URN 2840256 · Inspected 2026-06-16 · Published 2026-08-05 · Inspector: Michelle Latchford
Tiddlywinks Nursery School (Heywood) Ltd Unique reference number (URN): 2840256 Address: Taylor Street, Heywood, Rochdale, OL10 1EF Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 08/05/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Tiddlywinks Nursery School (Heywood) Ltd Inspection report: 16 June 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Safeguarding standards met The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe. How we evaluate safeguarding When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes: Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met. Expected standard Achievement Expected standard All children make typical progress from their starting points, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They enjoy their learning and show positive dispositions, such as resilience and a can-do attitude. Children enjoy reading, and books are easily accessible. They explore their favourite and familiar books independently and also during group story sessions. Children listen intently, gasp when pages are turned and clap along as stories are read aloud by adults. Children show a love of books from an early age. Children make sense of the world around them during imaginative play. For instance, they look after dolls and toy babies, feeding them and tending to their imaginary needs. This helps children to develop an awareness of self-care through play and exploration. Children hear plenty of language through reading, talking and conversations. Children's emerging vocabulary is promoted through exposure to this communication-rich environment. Babies develop their core strength as they reach to pop bubbles. Older children extend their coordination as they push tricycles at speed around the garden. Notably, children learn skills in key areas such as language, physical and social development. Generally, children are prepared well for the next stage in their learning. However, young children do not always benefit from age-appropriate teaching, which means their achievement is not always promoted at the highest level. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Staff praise children often for their efforts and hard work. Verbal encouragement and rewards help to build children's positive self-esteem. For instance, children proudly showcase stickers they have received in recognition for helping to tidy away. Celebrations of achievements are meaningful and impact children's sense of pride and esteem. Children enjoy spending time in this nursery and their attendance is consistently high. Children know what is expected of them, which they find reassuring. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from visual timetables, which clearly illustrate the daily routines. Alternatively, verbal instructions are provided throughout the day to support transitions between activities and tasks. Children are supported by clearly communicated and well-established routines that help them to cooperate and behave well. Children are reassured by staff, who are warm and friendly in their interactions. Children check familiar adults are nearby during games, indicating their contentedness in their company. Additionally, children play with peers and friendships begin to develop, extending children's social confidence. Generally, children are inquisitive and eager to learn. However, the volume of noise in some of the nursery rooms is occasionally excessively high. Children are sometimes distracted by the noise, which impacts on their focus and concentration. This environment does not fully promote children's positive attitude to learning. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Typically, staff adapt their care practices to meet children's individual needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For instance, some children benefit from one-to-one care so they are fully supported. This helps to ensure that needs are met, promoting children's welfare and wellbeing. Babies and children who are tired are offered a place to rest whenever needed. This further exemplifies the responsive and adaptive approach to care routines to meet children's ever-changing and unique needs. Mealtimes are safely managed. Staff sit alongside children when eating to promote their welfare through close supervision. Children are encouraged to 'eat the rainbow', describing the importance of a varied and nutritious diet. The menu has been designed after close consultation with parents and families. This has helped to achieve a collective awareness and appreciation of healthy eating, both in the setting and beyond. Mealtimes promote children's health, safety and wellbeing effectively. Staff complete regular safety checks of the environment, both indoors and outdoors. They know what may present a possible risk to children and take steps to remove or reduce this. For instance, when children sleep, staff lower the lighting to create a calm and suitable space for rest. They also ensure there is some illumination to keep children and staff safe. The welfare of children is given a high priority. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Staff interactions are energetic and lively. This approach to teaching helps to enthuse children and ignite their curiosity. For instance, staff read books aloud using different characters' voices. They are highly expressive in their enactment of the story, which in turn mesmerises children and fosters their enjoyment in reading. Staff are actively involved in children's games, providing suggestions to extend learning as opportunities arise. To illustrate this, a simple ball game largely promotes children's physical skills as they roll and pass balls. Learning is extended when children are encouraged to count each time the ball moves, incorporating mathematics and language into their learning. Generally, teaching is ambitious and learning is fun. The curriculum is carefully designed and typically well sequenced. This means that, generally, children benefit from appropriate learning opportunities for their age and stage of development. Learning is prioritised in communication, social and physical development in the first instance. More complex concepts of literacy and mathematics are introduced when children are ready and able to understand. However, occasionally, staff working with babies ask complex questions that are too difficult for babies to understand. Staff working with these youngest children lack confidence to ensure their interactions are always closely aligned with babies' developmental stages. Staff check what children know when they first start attending. They add to this knowledge through their ongoing observations and tracking systems. Staff develop an accurate picture of children's changing abilities and needs. They understand where children need support and generally use this information to inform their teaching. