Fledglings Pre-School Nursery

Pond dipping, a hen house and space to build dens give Fledglings Pre-School Nursery a recognisable outdoor character. This Bramhall setting shares the grounds of Moss Hey Primary School but operates as a separate private nursery. Its Nature Garden makes exploring living things part of the nursery day, with access to the school hall adding room for movement activities.

At its February 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged all six areas to be at Strong standard and safeguarding standards to be met. Those areas cover achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, teaching, inclusion and leadership. This is a report card with separate judgements, rather than a single overall grade.

Children aged 18 to 60 months are accepted. The current rooms are featherlings and little flyers, following a reorganisation that brought younger children together and moved the transition into the older room earlier. Outdoor exploration and language development are the clearest threads running through the offer.

Rooms and Ages

Featherlings includes a protected section for children who are not yet mobile, with a barrier separating that space from the rest of the room. Little flyers is the older children’s room, with moves normally taking place around the term after a child turns two, subject to development and the time of year. That makes the transition an individual decision rather than a birthday deadline.

Accessible resources encourage children to choose activities independently, with areas for active play, quiet activities and rest. Role play, den building and small-group activities create opportunities to talk and cooperate.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the shared framework for learning and care, developing language, physical skills and social understanding through play and adult guidance. Fledglings combines children’s choices with direct teaching, using observations to plan next steps.

Brushes, woodwork tools and gardening tools sit alongside small-world toys, connecting imaginative play with practical objects children can handle, describe and investigate.

In February 2026, play dough prompted action vocabulary, while older children discussed book parts and their creators. Lunar New Year rice activities incorporated counting, and Winter Olympics themes supported large physical movements. Language, mathematics and movement were woven into play.

Language support includes Makaton and Baby sign, used where appropriate to help communication. Wellcomm Speech and Language diagnostic programme training gives staff a structured tool for considering speech and language needs. Alongside this, the nursery’s curriculum places emphasis on language development through ELKAN, the speech and language training described in its earlier staff development work.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Nature Garden supports Forest School activities, meaning practical exploration and learning outdoors. Here, the concrete possibilities include looking for bugs, investigating the pond and constructing dens. The outdoor play area adjoins an enclosed wildlife space, with larger areas of the school grounds available for more energetic activity. The hen house adds another connection with living things.

Daily music and singing support the language emphasis. Families can also borrow and donate books through the book swap box, keeping stories circulating at home.

In February 2026, outings to nearby shops, residential homes and schools gave children opportunities to communicate with different people and learn about their community.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person within their room, providing a point of contact for their experiences and wellbeing. Famly holds the child’s learning journey, including observations from the nursery and contributions from parents. Families can arrange a key-person meeting by phone, face to face or through Famly live, so a fuller conversation can happen separately from everyday messages.

Stay and Play lets parents join their child’s activities. Famly manages invitations, with replies required at least seven days beforehand. Siblings cannot attend, and sessions may be shortened when demand is high to manage numbers.

In February 2026, familiar resources and cuddles helped children through separation. Younger children found their own beds before staff helped them settle, showing how familiar sleep routines supported independence.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified individual needs, reviewed support with families and external professionals, and pursued specialist intervention and additional funding where needed. The next step was to sustain high standards while seeking a greater impact for disadvantaged children, children with SEND, those connected with children’s social care and others facing barriers to learning or wellbeing.

The team includes special educational needs coordinator roles, and the assessment process involves parents and health visitors. Before children leave for school, assessments are shared with their Reception teachers. This gives transition work a practical purpose: passing on knowledge of the child’s development and needs.

The Safe Sleep Policy requires continuous visual supervision, with recorded checks at least every ten minutes. Children under three have uninterrupted sleep or rest until at least 2pm, and sleep duration is not capped. Families whose home routines include an earlier wake-up will need to consider that policy carefully.

Allergy arrangements require families to keep dietary information current and supply an allergy action plan or a doctor’s note for a child with an allergy. The nursery employs cooks and has its own kitchen. In February 2026, personalised place mats helped staff follow children’s dietary requirements, while older children practised serving their own lunch.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The day nursery operates for 51 weeks, with statutory holidays and a Christmas closure; for Christmas 2026, it closes on 22 December and reopens on 4 January 2027. Breakfast, snacks, lunch and tea are included in the daycare offer.

Extra days and attendance changes can be requested through Famly. Leaving or permanently reducing days requires a full calendar month’s written notice, with fees payable throughout: a budgeting consideration when work patterns change.

Absences must be reported by 9am, and the nursery follows up if it has heard nothing by 9.30am. Parents are asked to give at least two weeks’ notice of planned absences. Telephone, text and email provide ways to notify the office, while Famly can also be used for planned holidays.

Getting There

The address is Eskdale Avenue, Bramhall, Stockport, SK7 1DS, and enquiries can be made by telephone on 0161 439 4039 or through the contact form. Families using Fledglings cannot use the school car park.

Although it occupies school premises, nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families applying to a state school still use the local authority admissions process. Fledglings’ support with assessments and transition should be understood as preparation for school, rather than an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes universal funding of 15 hours per week during term time from the term after a child turns three, and extended 30-hour funding for working families meeting the eligibility criteria from the term after nine months. The nursery’s accepted age range remains separate from the age at which that entitlement can begin.

Private childcare is offered, with current prices in a written quotation. Families agree funded terms through Famly. Daycare includes food; meals, consumables, extra hours and additional services are separate from the education entitlement. Averaged monthly billing concerns payments rather than the delivery of funded hours.

• Earlier room transition. Children normally move into little flyers around the term after turning two, with individual development affecting timing. During a visit, discuss how that move would work for your child and how the protected area in featherlings is used.
• Sleep policy. Under-threes have uninterrupted rest or sleep until at least 2pm. Consider how that fits your child’s home routine, especially if you currently limit daytime sleep.
• Funded-place costs. The funded childcare policy is agreed through Famly, and food, consumables and additional services sit outside the education entitlement. Request an itemised quotation covering your attendance pattern, meals and non-food supplies before agreeing the arrangement.
• School grounds and parking. Families cannot use the school car park, and sharing school premises confers no guaranteed Reception place. Plan collection arrangements and treat the school application as a separate decision.

Fledglings suits families who value practical outdoor exploration, language-rich play and care that carries children towards greater independence. The Nature Garden, wildlife space and school hall give those priorities physical substance, while key-person meetings and Famly provide routes for sharing children’s experiences.

The February 2026 report card supports a positive assessment across teaching and care, with further work directed towards children facing barriers. For families choosing year-round nursery attendance, the main decisions are the earlier room move, the protected sleep period and the full cost of the chosen arrangement.