Cosy Toes Private Day Nursery

A bungalow with its own grounds and several outdoor play areas gives Cosy Toes Private Day Nursery a clear physical character. Inside, three age-based areas separate babies, younger children and those preparing for school. The combination makes the layout an important part of the choice here: outdoor play sits alongside spaces intended for different stages of development.

At its 19 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with affectionate relationships and support for children's emotional wellbeing among its strengths. That is a dated judgement. The improvement priority was more consistent teaching about human differences, especially different family structures.

Based on Mainway East in Middleton, the nursery accepts children from birth to five. Its current room structure, outdoor areas and baby ball pit provide the practical character; the May 2023 observations add a picture of how care and learning worked at that time.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Unit caters for children aged 0–2, the Tweeny Room for ages 2–3, and the Nursery Class for children aged three and above. These stages give parents a useful starting point for understanding room moves as their child grows. The baby unit ball pit is a concrete feature for the youngest children.

Other indoor features include a children's indoor den and a play kitchen. They provide different settings for play, rather than making the whole day depend on one type of activity. Outside, multiple play areas occupy the bungalow's grounds, so outdoor space is part of the setting's layout rather than a separate destination.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday language, that means education and care belong together: play, communication, physical development and increasing independence all matter to a young child's day.

In May 2023, babies explored paint while staff sang familiar rhymes, and children developed small hand movements by scooping and pouring sensory materials. Exercise included yoga and dancing. These examples show learning through movement and handling materials, alongside listening and language.

Books also had practical companions. In May 2023, staff used miniature sea creatures to help children understand an underwater story, while conversations during play included words describing texture. That links reading with objects children can handle and language they can use, rather than keeping story time separate from the rest of the day.

Independence developed in steps. In May 2023, younger children tried getting their shoes on themselves, while older children could do so before going outside. This is a useful kind of school preparation: managing an everyday task as well as learning letter sounds. Children in the older nursery room were also exploring the sounds associated with letters.

Settling centred on time with a key person in May 2023. Children built affectionate relationships with staff, and babies received gentle care alongside their play. For a family choosing a first nursery, the important detail is the relationship itself: settling involved a familiar adult spending time with the child.

Communication had several routes in May 2023. Staff talked with parents each day and also used email and newsletters. Resources and equipment went home with ideas for extending learning, connecting nursery activities with family life. This was more than a progress update; it gave parents something practical to do with their child.

Health routines were woven into the day in May 2023. Children used their own toothbrushes regularly, and the setting had participated in a local-authority oral health award scheme. Children also practised managing bathroom routines and washing their hands. These small routines joined care with growing independence.

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that extra funding was used effectively to buy learning resources and address barriers, while identifying a need for stronger teaching about similarities, differences and family structures. This balance matters: practical support for individual children sat alongside a specific weakness in the breadth of children's learning about other people.

In May 2023, relaxation activities included yoga and spa days, and staff helped children manage their feelings. The premises also had a coded entrance system and assessments of potential hazards inside and outdoors. These describe arrangements at that time; the safeguarding judgement belongs to the dated inspection above.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7am–6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. This is a substantial weekday opening window, with the distinction between the nursery's opening hours and a family's agreed attendance important when planning childcare.

The address is 431 Mainway East, Middleton, M24 1RD. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0161 654 6517 or by email to cosytoesparents@hotmail.com. The nursery closes for bank holidays and Christmas, so families need to build those breaks into their childcare planning.

Within the grounds, Frankie’s Out of School Club serves children aged 5–11 through school-holiday care and local-school collection and drop-off arrangements. It is a separate offer for older children, which may be relevant to families arranging care for siblings at different stages.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Families should obtain a current written quotation for prices. That keeps the financial decision tied to the attendance arrangement they are actually considering.

• Learning about families. The May 2023 improvement priority concerned teaching children about differences and similarities, including family structures. On a visit, ask for examples of how books and activities now address that topic.
• Settling and room moves. Three age-based areas make transitions part of the nursery experience, while key-person time supported settling in May 2023. Ask how familiar adults support a child moving between rooms.
• Attendance and the quotation. Opening spans 7am–6pm on weekdays, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures. Ask which booking patterns fit your week and how funded hours, food and consumables are treated in the written quotation.

Cosy Toes suits families seeking weekday childcare for babies through to preschool age, with separate age-based areas and outdoor play in the nursery's own grounds. The Baby Unit, Tweeny Room and Nursery Class make its structure easy to understand, while Frankie’s Out of School Club adds a separate option for older siblings.

The May 2023 picture combines affectionate care, practical independence and language-rich play with a clear improvement priority around understanding different families. For parents, the most useful next step is to explore how that teaching has developed and how settling works across the three areas.