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders and staff are open and receptive to working closely with a wide range of professionals. In the short time the nursery has been operating, they have amassed a wealth of positive working relationships. For instance, visual impairment specialists, local authority special educational needs workers, health visitors, speech therapists and teachers are among the many multi-agency links. Leaders value the expertise these professionals offer and implement their advice quickly. This impacts positively on children's learning because their needs are well met. Leaders carefully and regularly monitor children's assessment data to assure themselves that everyone is progressing well, including those with barriers to their learning. Additional funding for eligible children and families is spent carefully to create equal opportunities for all children. Typically, staff successfully support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They observe all children to build an accurate picture of their abilities. They use this knowledge to typically implement adaptations to the equipment, environment and activities where needed. Care plans with targets are written quickly and shared with key workers to facilitate focused support. However, care plans are not always shared swiftly with every staff member to ensure that children benefit from consistent teaching from everyone who supports them. To illustrate this, recent assessments completed on children's speech have not been shared with all staff swiftly. This means children do not always receive the same high-quality interactions from all staff, which impacts their learning. Leadership and governance Expected standard Partnerships with parents are a notable strength to celebrate. Parents are welcomed into the setting frequently for stay-and-play sessions or special celebrations. These events, coupled with regular detailed feedback on children's experiences, help to create positive relationships between staff and families. This is a secure foundation for collaborative working to benefit children. Leaders understand the value and importance of professional development and training for staff. All staff have completed mandatory training, and leaders arrange for wider training to be undertaken by staff to strengthen their skills. Some staff will benefit from more targeted training to strengthen their teaching even more. Typically, the families who attend this setting are from the local community. Leaders and staff have a very clear understanding of the local area context they operate within. Staff know the challenges children and families face and strive to help and assist wherever possible. For instance, dental packs and information on the impact of dummy use on speech are shared with parents. This greatly benefits outcomes for children. Members of the leadership team undertake different key responsibilities dependent on their personal strengths. This successful strategy means workload is shared and expertise is optimised. The setting is led by committed leaders who strive to offer children the best start in their lives. Leaders work closely with the local authority quality advisor to reflect and evaluate. They know what they do well. However, priorities to improve are not clearly defined. This means that they have not created a strong culture of driving continual improvements. Compulsory Childcare Register requirements This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met Voluntary Childcare Register requirements This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met What it's like to be a child at this setting Children arrive happy and are ready to play and learn. They skip through the door and confidently wave goodbye to their parents and carers as they eagerly anticipate the day Inspector: ahead. They demonstrate a positive and curious attitude because they have fun and enjoy their time spent in this stimulating and safe nursery. Children have plenty of opportunities to play outside. When playing in the garden, children benefit from wide open spaces alongside covered play areas, which enable children to access fresh air in all weathers. Children explore nature when outside. For instance, they enjoy planting and watering seeds. There is a good mix of learning indoors and outdoors to support everyone's learning preferences. Furthermore, children's health is promoted through regular fresh air and exercise. Children understand the importance of being kind to each other. Kindness, respect and empathy are taught at every opportunity, and this is a significant strength of the curriculum design. For instance, older children enjoy circle time activities where they discuss different emotions. Younger children enjoy cooperative games where they learn to take turns with each other. These age-appropriate strategies help children to develop emotional maturity. Children are excited to greet the nursery dog 'Maureen' as she visits their room, supervised by a senior member of staff. They help to take care of Maureen, learning empathy and kindness through gentle and considerate interactions with her. They immediately go to wash their hands after interacting with the animal, showing an awareness of the importance of personal hygiene. Children thrive emotionally and developmentally, supported by attentive, compassionate and friendly staff. Next steps Leaders should support staff to provide high-quality interactions between babies and each other to ensure a consistent approach towards children's learning and development. Leaders should support staff to reduce distractions and loud noises in the environment to help younger children to develop their focus and attention during play. Leaders should consistently identify areas to improve and develop staff's professional development to raise the quality of teaching even more. About this inspection The inspector spoke with staff, children, leaders and external professionals during the inspection. We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage. Michelle Latchford About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2840256 Address: Taylor Street Heywood Rochdale OL10 1EF Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 08/05/2025 Registered person: Tiddlywinks Nursery School (Heywood) Ltd Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00,Saturday : 08:00 - 16:00 Local authority: Rochdale Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 16 June 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 9 Total number of places 57 Our grades explained Exceptional Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it. Strong standard The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them. Expected standard The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them. Needs attention The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements. Urgent improvement The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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