Ashworth View Nursery

A pirate ship, countryside views and baby rooms with their own sleep arrangements give Ashworth View Nursery a clear character. Green fields surround its Norden setting, while large windows bring natural light into the playrooms. Outdoor space is a substantial part of the offer, with opportunities for energetic movement alongside digging, planting and quieter play.

Ashworth View cares for children from birth to five and has capacity for 90 children in total. Two baby rooms, two toddler rooms and a preschool room separate the stages of development. This is a sizeable nursery, but the room structure gives families something more useful to consider than its overall size: the particular space their child will use.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 4 April 2023 inspection. That judgement came with practical improvements to make: staff needed more consistent support to put training into action, activities needed to respond more reliably to individual children, and parents needed clearer guidance about extending learning at home. Those points matter alongside the outdoor facilities and carefully described baby routines.

Full days, mornings, afternoons and half days are offered, with a minimum attendance of two sessions each week.

Rooms and Ages

Tiny Lambs serves babies up to 15 months, with a maximum of 11 babies together; feeding follows individual home routines, staff support weaning, and a separate sleep room allows rest away from the play space. Each child has a nursery-provided bedding bag, which is cleaned onsite. For parents comparing baby care, the room cap and separation of sleep from activity are substantial practical details.

Little Lambs takes children from 15 months to two years and accommodates up to 12 at a time, with separate spaces for mobile and non-mobile children, a sleeping area and a food preparation zone. The layout recognises that movement develops at different speeds. Early walkers and children who are still less mobile have different ways to use the room.

Bumble Bees is for children aged two to two-and-a-half, with play supporting independence and the beginnings of toilet training. Busy Bees serves children aged two-and-a-half to three, combining direct outdoor access and a children's bathroom with WELCOMM, a tool used to assess and support communication and language. Speech therapists and other professionals can be involved where needed. Wise Owls is the preschool room, where independence and preparation for the move to school shape the emphasis.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework for children's learning, development and care, covering learning through play as well as social, emotional and physical development. Alongside it, Ashworth View uses Birth to 5 Matters to organise child-led activities around children's interests and their next steps. Adult guidance supports exploration rather than leaving children to make sense of every activity alone.

A full-time Early Years Teacher works with children on activities supporting readiness for school. The key person observes each child's development and maintains a Learning Journey, a progress record that parents can discuss and view. These arrangements give families a way to connect the activities their child enjoys with the skills being developed.

In April 2023, babies explored bubbles and warm, foamy water while staff supplied language for the sensations. Older children revisited earlier learning through photographs and made patterns using wooden pieces. These examples show how simple materials can connect sensory experience, vocabulary and remembering, rather than requiring an elaborate activity for every learning opportunity.

The same April 2023 findings identified uneven responses to children's developing interests: some children lost engagement when staff did not adapt their approach. The important distinction for parents is between having a planned sequence of learning and making that sequence work for the particular child taking part.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor offer includes a race track, tree houses and a 60ft pirate ship. Elsewhere, a large sandpit, a climbing wall with slides, planting and digging areas, and a mud kitchen give children different reasons to spend time outside. Herbs and spices grown with the children become materials for experimentation in the mud kitchen, connecting gardening with play.

Children can choose outdoor play through free-flow access during the day, and outdoor learning takes place in all weather. In April 2023, outdoor activities included climbing and balancing, while separate task areas gave children who preferred quieter play somewhere to concentrate. The space supported different kinds of participation, rather than treating outdoor time solely as a chance to run.

Regular trips involve parents and carers, and stay-and-play sessions run during the year. These offer families opportunities to share experiences with their children and see how activities work beyond an account of the day.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person responsible for care, observation and planning. Before starting, families attend an All about me Meeting, which gathers information about the child and home life. For babies, that information has a direct use: Tiny Lambs follows individual feeding and sleep routines rather than expecting every child to fit the same timetable.

