Greenside Day Nursery

A mud kitchen, home-made family books and quiet spaces with sensory toys shaped Greenside Day Nursery’s day in July 2023. Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 6 July 2023 inspection, with positive findings about children’s involvement in play and the curriculum’s use of indoor and outdoor space.

Based at Greenside Primary School on Greenside Lane, Manchester, the nursery has capacity for 54 children, accepting ages from 3 to 59 months. Its opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

In July 2023, older children explored counting and size while filling pots in the mud kitchen; babies practised supported movement using wheeled toys. These were practical experiences, linking learning to things children could handle and do.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children’s learning, development and care. Here, the July 2023 examples included making and painting a model volcano, then experimenting with an eruption: opportunities to explore materials and practise new vocabulary through play.

Books also featured strongly that July. Children selected stories for themselves, while babies recognised their photographs in home-made family books. Staff used story sacks and shared their expertise with colleagues. Family travel photographs appeared on a globe, and children brought objects into something special time, a sharing activity connecting their experiences with discussion about the wider world.

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and recognised inclusive support, but identified limited teaching strategies for some children with SEND, leaving them insufficiently supported to communicate their needs or understand others.

In July 2023, quiet areas and individual sensory resources gave children somewhere to manage their feelings. The manager and special educational needs coordinator directed additional funding towards children’s learning. The communication weakness matters alongside those arrangements: resources and inclusion need teaching that helps each child express themselves.

Parents contributed their priorities to learning plans that July, and language assessment tools were shared to support learning at home. Staff modelled speech, sang songs and read stories. Regular supervision covered staff development and wellbeing, giving practitioners time to discuss their work.

July 2023 lunchtimes combined nutritious food with conversation, and children practised feeding and dressing themselves. Sleeping babies received regular checks, with attention to their sleeping position; staff also maintained training and knew how to record welfare concerns.

The address is Greenside Primary School, Greenside Lane, Manchester, M43 7RA. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas; the weekday opening window runs from 7.30am until 6pm.

In July 2023, funded early education was provided for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated account of participation, rather than a promise of an individual funded place.

• Communication support. The July 2023 improvement action concerned social and communication teaching, including support for children with SEND. Ask how staff now adapt communication strategies to your child’s needs.
• The nursery day. Quiet sensory spaces and family books were part of the July 2023 experience. On a visit, explore how these approaches fit your child’s settling and daily care.
• Attendance arrangements. The opening window extends across the working day, with a Christmas closure. What booking patterns and funded-hours arrangements would apply to your family?

Greenside suits families seeking year-round weekday childcare and those who value the practical, book-centred experiences described in July 2023. The mud kitchen, family books and sensory spaces give that account substance. For a child needing communication support, the teaching weakness identified that July deserves close attention when weighing the nursery’s fit.