Elm Cottage Nursery at Brookfield

Separate gardens for babies and toddlers, a preschool outdoor zone and a plot beside Brookfields Park give Elm Cottage Nursery at Brookfield a clear outdoor identity. The grounds extend to 1.7 acres, with four playrooms serving children from 3 months through preschool. Space for outdoor play is the strongest reason to look closely at this Cheadle Hulme nursery.

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found that children made good progress, with effective safeguarding arrangements. That judgement gives a positive starting point, but the detail matters: language development was a strength, while sharing and sustained involvement in activities needed further work.

The nursery has 63 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months.

Rooms and Ages

Four playrooms cover the progression from babies to preschool children. Outdoors, the baby garden, toddler garden and separate preschool zone give the age groups different spaces to use. For parents choosing care for a very young child, that division is more useful than the acreage alone: it establishes a baby outdoor space within a larger setting.

The main outdoor play area overlooks Brookfield park. Across the grounds, the group-wide learning offer includes planting, den making and large-scale construction, alongside sand and water play. These activities give children ways to experiment with materials and movement beyond what a tabletop activity can accommodate. Mud kitchens bring imaginative play outside too.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the standards for children's learning, development and care; here, daily play includes reading, early maths, mark making and physical activity. It is the common framework for the nursery day. Activities are planned around children's interests, with learning extending between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Brookfield adds visiting ballet and Spanish teachers and a football coach alongside the framework.

The group-wide learning programme used here includes Spanish, Ballet and Movement and Football skills through external providers. Its visiting workshops include the really wild show, a hands-on encounter with small animals and mini beasts, and an interactive science show. Visits from the dentist, police and fire brigade introduce people whose work children may encounter beyond nursery.

In December 2022, children experimented with dough while staff encouraged them to discuss their ideas and try changes to its consistency. Stories involved joining in and predicting what might happen next. Those examples show language threaded through practical play, rather than confined to a separate speaking activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Community visits in the group-wide programme include the library and pet shop, as well as cinema and theatre outings. Christmas and Summer outings broaden that offer. The value is the connection between nursery play and real places: books, animals and performances become experiences children can talk about afterwards.

Each spring, the group-wide programme includes caring for farm-supplied eggs and then the chicks that hatch. This gives children a living process to follow over time. It sits naturally alongside growing plants and the outdoor habitats used in play, with opportunities to return to an interest rather than finish it in a single activity.

In December 2022, outdoor play included balance and coordination practice, while staff helped children dress for cold weather.

Relationships and Communication

In December 2022, staff gathered information about children before they started and used it when planning activities. Parents knew their child's key person, received updates about nursery life and were encouraged to contribute to learning at home. This connects settling with an understanding of the individual child, rather than treating it simply as an introduction to the building.

Tapestry, the group-wide online learning journal used here, brings photographs, videos and observations together in a password-protected account. Parents receive notifications of new entries and can add comments. It gives families a way to connect what a child does at home with what practitioners observe in nursery, including during a move to another room.

Regular stay-and-play sessions and annual parent evenings add opportunities for direct conversation. For preschool families, the group-wide Getting Ready to Write, Maths is Everywhere and Reading and Phonics evenings provide interactive guidance on supporting learning at home. Their practical purpose is parental participation, rather than simply reporting achievements.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator shared training with staff and that targeted support plans were incorporated into routines and transitions to meet children's individual needs. That is a concrete account of SEND support: the plans affected the ordinary day, including changes between activities, rather than sitting apart from it.

In December 2022, children expressed their emotions and sought staff comfort. Activities also prepared them for their next stage, including school.

Brookfield has achieved Millie’s Mark, a paediatric first aid quality mark for early years settings. The group-wide partnership with Millie’s Trust also includes evening first aid workshops for parents and carers, extending training opportunities to families.

A chef prepares home-cooked meals on site. Private fees include breakfast, a mid-morning snack, a two-course lunch and afternoon tea, while meals and snacks used during funded hours attract separate charges.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 51 Brookfield Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle, Stockport SK8 1ES. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with operation across the year except the Christmas closure. The nursery closes for one week at Christmas and on bank holidays, so those dates need to fit the family's childcare arrangements.

The booking structure includes attendance on selected days and full-time places. Half days are not offered. This suits families whose childcare needs can be organised into whole days, whether across part of the week or throughout the working week.

Enquiries use a contact form with a Brookfields Nursery option and fields for preferred days and a start date. The nursery can also be contacted on 0161 428 9421. A viewing can be arranged through the enquiry route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government funding is accepted for eligible children from 9 months upwards, with terms covering 15 funded hours or up to 30 hours per week over 38 weeks. Additional attendance beyond funded hours is paid privately. The group's fee structure used at Brookfield calculates charges across 51 weeks and divides them into 12 equal monthly payments, so the monthly bill needs to be understood separately from the funded entitlement.

Private fees include food and visiting classes. Wipes are supplied within that fee package, while parents supply nappies, cream and formula. During funded hours, meals, drinks, snacks and consumables are charged separately, as are enhanced services including enrichment activities and parent communication services. Funding therefore does not remove every cost associated with attendance.

The group-wide Famly app supports payments and access to invoices and account balances. Fees are payable in advance by the 20th of the preceding month, and averaged monthly payments remain the same through holidays, sickness and closures. This gives a regular billing pattern, but absences do not reduce that month's payment.

Once a place is allocated, a deposit must be paid within 7 days of the offer. It is deducted from the final month's fees; the deposit attached to booked days that are not taken is non-refundable. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Whole-day attendance. Half days are not offered, although attendance can cover selected days or the full working week. At a visit, discuss how the whole-day arrangement would fit your child's routine.
• Funding and the total bill. Funded hours carry separate charges for meals, consumables and enhanced services. Request an itemised quotation for your intended days so that the funded allowance and the remaining costs are clear.
• Sharing and sustained play. In December 2022, children needed more consistent help to consider others, share and remain involved in activities. Ask how practitioners now support turn-taking and help children stay with an activity that interests them.
• The youngest children's day. Babies have a separate garden within the larger grounds. During a viewing, ask how sleep and garden time are organised for your baby alongside the whole-day attendance pattern.

Brookfield will suit families seeking whole-day care on selected weekdays or a full-time arrangement, with substantial outdoor space and visiting ballet, Spanish and football provision. The separate baby garden gives younger children a place within that outdoor offer, while the wider programme connects play with animals, community visits and practical exploration.

Separate charges during funded hours are the main financial consideration; the December 2022 concerns about sharing and engagement deserve attention too.