Ramillies Hall Nursery

A playing field, separate gardens for different ages and former school buildings give Ramillies Hall Nursery a substantial setting for early childhood. This family-run nursery in Cheadle Hulme combines space for outdoor exploration with smaller, purposefully arranged areas for reading, sensory play and rest. Its appeal starts with the physical detail: babies have their own fenced garden, while older children can use a larger garden, lawns and the field.

Care spans six months to rising five, with capacity for 113 children in total. At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, with positive findings about language development and preparation for the next stage of learning, alongside improvements needed in adult interactions and leaders’ coaching.

Rooms and Ages

Little Acorns, for approximately 9–18 months, combines activities close to the floor with higher resources that encourage standing, a soft play corner for movement, and spaces for books, pretend play and investigation. Seedlings, for approximately 18–30 months, brings together construction, small-world play, art, physical activity and role play in the room opposite.

Saplings serves approximately 30–42 months with its own large playroom for early maths, books, construction, role play and mark making. Oaks is the group for children in the year before school, with a separate large playroom offering those same kinds of experiences.

In the library, children can use puppets and story baskets to retell stories, explore fiction and non-fiction, and join Letters and Sounds Groups in the shared library. A creative room provides space for collage, modelling, painting and sensory materials, while the Mark making corridor has boards for large drawings, writing and magnetic play.

Learning and Activities

EYFS guides the nursery’s planning for learning and development through play. In preschool, that includes exploring numbers through puzzles and maths, developing language through books and storytelling, and expressing ideas through painting, modelling and mark making. Alongside that shared early-years framework, Ramillies uses a curriculum that can change with children’s interests and starting points. It deliberately leaves practitioners room to choose experiences rather than prescribing identical activities for every child.

A Froebelian approach contributes an emphasis on child-led play, connections between areas of learning and starting with what children can already do. Adult-led activities sit alongside that play to introduce ideas children might not discover independently.

Preschool routines include adult-led activity in smaller groups and physical experiences such as yoga.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor provision extends beyond one playground. Children over two have a large fenced garden; babies have a smaller fenced area, and the lawns and playing field offer further space to explore. In Oak House, a grassy enclosure serves children still becoming steady on their feet, with younger toddlers moving to the larger play area when confident enough.

Walks, local parks and neighbouring green spaces also feature in nursery life.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Person system gives children familiar adults who know their needs and interests. Its purpose is continuity throughout the day, connecting care with an understanding of how each child learns. For younger children, that sits alongside practical provision in Oak House: separate sleeping rooms offer cots or floor mats, and a sensory room brings together lights, textures, soft fabrics and treasure baskets.

Famly App keeps parents connected with both care and learning. It holds observations and assessments, updates about food, toileting and sleep, and messages between families and staff. Parents can also see activity news, forms and account information.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support strong, with staff working with other professionals and using visual resources to help children understand routines. Those findings concern practice at that time. Current arrangements include a designated safeguarding lead role, safeguarding officers, child-protection training and safer-recruitment checks.

The Full Offer includes meals and snacks within its charged package, with the nursery’s chef preparing home-cooked food adapted to individual dietary needs. Basic Offer families provide snacks and a packed lunch; lunch must be brought between 10:30am and 11:15am because refrigeration is unavailable.

School preparation is expressed through learning and independence rather than a promised onward place. In June 2022, children practised listening for different outdoor sounds and used mathematical vocabulary during play. Today’s preschool layout also supports practical independence through child-sized toilets and sinks, alongside opportunities to choose resources and activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Ramillies Hall Nursery is on Ramillies Avenue, Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle, SK8 7AJ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Families can choose a term-time contract covering 39 weeks or an all-year contract covering 50 weeks; the latter includes closures for a week at Christmas and a week at the end of August.

Attendance requirements depend on the funding category and package. Universal-funded and unfunded children have a weekly minimum of 20 hours; working-parent-funded children have a weekly minimum of 30 hours. Non-funded and 15-hour-funded children must attend at least two full days per week. Package 1, the Full Offer, runs from 8am to 6pm across 50 weeks, with an additionally charged Breakfast Club from 7.30am, subject to availability and Nursery Manager approval based on staffing and space; 30-hour funded children must attend at least three full days per week. Package 2, the Basic Offer, expects attendance from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, subject to availability. The Basic Offer covers 38 weeks during Stockport primary school term-time, separately from the general 39-week contract: children must start at the beginning of the school term, and additional hours or swapped days and weeks are not offered. Enquiries begin through the Nursery Enquiry Form, with the office also contactable by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Working Family Funded Childcare provides eligible families with 30 funded hours for 38 weeks, beginning in the term after a child reaches nine months. Universal funded childcare for 3 year olds provides 15 hours for 38 weeks from the term after the third birthday. A further scheme supports qualifying two-year-olds, including children meeting specified benefit, disability, care or guardianship conditions.

Under the general contract terms, funding is distributed across 39 weeks for term-time attendance or stretched across 50 weeks for all-year attendance.

Additional private hours are charged separately, and enhanced provision carries further costs, including a weekly consumables fee. The Full Offer carries an Enrichment Charge for daily essentials and enriching extras. A fully funded basic package is available for families who do not wish or are unable to pay additional costs; under the qualifying two-year-old scheme, extra charges apply only if additional hours are needed. Parents cannot switch from an all-year contract to a termly contract during the year; changes must be requested before September. Termly funded places are subject to availability. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the fees and funding page explains the contract structure.

• Attendance commitment. Package 1 requires three full days per week for 30-hour funded children. Package 2 expects 9am to 3pm attendance Monday to Friday, subject to availability, with a school-term start and no additional hours or swapped days and weeks. Ask which package and attendance requirement would apply to your child.
• Teaching interactions. In June 2022, staff did not consistently extend children’s ideas, and leaders needed stronger coaching and mentoring. On a tour, ask how practitioners now build on spontaneous questions and how leaders support that work.
• Funded package choices. Enhanced provision attracts additional costs and a weekly consumables fee, while a basic fully funded package is also offered. Ask for a written breakdown distinguishing food, non-food consumables and additional hours for your chosen package.
• Younger children’s routines. Oak House has separate sleeping rooms and sensory space. Use a visit to discuss settling, daytime sleep and how your child’s familiar routines would fit those arrangements.

Ramillies Hall suits families who value substantial outdoor space, separate environments for different ages and a preschool day that combines children’s choices with adult-led learning. Full days and term-time places serve different family routines, with package-specific attendance requirements that need to fit the household’s plans.

The June 2022 assessment was positive but identified teaching improvements. Enhanced and basic packages carry different charging implications, making the contract an important part of the decision.