Appledore Private Day Nursery Oldham

Twice-weekly Forest School and a balcony for the Tweenie Room give this town-centre nursery a clear outdoor character. At Appledore, children can choose between indoor and outdoor play through large patio doors, while nature sessions introduce practical skills and learning about risk. Outdoor play is part of the ordinary day, rather than an occasional outing.

Appledore Private Day Nursery Oldham occupies Egerton House at 11 Rock Street, Oldham, OL1 3US, and has capacity for 72 children aged two months to five years. At its 8 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. That judgement provides a strong starting point for families weighing its child-led approach against their own child's needs.

Family-run Appledore combines rooms for successive developmental stages with home-cooked food and a Reggio Emilia approach, which gives children a leading role in choosing their learning. Full Day, Morning and Afternoon bookings serve different family routines. The practical attraction is the combination: an outdoor emphasis, everyday opportunities to practise independence and attendance choices beyond a single whole-day pattern.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room centres on sensory exploration at each baby's pace, with a key worker responsible for changing and settling them so that intimate care helps build a familiar relationship. In the Toddler Room, for children aged 12 months and above, low tables, activities close to the floor and a play kitchen support movement, language and pretend play.

From two years, the Tweenie Room combines toothbrushing, toilet training and serving snacks with access to its own outdoor balcony, giving children practical choices as they become more independent. Preschool, for three- to five-year-olds, brings together group tasks, practical activities and independent play, with an emphasis on social confidence and willingness to attempt unfamiliar things.

Those differences matter more than the room labels alone. A toddler has furniture and play resources within reach; a Tweenie has opportunities to manage small personal tasks; a preschool child can practise working with others as well as making individual choices. Families can see how the environment and expectations change as children develop, rather than expecting the same day at every age.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play and routines become opportunities to develop language, movement, relationships and independence. Alongside that shared framework, Appledore's Reggio Emilia approach puts children's choices into the design of activities, spaces and resources. Group activities with a key worker sit beside time to explore independently.

Choice has a concrete place in the routine. During morning circle time, children select their snack; later they wash their hands and serve themselves at the snack table. Songs introduce names and the days of the week, while stories and quieter games bring the day towards a calmer close. These are small, repeatable opportunities to contribute, remember and take responsibility, rather than independence being reserved for a special activity.

In January 2025, staff extended conversations by describing what children were doing and introducing unfamiliar words during snacks and stories. They also brought themselves down to children's level when talking with them. The useful detail is the interaction: language learning was woven into ordinary play and care, rather than confined to a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School runs twice a week, using nature exploration to teach practical skills and an understanding of risk. Daily indoor and outdoor play also allows children to choose where to explore through the open patio doors. The Green Flag Eco-Schools Award recognises environmental work in which children take a leading role in action within their community.

In January 2025, older children practised judging how to tackle slippery ground in the forest, while babies and younger children used indoor structures for balancing and climbing. Parachute play added another kind of physical challenge. The emphasis was broader than simply spending time outside: children encountered different ways to move, test their abilities and make decisions.

Children also had a say in their surroundings in January 2025. Preschool contributions to a forest school committee helped shape bug hotels and allotment areas, and birdwatching in the mini forest prompted conversations about identifying birds. A multicultural lending library connected nursery reading with home, while parents contributed stories in home languages and shared festivals and traditions. That gave children's family experiences a place in the nursery day.

Relationships and Communication

A baby's key worker handles changing and settling, making personal care an opportunity to develop familiarity. Across the daily routine, key workers lead group activities while children also have time for their own play. Appledore provides parents with an account of their child's day, keeping ordinary communication connected to what children have actually done.

In January 2025, staff adjusted routines and their interactions for new children and those needing additional support, including individual attention to help relationships develop. Workshops for parents covered bedtime routines, weaning and boundaries. These topics connect nursery care with the practical questions families face at home, rather than limiting communication to a brief account of meals and activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, judged SEND support outstanding and reported excellent progress, with early identification of needs, prompt access to specialist advice and strategies shared with families. Calming areas and sensory resources were used in January 2025 to help children manage their feelings, alongside staff training addressing emotional and sensory needs.

Rest has a place in the current routine: children who need a nap sleep after lunch while others continue with free play, and the late afternoon includes stories or quiet games. That distinction matters for children whose sleep needs differ, because the day includes both rest and activity rather than expecting everyone to follow an identical pace.

Home-cooked meals sit alongside vegetarian and non-dairy alternatives, including vegetable curry, vegetable pasta and wraps. Breakfast includes cereals and toast, while lunch and tea provide further eating opportunities across the day.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round operation and closure on bank holidays. The paid booking choices are Full Day, from 7.30am to 6pm; Morning, from 9am to noon; and Afternoon, from 1pm to 4pm. These are different attendance patterns, so families can match a shorter session or a whole day to their routine.

The funded timetable adds another distinction. The 15 Hours arrangement uses mornings from 9am to noon or afternoons from 1pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday, over 38 weeks. The 30 Hours arrangement can be taken as three ten-hour days or school hours from 9am to 3pm over 38 weeks; full-time parents can stretch those hours across the year. The choice between term-time delivery and stretching therefore needs to be considered alongside the child's actual weekly timetable.

Getting There

The address is Egerton House, 11 Rock Street, Oldham, OL1 3US, in the town centre. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0161 652 3074, by email at oldham@appledorenursery.co.uk or through the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Appledore offers funded childcare alongside paid sessions. Its 15 Hours offer covers three- and four-year-olds and some eligible two-year-olds; the 30 Hours offer is for three- and four-year-olds whose working parents meet the earnings threshold. Entitlement conditions matter, so the attendance options should not be read as a promise of eligibility for every family.

The fees and funded hours page sets out the session choices and funding arrangements. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. A useful budget starts with the chosen pattern and the funded timetable together, since morning sessions, afternoon sessions, school hours and stretched delivery organise childcare differently.

• Outdoor participation. Forest School takes place twice weekly, and indoor and outdoor choices feature in the daily routine. On a visit, discuss how those sessions and the Tweenie Room balcony work for your child's stage and comfort outdoors.
• The funded timetable. The 15 Hours pattern uses three-hour mornings or afternoons over 38 weeks, while 30 Hours can follow school hours, three ten-hour days or stretched delivery for full-time parents. Choose the arrangement against the hours your family actually needs.
• The complete quotation. Paid sessions and funded hours sit alongside a day containing meals, snacks and personal care. Ask how meals and non-food consumables are treated in the written quotation for your chosen funded or private pattern.

Appledore suits families seeking either a whole-day booking or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with child-led play and regular outdoor learning shaping the experience. The Tweenie Room balcony, twice-weekly Forest School and practical routines for serving food give that approach substance. Its January 2025 Outstanding judgement adds weight to the choice, while the funded timetable deserves close attention when fitting care around work. For parents who value both outdoor exploration and everyday independence, there is plenty here to assess in concrete terms.