Kids Planet Salford

A rooftop terrace for preschool children and a sensory room beside the Baby Room give Kids Planet Salford two very different ways to make space for exploration. Outdoor access runs through the setting: each age group has direct access to secure outdoor play areas. This purpose-built nursery on Eccles Old Road combines bright, open-plan rooms with quieter space for children who need a change of pace.

At its 29 April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The useful detail beneath that judgement includes support for communication, activities beyond the nursery and two practical improvements concerning mealtimes and hygiene.

Children are accepted from 3 to 60 months, with capacity for 130 children in total. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings give families different ways to organise attendance; the session times need to be distinguished from the longer opening window.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room has an adjoining sensory space, Sensory Room Retreat, for exploration and additional support away from the main room. Gentle lighting, tactile materials and calming sounds make this a different environment from the open-plan play spaces. It can be used for individual support, quiet time or a pause from busier activity.

In the Pre-School room, a teacher leads the team, with confidence, independence and preparation for school forming its stated emphasis; the refurbished rooftop terrace provides outdoor space for exploring nature. That combination connects the practical work of becoming more independent with opportunities to investigate outdoors.

Large, open-plan rooms are filled with natural light. Direct outdoor access for every age group means the rooftop terrace is only one part of the outdoor provision, rather than the sole place for children to play outside.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday activities contribute to learning alongside practical skills. Here, current activities include sports and regular outings, while the sensory room adds a separate space for exploration and regulation.

In April 2025, babies explored water and foam outside, while toddlers joined familiar songs and stories, repeating words and phrases. Preschool children talked with staff and friends during meals. These examples connect communication with things children are already doing, rather than treating language as an isolated activity.

Physical activity also extended beyond ordinary outdoor play in April 2025. An early years football company visited weekly, giving children opportunities to practise movement skills. Trips included museums, parks and journeys by train. These were different experiences from play within the nursery, with new places and situations to explore.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular outings remain part of the current offer, supported by a regional driver. Community visits include a hospital, a food bank and a cenotaph, connecting children's experiences with the people and places around them. These visits introduce different roles in local life, rather than keeping learning entirely within the nursery.

The rooftop terrace gives preschool children a place for nature exploration within an urban setting. Alongside the outdoor areas reached directly from the rooms, it makes outdoor space a substantial part of this branch's physical layout.

Relationships and Communication

Famly, the group-wide parent app used here, provides updates during the day. For parents balancing childcare with work, those updates offer a connection with their child's experiences between conversations with staff.

In April 2025, parents could participate through stay-and-play sessions, celebration events and parents' evenings. Staff also offered advice about weaning, toilet training, behaviour and delayed communication. The practical value was that conversations with parents extended beyond a description of the day's activities to matters affecting family life at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted praised support for children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language, describing work with parents and professionals, specialist equipment, dual-language books and the use of children's home languages. That is a stronger basis for assessing support than a broad promise of inclusion: it identifies resources and working relationships used at that time.

Today, the sensory room remains a concrete part of the support available within the building. Its lighting, textures and sounds offer a separate setting for quiet time and individual attention. The team also has experience supporting communication and language development, including children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language.

Daily routines deserve attention alongside those strengths. In April 2025, delays around meals left some children restless and frustrated, and staff did not consistently demonstrate handwashing after helping children wipe their noses. The improvement priorities concerned both the organisation of meals and the example adults set for hygiene and self-care.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7am to 7pm, across 52 weeks, with bank holidays excluded. Bookable sessions follow a narrower timetable: Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Morning from 7.30am to 1pm, and Afternoon from 1pm to 6.30pm. Full Time is also offered with the same daily times as Full Day.

That distinction matters for work schedules. A family needing care at the edges of the opening window should separate the building's opening hours from the hours attached to its chosen booking.

Getting There

The address is 36-38 Eccles Old Road, Salford, M6 8RA, at the junction with Langworthy Road. Parents can contact the branch by telephone or email, and a tour-booking route is offered.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered from 9 months, alongside paid childcare sessions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the important distinction is between the childcare booking and the additional charges attached to days when early years funding is used.

For private childcare, meals and snacks are included, as are sun cream, formula milk, wipes and nappies. On days with early years funding applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately, with the charge category depending on the hours attended. Funding therefore changes how these parts of the day are billed, even though they also feature in the all-inclusive private offer.

Fresh meals and snacks are prepared, with dietary needs catered for. The branch's fee structure also includes charges for late collection and late payment, so the quotation and booking terms matter alongside the normal session choice.

• Mealtimes and hygiene. The April 2025 improvement priorities concerned waiting at meals and inconsistent adult hygiene examples. During a tour, ask how meal transitions and staff handwashing now work in practice.
• Opening hours versus booked hours. The 7am to 7pm opening window extends beyond the Full Day session of 7.30am to 6.30pm. Families whose work runs close to those boundaries need a booking that matches their actual childcare hours.
• Starting in the Baby Room. The adjoining sensory room adds a quieter environment to the main play space. Ask how settling sessions and the key-person relationship would be organised for your baby.
• Funded-day extras. Meals, activities and consumables are billed separately on days using funding. Read the written quotation against the intended attendance pattern to understand the complete charge structure.

Kids Planet Salford suits families seeking full-day care or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with substantial outdoor access and a separate sensory space. The rooftop terrace, community outings and communication support give the setting a clear character. Its April 2025 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific improvement priorities around meals and hygiene. The choice turns on how those daily routines work for your child and how the funded-day charges fit your attendance pattern.