Maden Early Years and Childcare Centre

A non-profit nursery within The Maden Community and Childcare Centre, Maden combines childcare in Bacup with an inspection picture centred on relationships and communication. At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received targeted support. Those findings are dated, but they give families a useful starting point for understanding its care.

The centre accepts children from birth to four and has 100 places in total. That is whole-setting capacity, rather than the size of an individual room. Its strongest inspection examples concern children talking with familiar adults, learning to consider one another and having their interests incorporated into activities. The two improvement priorities were equally concrete: more opportunities for children to manage everyday tasks themselves, and better organisation of outdoor learning.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, 2 – 3’s Room and Pre School Unit give the nursery separate named spaces for different stages. In May 2023, the baby provision had recently moved into a larger space chosen to better accommodate babies’ needs. That matters because the physical environment must work for younger children’s care as well as their play.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care: the nursery day brings learning together with everyday experiences and play. At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found the curriculum generally well planned, with teaching matched to children’s development, but identified outdoor activities as less purposeful than indoor learning.

In May 2023, water play involved containers of different colours, with children experimenting by filling, pouring and rolling. These were practical opportunities to explore how things work, rather than simply handle a finished activity. Conversations about shapes also began with what children noticed around them. Adults listened and encouraged children to explain their observations, giving their own ideas a place in the exchange.

Outdoor learning was the weaker part of that account. In May 2023, some children moved around without becoming absorbed in an activity. The improvement priority was to make the outdoor area more organised and give its learning a clearer purpose. For families who place considerable weight on outdoor play, that is a specific issue to explore on a visit.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2023, children interacted comfortably with their key adults and other children. Staff offered comfort when children needed it, while routines helped them understand expectations around sharing and looking after resources. Personalised pictures helped children recognise their belongings and where they belonged. Small details like these connect emotional support with the practical business of a nursery day.

In May 2023, communication linked children’s learning at the centre with activities at home. In May 2023, parents received information about achievements and the next steps in learning, and could use communication and language activities at home. Children brought those experiences back through photographs and discussion. That gave home activities a connection with what happened at the centre.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In May 2023, the SENDCo worked with families, key workers and outside professionals, including speech and language therapists and specialist teachers, to draw up individual learning plans and review targets. This describes a concrete support mechanism, rather than a general promise of inclusion. Maden also has a Local offer 2025 covering support for children, including those with suspected or identified additional needs.

Younger children’s sleep was calm in May 2023, with reassurance available when needed. At the same visit, a colour-coded sticker system communicated children’s allergies and intolerances to staff. These are useful examples of how care was organised at that point.

Independence was less consistent. In May 2023, children practised putting on shoes and filling water bottles, yet adults still handled meals, drinks and nose-wiping tasks that could have offered further practice. The concern was about extending opportunities throughout the day, rather than confining independence to selected routines.

The address is The Maden Centre, Rochdale Road, Bacup, OL13 9NZ. Families can contact the centre by telephone, email or its contact form.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The centre opens across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. This makes the annual calendar an important part of assessing whether it fits a family’s working arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2023, the centre provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Outdoor learning. May 2023 brought a specific improvement priority around the organisation and purpose of outdoor activities. On a visit, look at how the outdoor space helps children become absorbed in play.
• Everyday independence. In May 2023, opportunities to manage meals, drinks and personal care were inconsistent. Ask how children now practise these tasks across the day.
• Attendance and costs. The opening window runs across the working day, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures. Which booking patterns and funded arrangements would fit your family, including the treatment of meals and consumables?

Maden suits families seeking care for babies through to preschool age, with opening hours spanning the working day and an annual calendar extending beyond term time. Its May 2023 inspection gives a grounded picture of familiar relationships, communication with families and individual support planning. The decision points are practical: whether its attendance arrangements fit, and how outdoor learning and everyday independence have developed since May 2023.