Old Crofts Bank Nursery School

A large garden, natural play resources and meals shared in small groups give Old Crofts Bank Nursery School its character. This Urmston setting combines opportunities to explore with practical jobs such as helping to serve food. The appeal is concrete: children can investigate their surroundings and take a useful part in everyday routines.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 21 June 2023 inspection. That judgement comes with two important improvement points: the consistency of adults’ language support and how well the youngest children’s learning needs were considered when groups combined. Both deserve attention when choosing care for a baby or toddler.

At 14 Old Crofts Bank, Urmston, Manchester, M41 7AA, the nursery accepts children from 2 months to 5 years. Full days, shorter days and separate morning and afternoon sessions give families several attendance patterns, with funding stretched across the year.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: play, conversation, movement and everyday routines contribute to their learning. Here, natural resources and spaces adapted to children’s interests provide the setting for that work. Areas are organised for babies, toddlers and preschool children, rather than treating their needs as interchangeable.

Cookery gives children hands-on experience with ingredients and opportunities to learn about growing food. It connects something familiar, eating, with investigation and practical skills. Yoga and community trips are also part of the additional activity offer. Forest School, an approach to learning outdoors through exploration and practical activity, adds another way to engage with the world beyond indoor play.

In June 2023, babies explored books alongside adults, while older children read with friends and used books to find information as well as enjoy stories. Preschool children searched the garden for insects and linked their discoveries with a story they had heard. These examples connected reading with something children could investigate for themselves.

Language support was less consistent in June 2023. Some adults moved conversations along before children had enough time to answer, and pronunciation was not always modelled accurately for younger children. The issue was the quality of the exchange, rather than a shortage of things to talk about. Children’s opportunities to practise language depended on how adults responded to them.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden gives outdoor exploration a substantial place in the nursery’s environment. Indoors, natural materials invite children to handle and investigate resources, while areas change with their interests. These are useful features for families who value learning through direct experience rather than an activity schedule alone.

In June 2023, balance beams and a trim trail gave children opportunities to practise movement and balance. Babies crawled and pulled themselves up using furniture. Reclaimed and vintage materials in the preschool space also prompted investigation, showing how ordinary objects could become resources for exploration.

British Heart Foundation is the nursery’s chosen charity partner. Fundraising activities across the year include sponsored challenges, bake sales and dress-up days. This gives families a shared cause to participate in and children a practical introduction to helping others; it also means some events involve dressing up.

In June 2023, babies sought comfort from familiar adults when unsettled. Older children helped prepare the lunch table and managed their own toileting, while children building a train track discussed its design together. Care and independence sat alongside each other: adults offered comfort, and everyday tasks gave children opportunities to do things for themselves.

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including environmental adjustments and joint working with parents and professionals. Those findings describe practice at that visit, rather than a promise about any individual child’s experience today.

The youngest children’s experience needs careful consideration. In June 2023, occasional combinations of rooms disrupted learning because staff did not consistently account for the needs of every child. For a parent choosing a baby or toddler place, the important issue is how activities and adult attention remain appropriate when children of different stages spend time together.

Family-style meals are taken in smaller groups, with children able to help serve. An on-site chef prepares food, using local ingredients where possible, and menus accommodate dietary requirements. Mealtimes therefore offer both a care routine and an opportunity to practise independence.

Sessions and Attendance

Four booking patterns provide different lengths of day. Full Days run from 7.30am to 6pm; Short Days run from 8.30am to 4pm. Mornings are 8am to 1pm, and Afternoons are 1pm to 6pm. The shorter day starts later and finishes earlier, while the morning and afternoon patterns allow attendance for part of the day.

Attendance operates across the year. Christmas week and two staff-training days are closure periods, and fee calculations also account for bank holidays. Monthly invoices use the same amount each month, so planned closure months do not produce a different bill. Fees remain payable when a child is absent through illness or another reason.

The nursery has its own enquiry form, and families can request a fee sheet by email. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. A non-refundable registration charge reserves a place, and a deposit is applied to the first invoice. These are separate payments with different purposes.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers the Government’s 15 Hours and 30 Hours funding for eligible children aged 9 months and above. Funding is stretched over 51 weeks: the respective weekly amounts are up to 11.18 and 22.35 hours. This spreads the entitlement across year-round attendance rather than concentrating it into school terms.

Funded time can be used within regular sessions, with a maximum of 10 funded hours in a day. A Full Day therefore includes an additional half-hour that is charged privately. For the larger stretched entitlement, the first 20 hours can be used across two full days, with the remaining 2.35 hours applied to another full or partial day. The smaller entitlement can be distributed across full or partial days.

Private fees include meals and snacks, formula and milk, together with nappies, wipes, nappy cream and sun cream. Additional activities are included too. Funded sessions have a different structure: food and health-and-hygiene consumables attract separate charges, and activity charges apply to children over 2, with no activity charge for under-2s. Additional hours are paid for separately. The full cost therefore depends on the attendance pattern and the mix of funded and private time.

• Language exchanges. June 2023 brought concerns about response time and pronunciation during adult-child conversations. During a visit, ask how practitioners now give younger children time to answer and extend their language.
• Combined groups. The June 2023 improvement point concerned the youngest children when rooms came together. Ask how those periods are organised and how babies’ and toddlers’ individual learning needs are maintained.
• Funded-session costs. Meals and consumables are included in private fees. During funded attendance, additional food, health-and-hygiene and applicable activity charges apply. Review a written quotation for your chosen pattern, including the private time within a Full Day and alternatives to the integrated offer.
• Dietary needs. Menus accommodate dietary requirements and meals are prepared on site. Families managing an allergy should discuss the current preparation and serving arrangements for their child.

Old Crofts Bank suits families seeking a garden-led nursery day with natural resources, practical cookery and opportunities for children to help themselves. Its attendance offer serves both families needing Full Days and those choosing Short Days, mornings or afternoons. The stretched funding model is useful for comparing a year-round pattern with the household’s working week.

The decision should also give weight to the June 2023 improvement points. Adult conversation and the organisation of combined groups matter directly to younger children’s experience. For families considering a baby or toddler place, understanding those arrangements is as important as the garden and activity offer.