Giggle and Grow Glodwick

Two buildings, seven age-specific rooms and outdoor space beside each building give Giggle and Grow Glodwick a substantial setting for play. In August 2025, children investigated numbers on a light box, made roti and heard stories in their home language as well as English. Those examples bring learning close to children's everyday experiences.

At its August 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The current age range is 0 to 60 months, with capacity for 108 children in total. That whole-setting figure should be read separately from the number of children sharing any particular room.

The attendance choices include a mini day and an afternoon session. This is a nursery with shorter booking options as well as a five-day pattern, an important distinction for families planning care around their working hours.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in practical terms, learning happens through play, conversation and exploration. At Glodwick, construction materials, water play, sand, reading and mark making give children different ways to investigate ideas. Adult-organised activities sit alongside play that children choose themselves.

In August 2025, washing toy cars became an opportunity to think about foam and water, with staff using questions to extend children's thinking. Dough offered another route into learning: children compared the sizes of pieces they rolled and counted during play. In the sensory room, a light box supported number exploration. These were concrete examples of early mathematics woven into activities rather than kept separate from them.

Stories were read in English and children's home language in August 2025, while songs introduced vocabulary and rhymes. Making roti gave children something they could create and show to others. The combination matters for families who want familiar language and experiences to have a place in their child's nursery day.

Outdoor and Community Life

Four classrooms occupy the main building's ground floor, with three more in the neighbouring building. Each building has its own large outdoor area, and outdoor play is encouraged across different weather conditions. This gives physical activity space alongside the indoor choices.

In August 2025, children used the outdoor area for balancing, climbing and running. They also explored their local community and used resources representing different cultures and disabilities. Those experiences introduced people and differences through things children could encounter and discuss.

Independence had a practical expression that month, too. Children helped clear up after messy activities, using brushes and a toy vacuum. Taking responsibility for a shared space gave them a useful role in the day.

Relationships and Communication

Tapestry, the app holding each child's online learning journey, gives parents access to photographs, activities and achievements recorded by staff. Parents can also contribute photographs from home. This creates a two-way record of experiences rather than relying solely on conversations at collection time.

The communication system needs to be considered alongside the August 2025 findings. Families received information about activities and nursery events, but some remained unclear about what their child was learning next and how to help at home. The improvement needed was specific: turn updates about experiences into clearer explanations of development and next steps.

In August 2025, staff helped children share and manage difficult feelings through gentle reminders about kindness and taking turns. However, when children became distracted, staff sometimes missed the point at which help was needed to bring them back into purposeful play. Both findings matter: warm relationships and sustained engagement are separate parts of the nursery experience.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities were very well supported, with emerging gaps identified and tracked and children included in everyday activities. That dated finding gives useful substance to the nursery's inclusion picture.

Glodwick has SENCO co-ordinator roles to lead support for children with additional needs. For families, this provides an identified role responsible for helping practitioners understand and respond to those needs, rather than leaving support solely to individual staff members.

In August 2025, children ate home-cooked meals and snacks, and staff talked with them about fruit, vegetables and healthy choices. Food was also an opportunity for conversation and learning.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at 141 Glodwick Road, Oldham, OL4 1AR. Its opening hours are 9am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday. These hours are important for planning collection around work or other commitments.

A mini day runs from 9am to 3pm; the five-day full-time pattern uses that same daily window. An afternoon session runs from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and a morning option is also offered. The afternoon booking therefore serves a different need from the longer mini day, while the full-time pattern gives a consistent weekday arrangement.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by calling the Glodwick team on 0161 465 0929. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas.

Getting There

A car park sits at the front of the building, providing an on-site option for collections and drop-offs.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, plus 30 hours for eligible working parents with children from nine months. Eligibility conditions apply; these entitlements should be kept separate from additional privately paid childcare.

At Glodwick, breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea carry separate charges, with parents able to send snacks or a packed lunch instead; food charges also apply to children using the 15- or 30-hour funded entitlement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the sessions and fees page sets out the booking options.

• Learning updates. In August 2025, some parents were unclear about their child's next steps. During a visit, ask staff to demonstrate how a Tapestry update explains the learning and gives a useful idea to try at home.
• Keeping children involved. The August 2025 improvement point concerned recognising when distracted children needed support. Ask how staff now respond when a child moves away from an activity or struggles to stay engaged.
• Morning arrangements. A morning booking is offered alongside the mini day and afternoon session. Confirm its finishing time before choosing your attendance pattern.

Giggle and Grow Glodwick suits families seeking either a mini day or a shorter afternoon session, including those considering a five-day routine. Outdoor space at both buildings and Tapestry's shared learning record are useful practical features. The August 2025 account adds substance through home-language stories, hands-on mathematics and children's everyday responsibilities.

The decision should also turn on how clearly staff explain next steps and how they help children remain involved in play. Those are the specific improvements to explore alongside the nursery's Good judgement.