The parent app carries daily information about eating, toileting and other care needs. Parents can add photographs and observations from home, while practitioners send home activities during the year. Parents' evenings provide a separate opportunity to discuss development, including how learning can continue at home. The two-way element matters: changes noticed by a family can inform what happens in the playroom.

In April 2023, some parents were unsure how to build on their children's learning outside nursery. The current combination of progress discussions, the Learning Journey and home activities provides concrete routes for that conversation. A useful discussion should connect an activity to the child's next step, rather than simply describe what they have done.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, making good progress, with language assessment and individual plans helping staff address developmental delays. Those are dated findings, not a substitute for understanding a child's current support arrangements. Busy Bees' use of WELCOMM and links with speech therapists provide a specific mechanism for discussing communication needs.

Daily toothbrushing is supported by staff trained through Golden Grin, the dental-health scheme described through its staff training and brushing routines. Each child's toothbrush is stored in a Brush Bus in their playroom, and younger children receive help while those ready for independence practise brushing themselves. Oral care is built into the day.

Meals and snacks are homemade, with menus planned using eat better, start better, a menu-planning resource. Allergy and dietary information is gathered before a child starts, with individual dietary plans and risk assessments used where necessary.

Sessions and Attendance

Ashworth View is on Edenfield Road, Norden, Rochdale, OL12 7TY. It opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm, across the year, with a Christmas closure. These are opening hours; the attendance options are full days, mornings, afternoons and half days.

The minimum booking is two sessions a week. Additional days can be booked subject to availability and are paid for on the day; earlier or later care is also offered for an additional charge. Fees remain payable during holidays and illness, so families should budget for their booked pattern rather than only the days their child attends.

Registration begins with a request form, followed by a registration form if a place can be offered. Enquiries can also be made by telephone on 01706 638741 or by email at info@ashworthview.co.uk. A non-refundable deposit is credited against the first month's invoice when the child starts; it is retained if the start is postponed or the child does not begin.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 or 30 hours funding for eligible working parents with children aged 9 months and over. Universal 15-hour funding is also accepted for three- and four-year-olds, beginning in the term after their third birthday. Entitlement and the choice of attendance pattern are separate considerations.

Private fees include meals, snacks, nappies, wipes, sun cream and learning materials, as well as activities. Funded sessions have a different arrangement: an optional, separate contribution covers those items, or families can supply them themselves. This distinction matters when comparing the cost and daily preparation involved in private and funded attendance.

Payments are made in advance, with weekly, fortnightly or monthly arrangements. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charge structure.

Links with local schools support transition, and Wise Owls concentrates on the independence children need for that move. School preparation is part of the nursery experience, rather than a reason to assume a particular destination.

• Baby-room routines. Tiny Lambs has a cap of 11 babies and a separate sleep room, while Little Lambs accommodates up to 12 children. On a visit, discuss how home routines and the move between these rooms are handled for your child.
• Consistent learning support. The April 2023 findings called for stronger staff support, more responsive activities and clearer home-learning guidance. Ask for an example of how your child's interests would shape planning and what you would receive to continue that learning at home.
• Funded-day supplies. The contribution for meals, snacks and consumables is optional, with a bring-your-own alternative. Consider which arrangement fits your family and how it will work across your chosen sessions.
• Individual dietary care. Allergy information informs dietary plans and risk assessments. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice and how their child's plan will be communicated to staff.

Ashworth View suits families seeking full days or morning and afternoon attendance, with substantial outdoor play and clearly differentiated rooms. Its strongest practical features are the baby-room caps, dedicated sleep arrangements, and the combination of planting, climbing and imaginative outdoor spaces. Daily care information and a key person give parents identifiable routes into their child's nursery life.

The dated Good judgement should be read alongside the need for consistency in staff practice and home-learning guidance. For a family choosing here, the decisive questions concern the experience in their child's room and the fit between their attendance pattern and funded or private charge arrangements.