Little Giggles Private Day Nursery & Preschool, Leigh

A balance-bike area, a mud kitchen and garden access from most rooms give Little Giggles Leigh a clear outdoor identity. The sensory room provides a different pace, with space for children to relax. These are useful contrasts within one setting: movement and messy exploration alongside somewhere to unwind.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 19 July 2023, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. Little Giggles has capacity for 161 children aged 1 to 60 months, at its Grasmere Street premises in Leigh. That whole-setting capacity should be kept separate from the number of children in an individual room.

Rooms and Ages

Outdoor access starts with the youngest children. The baby room opens directly outside, while the room for children aged one to two has access to the sensory room; children aged two to three have two rooms with their own garden, and preschool has free-flow access to a large garden. Different ages therefore have their own outdoor spaces rather than relying on a single shared garden.

Across the nursery, windows and French doors bring daylight and connections to outdoor areas, while each room has bathroom facilities and a private changing space. The layout makes outdoor play and personal care part of the room arrangements.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent terms, that connects play and conversation with developing movement, early number understanding and everyday independence; it is the shared framework for early years provision, rather than an extra programme exclusive to Little Giggles.

In July 2023, counting songs and rhymes introduced numbers, while water play gave children opportunities to explore quantity. Books served more than one purpose: children listened to stories together and used them to discover information. In July 2023, staff regularly introduced new words to build children's vocabulary.

In July 2023, the newly appointed manager was helping staff put a new curriculum into practice, but the effects of that work could not yet be fully assessed.

There was a specific weakness. In July 2023, adults sometimes used shortened words or pronounced them incorrectly, and the improvement action was to give children more accurate spoken models. This matters because introducing new vocabulary and demonstrating how to say it are different parts of language teaching.

Outdoor and Community Life

The balance-bike area is designed for learning to ride, and the mud kitchen gives messy exploration a dedicated setting. Garden access from most rooms makes the outdoor areas a substantial part of the building's design. The nursery occupies the former Grasmere Medical Centre, beside the children's park at the end of Grasmere Street.

In July 2023, children practised balance and coordination using climbing frames and hoops. Dough disco involved squeezing and pinching dough to develop the hand muscles used for writing, while babies used sturdy furniture to support themselves as they learnt to stand. Physical development covered both larger movements and the smaller actions needed later for pencil control.

Relationships and Communication

In July 2023, staff reassured babies around unfamiliar adults, and children formed relationships with staff and one another. Everyday routines included learning to take turns and helping children manage their own coats and toileting. Older children also helped prepare tables for meals. Independence was practised through manageable tasks, rather than treated only as preparation for school.

Parents were kept informed about their child's learning and nursery day in July 2023. That communication connected what happened in the setting with families' understanding of their children's development. The practical detail matters more than a general promise of good parent partnership.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support good, with individual activity plans, coordination with other professionals and a SENCO who understood children's needs. These were dated judgements about how support worked, including the mechanisms behind it.

In July 2023, changes in routine were explained using objects and visual cues, and children who felt anxious could use a quiet space. Colour Monster, a story used to help children express feelings, gave them a way to talk about emotions. The current sensory room adds a physical space for relaxing, though it serves a different purpose from describing an individual child's support plan.

Meningitis Now's Meningitis Aware Recognition Mark recognises staff training in spotting symptoms and responding if a child becomes ill. This is a specific health-training recognition; it sits alongside the broader, dated safeguarding judgement.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.15am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Those closures matter for families planning childcare through the working year.

Getting There

The address is Grasmere Street, Leigh, WN7 1XB, in the former Grasmere Medical Centre. Parking is provided at the nursery.

Free school collections and drop-offs cover Leigh Central Primary School and Leigh Sacred Heart Primary School. These are transport arrangements for school-aged children, rather than an admissions relationship or a promise about moving into Reception.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare of up to 30 hours per week is offered, subject to eligibility. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Language modelling. The July 2023 improvement action concerned adults' pronunciation and shortened vocabulary. During a visit, listen to how practitioners extend children's conversation and introduce unfamiliar words.
• Outdoor access for your child's age. The baby room opens directly outside, while the older age groups have their own garden arrangements. A tour can show how those spaces are used across the day.
• Your attendance and quotation. With weekday opening from 7.15am to 6pm and funded childcare offered, ask how your proposed attendance would be booked and how meals, consumables and funded hours would be set out in the written quotation.

Little Giggles Leigh suits families who value outdoor play across the age groups, a dedicated sensory room and care operating through the year. Its balance-bike area and mud kitchen give that practical offer substance. The July 2023 judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by a precise language-teaching improvement action. For a parent choosing between settings, the useful combination here is the physical layout and the dated detail about children's everyday experiences.