Saddleworth Stars Private Nursery

A private meadow, a courtyard playscape and rooms that follow children from their first months towards school give Saddleworth Stars Private Nursery a clear identity. Outdoor play has substance here: children can grow vegetables, explore natural spaces and use a climbing wall rather than rely on a single playground. For families seeking an active nursery day, that breadth of physical experience is a strong starting point.

At its 15 May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and judged its education Outstanding, with an ambitious curriculum and effective support for children's communication. The detail behind that judgement matters: children experimented with everyday materials, explained their thinking and put their knowledge into practice through play.

Based in Scouthead, Oldham, the nursery accepts children from 3 months to 5 years and has capacity for 109 children. Full-time and part-time attendance are both offered. Its room structure separates the youngest children from the older preschool stage, while the outdoor spaces and practical learning approach give the setting a recognisable character across those ages.

Rooms and Ages

Twinkle Stars takes children from 3 months upwards, with a calm setting and sensory exploration intended to support early physical development. Little Stars, for children up to 24 months, combines space for crawling and walking with creative resources and a reading area, giving young explorers places for both movement and quieter activity.

For children aged 2 to 3 years, Big Stars brings together construction, sand and water, mark-making and a reading corner, with an emphasis on growing confidence and independence. Super Stars Pre-School serves ages 3 to 5 years and combines children's interests with phonics, language, numeracy and creative work, alongside football and dance coaching to broaden the preschool day.

Those descriptions show a change in emphasis as children grow. Sensory exploration leads towards more independent play and then preparation for school. The value for parents is the connection between the room's resources and the child's stage, rather than a set of room names alone.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play, movement and exploration, supporting language, physical development and social and emotional skills alongside literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. This is the shared early-years framework; Saddleworth Stars adds its own approach to planning within it.

Planning in the Moment means practitioners build on an activity that already has a child's attention, using conversation and interaction to extend understanding there and then. A child's interest becomes the starting point for teaching. The learning and development page explains this approach alongside the progress checks and records that follow children through their nursery stages.

In May 2025, learning included mixing mud with ingredients such as cabbage and pasta, exploring what a magnifying glass did and constructing shapes with sticks. These examples connect language, observation and mathematical ideas to things children can handle and discuss. They also show why play-based learning is more than keeping children occupied: the adult interaction helps turn an experiment into a new idea.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest Fun provides outdoor learning through play, with the nursery's private meadow used for walks in nature, sport and exploration. Children go outside at least once each day, and wet-weather clothing supports that routine. The meadow sits alongside an enclosed garden, a growing area and the courtyard, giving outdoor activity several different settings.

Within the courtyard, a stage area, giant sand pit, outside art studio, literacy garden and mud kitchen support imaginative and creative play. The climbing wall adds a physical challenge. These spaces allow children to switch between making, performing, digging and moving, rather than treating outdoor time as a break from learning.

In May 2025, children climbed, dug, grew vegetables and built using large materials. Staff supported them in judging risks as they used climbing equipment. That practical experience gives the outdoor provision a purpose beyond fresh air: children have opportunities to test what they can manage and develop confidence in their movements.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, and that relationship begins before attendance with a home visit. For a baby or toddler, this provides a familiar connection before nursery becomes part of the week; for parents, it creates an early opportunity to share interests and needs with the practitioner who will know their child closely.

Learning continues between nursery and home. Each room has lending-library activities for families to borrow, while practitioners provide ideas for activities outside nursery. Regular parent events include coffee mornings, stay-and-play sessions, parent education evenings and May Day Fun Day, creating several ways for parents to take part.

In May 2025, staff offered home activities connected to children's next learning steps, welcomed parents into play sessions and gathered feedback. Parents also received children's first-aid training. This makes parent involvement practical: it includes things families can use at home, as well as opportunities to spend time in the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised children's secure relationships, emotional development and support for those learning English as an additional language. The observations included dual-language books, resources reflecting children's backgrounds and adults who listened closely to children's ideas.

In May 2025, emotion cards, visual prompts and puppets helped children express feelings, while everyday routines included serving their own snacks and taking responsibility for personal hygiene. These are small tasks with a useful purpose: children practise communicating needs and managing parts of their day themselves.

Progress records accompany children through room changes and towards Reception. At age 2, families receive a written summary covering communication, physical development and personal, social and emotional development; in Big Stars, the assessment is undertaken with the child's health visitor. This gives parents a specific point for discussing strengths and areas where extra help may be useful.

Meals are freshly cooked at the nursery by its private chef, with a four-week menu cycle. Breakfast, milk, fruit and other snacks are also provided, so food forms part of the nursery day rather than something families need to assemble each morning.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 1193 Huddersfield Road, Scouthead, Oldham, OL4 4AG. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, throughout the year apart from bank holidays. These are the opening hours, while the attendance options are full-time or part-time sessions.

Applications and expressions of interest use the Admission Enquiry form. Families can also contact the nursery by telephone on 01457 874 553 or email at info@saddleworthnursery.co.uk, and visits can be arranged. A prospectus request form provides access to the nursery's prospectus, giving families another way to understand the setting before making an application.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 hours and 30 hours funded places for children aged 3 to 5 and some 2-year-olds, subject to eligibility. It also accepts childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare schemes. Those payment arrangements sit alongside private childcare rather than replacing the need to agree an individual attendance arrangement.

Meals, drinks and snacks are included in the nursery's all-inclusive service. Nappies, wipes, sun lotion and other consumables are supplied without an additional charge, reducing the everyday packing parents need to do. The fees page describes these inclusions; current prices should form part of the nursery's written quotation.

Payment is by monthly direct debit in advance, on the first day of the month. For preschool children moving on, the Early Years Educator liaises with the chosen school's Reception teacher. That is transition preparation, helping information pass between the adults involved in the child's next stage.

• Choosing between the youngest rooms. Twinkle Stars starts at 3 months, while Little Stars takes children up to 24 months. During a visit, ask how the nursery decides which room best matches a child's movement, interests and routines, and how a move between these rooms is handled.
• Making part-time attendance work. Full-time and part-time sessions sit within weekday opening hours of 7.30am to 6pm. Discuss how the part-time pattern would fit your week, including the delivery of any funded hours, before agreeing an attendance arrangement.
• An outdoor emphasis. Daily outdoor play, Forest Fun and the meadow are substantial parts of the offer. Use a visit to explore how the different outdoor spaces are used for your child's age, especially if climbing and active exploration are priorities for your family.

Saddleworth Stars suits families seeking either full-time attendance or part-time sessions, with an emphasis on outdoor activity and learning that starts from children's interests. The meadow and courtyard provide the physical substance; Planning in the Moment explains how practitioners build teaching around engagement. The Outstanding judgement from May 2025 adds weight to that combination.

Home visits by the key person, activities to borrow and included everyday supplies also give the offer practical value for parents. The strongest reason to choose it is the combination of active outdoor experiences, a clear progression through rooms and close links between nursery learning and home.