester M13 0YG cares for children from two months to five years, with separate provision for babies, toddlers and preschool children. Air conditioning throughout the rooms is a practical feature for play and sleep.

At its May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Tiny Steps Outstanding, judged safeguarding effective and praised the support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those learning English as an additional language. That judgement has a date. The current offer includes a key person for each child, individual support plans and gradual settling sessions; families should also weigh the later regulatory finding discussed below.

Paid full days and shorter funded morning or afternoon sessions serve different family routines. The distinction matters: paid care has a minimum booking, while funded-only attendance follows fixed term-time patterns.

Rooms and Ages

Dear Zoo Room is the baby room; Caterpillar Room is for young two-year-olds; Mr Men Room and Gruffalo Room are toddler rooms; Stickman Room serves preschool children aged three to five. These names give children familiar reference points as they move through nursery. Room changes involve settling sessions and a handover between key persons, so information about a child's routines and interests moves with them.

Across the current age-stage provision, baby care follows individual feeding and sleeping routines, with sensory exploration and early communication. Toddler learning emphasises language and growing independence at mealtimes and during toileting, alongside outdoor play. For preschool children, early reading, maths, friendships and self-care sit within learning through play. These are different developmental priorities, rather than a single day copied across every age.

A sensory room adds another physical space to the baby, toddler and preschool provision. Rooms are air-conditioned, with temperatures monitored during the day. For parents of younger children, the combination of individual routines and attention to the sleep environment is a useful part of the care arrangements.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the statutory learning framework: children develop communication, movement, relationships and early academic skills through play. It is the foundation of the day here. Staff observe children's interests and use those observations to plan their next learning steps, with a development check around age two and families involved in discussing progress.

In May 2022, practical skills were taught in a deliberate sequence. The scissor curriculum broke the task of using scissors into steps, allowing children to build towards handling them confidently. World language activities used songs and stories, while sign language formed part of communication work. The value lies in the concrete experiences: practising a physical skill, listening to language and finding different ways to express an idea.

During that same month, staff used commentary during play and allowed children time to formulate an answer. Books also travelled beyond the nursery through a lending library for families. Together, those examples show how conversation and reading extended beyond an adult-led activity into play and home life.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two outdoor play areas provide space beyond the indoor rooms. Playground 1 emphasises coordination and large movements, giving physical development a clear place within the environment.

In May 2022, children played energetically outside each day, used transport toys to explore road safety and grew vegetables that they later ate at snack time. Planting and eating linked an everyday food experience to the process of growing it. Children also visited a local food bank and donated items, making helping other people a practical activity.

In May 2022, children learned about celebrations including Eid, Diwali and Easter, alongside birthdays and weddings. These experiences connected nursery learning with children's cultures and lives beyond the setting. They belong to that dated account of nursery life, rather than a promise of today's events calendar.

Relationships and Communication

A child's key person gets to know their preferences, routines and care needs, records development and acts as the family's main contact. A paired colleague takes over during absences. That gives the arrangement continuity when the usual practitioner is away, with information shared between the adults caring for the child.

Settling starts gradually. Parents stay during the first session, then leave for short periods as their child becomes comfortable; familiar comforters, stories and routines help staff understand what works for that child. The pace follows the individual child rather than an identical timetable for every family.

Daily verbal updates sit alongside regular progress discussions. Baby diaries, emails and newsletters offer other ways to exchange information, and parents' meetings allow fuller conversations about observations and next steps. A Learning Journal brings together development at home and nursery and goes home with the family when the child leaves. This gives parents both immediate updates and a longer account of learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO works with families and key persons on individual plans, adapting activities and resources around a child's needs. With parental consent, support can involve Speech and Language Therapists, Health Visitors and Early Years Inclusion Officers. Plans are reviewed with parents, so the mechanism includes discussion and adjustment rather than simply identifying a concern.

In May 2022, emotion spoons helped children communicate feelings, including children who had not yet developed English, while a feelings bear and mindfulness activities supported conversations about emotions. Bilingual staff used pictures, objects and signs in two languages. These are concrete examples of reducing reliance on spoken English alone.

Current care arrangements include designated safeguarding leads, controlled entry and authorised collection procedures. Babies are placed on their backs in a clear, flat sleep space of their own.

Meals are freshly prepared on site by a chef, and the allergy procedure uses individual action plans with a staff member checking meals and snacks. Cultural and religious dietary requirements are catered for, linking food planning to the needs families share before starting.

School preparation includes practising independence and sharing learning information with the receiving teacher. Activities can include books about starting school, trying school uniform and eating from a lunch box. These make unfamiliar routines more tangible for children without implying an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Tiny Steps opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm. Under the September 2026 booking arrangements, paid full days run from 8am to 6pm, with a minimum of two full days each week; an optional early start extends a booked day to 7.30am. Paid attendance can be across the year or term time only.

Funded-only attendance has separate patterns. The 15-hour offer runs Monday to Friday as mornings from 8.30am to 11.30am or afternoons from 1pm to 4pm. The 30-hour pattern runs Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm. These funded sessions operate over 38 term-time weeks, so families comparing care with working hours need to distinguish them from the paid day.

All-year attendance runs for around 51 weeks, with bank holidays, a short Christmas and New Year closure and occasional training days excluded. Term-time attendance follows Manchester school terms. Four weeks' notice is required to change or end a place, and fees are payable in advance.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers universal 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds and 30-hour working-family funding from the term after a child turns nine months, subject to eligibility. The standard funded offer is term time; stretching hours across the year requires agreement. Additional paid full days can sit alongside funded attendance.

For funded-only sessions, meals, snacks and activities carry a separate optional charge that is not a condition of taking the funded place. Parents supply nappies and wipes, with sun cream brought as needed. The distinction between food and non-food items matters when preparing both the attendance budget and the child's bag.

Paid places require a non-refundable deposit covering registration administration; fully funded places require no deposit. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The Longsight fees and funding information sets out the attendance choices and charge structure.

• Later regulatory finding. Following a June 2024 regulatory visit, Ofsted recorded that new directors had not been notified as required, while the nursery remained registered. Families should discuss this administrative finding and the steps taken since it was identified.
• Two attendance models. Paid care requires at least two complete days each week, while funded-only care uses fixed morning, afternoon or daytime sessions over 38 weeks. Match the actual session end time to collection arrangements before choosing a pattern.
• Settling and room moves. Gradual settling and key-person handovers are part of the care arrangements. During a tour, discuss how these would work for your child's routines and who would provide cover for their key person.
• Allergies and optional extras. Allergy action plans sit alongside an optional funded-session charge for food and activities. Confirm current allergy practice and how declining that charge would work for your child before agreeing the attendance arrangements.

Tiny Steps suits families choosing either paid full days, including an early start, or fixed funded morning and afternoon sessions. The storybook rooms, sensory room and outdoor spaces give it a clear identity; key-person cover and individual support plans provide useful detail about how care is organised.

The latest inspection judgement is Outstanding, awarded in May 2022. For families whose routines fit the booking patterns, the strongest practical attractions are gradual settling, communication with a familiar practitioner and a play-based day that changes with children's age and development.