Hollin Nursery CIC

Paint for babies, autumn objects for older children and experiments beside a river give Hollin’s October 2023 account its character: learning through things children can touch, compare and investigate. At its 2 October 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found that children were progressing well.

Hollin Nursery CIC is based at Hollin Children's Centre in Middleton, with capacity for 30 children aged 4 to 60 months. It opens Monday to Friday, from 7.45am to 5.45pm.

In October 2023, babies explored paint to exercise their hands, while older children compared autumn objects by size. A toy car trapped in a garage became a problem to solve: staff encouraged children to work out how to release it. These were practical opportunities to investigate rather than simply receive an answer.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children’s learning, development and care. Here, the October 2023 examples included stories, exploratory play and conversations that encouraged children to explain their thinking. Staff pointed out words while reading with babies and used questions to draw out older children’s ideas.

Community outings also featured that October. Children tested whether objects floated in a river and practised physical skills in a forest. Sand play gave staff opportunities to teach sharing and waiting for a turn, connecting everyday play with learning how to get along.

At the October 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified the key-person arrangements and relationships with parents as strengths. Staff spent time with their key children, while families received ideas for learning at home and guidance on health and wellbeing.

In October 2023, staff used pictures and familiar words to help children learning English as an additional language. They also adapted how they communicated with parents, allowing families to discuss care needs and understand their children’s development.

First-aid training covered staff working directly with children that October. Staff told colleagues when leaving a room to change a nappy, so supervision could be adjusted. The manager worked in the rooms, observing practice and demonstrating approaches for colleagues; staff development was part of the nursery’s work.

The address is Hollin Children's Centre, Tintern Road, Middleton, Manchester, M24 6JP. Opening hours are 7.45am to 5.45pm on weekdays, across the year. Closures include bank holidays, one week at Christmas and two training days each year, so families need cover for those breaks.

In October 2023, session times ran from 7.45am until 5.45pm, and funded early education was provided for children aged two, three and four. That funding description belongs to the inspection period.

• Speech sounds. The October 2023 improvement point concerned staff making the sounds within words consistently clear. Ask how practitioners now model pronunciation during stories and conversation.
• Year-round planning. Christmas, bank-holiday and training-day closures interrupt the weekday opening pattern. Allow for those breaks when arranging childcare around work.

Hollin suits families seeking weekday childcare across the year who value practical exploration and close communication about their child. Its October 2023 strengths were tangible: hands-on learning, outdoor experiences and relationships supported by a key person. Clearer modelling of speech sounds was the specific improvement needed, giving families a useful point to explore alongside that positive dated assessment.