URN 2842710 · Inspected 2026-06-16 · Published 2026-08-18 · Inspector: Katie Fowler
Rainbows Nursery Unique reference number (URN): 2842710 Address: Rainbows Day Nursery, Stamford Street, Pendlebury, Swinton, Manchester, M27 6GU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 29/05/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: MQ Childcare Ltd Inspection report: 16 June 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Expected standard Safeguarding standards not met Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding. This puts children at significant risk of harm. Leaders have identified concerns about the safety and welfare of children and failed to notify their local authority children's social care team. As a result, children do not receive the correct support they need to keep them safe from potential harm. This is a breach of the statutory framework for the early years foundation stage and is not in line with their safeguarding policy. 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. Achievement Expected standard Children are ready for the next steps in their learning. Babies explore soft play and tunnels, developing their core strength. Toddlers build on this skill by manipulating dough and using tweezers to develop hand-strength and fine motor skills. Children in the pre-school room demonstrate perseverance as they remain focused on chopping fruit with knives or threading laces through a challenging threading board. Their sustained effort demonstrates growing confidence as they develop skills that are supportive of self-help skills and independence needed for the future. Children can communicate their needs with staff and one another. This includes babies and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who utilise Makaton signs to interact, such as asking for 'more'. These communication skills support children's development through the wider curriculum and to make progress from their starting points. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Children benefit from the consistent routines and expectations that adults provide. The team supports children's understanding of what is coming next. For example, upon hearing a tambourine, all children go and sit on the carpet and then tidy their room to the 'tidy-up song'. Staff encourage children to tell them what part of the routine is next by supporting children to consider contextual clues. Recognising where some children may face barriers, the team also uses visual routines to ensure the curriculum is more accessible. As a result, children's behaviour is really positive. Children are encouraged to work collaboratively, carrying heavy apparatus together and then 'high-fiving' one another. The team gives children the tools they need to begin being able to resolve their own conflicts. As a result, children independently set timers to share resources and queue up to take turns on equipment. This sets children up well for the cooperation and problem-solving skills they need. Staff create close bonds with their key children by being warm and responsive to their needs. This lays the foundations for this to be extended for children among their peers. Children hug their friends on arrival into nursery and snuggle together to look at a book. The team recognises the importance of children attending nursery, following up with parents and carers when children do not attend. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard The setting implements a curriculum that builds on what children know and can do, with a clear focus on communication and language, and promoting a love of stories. Babies benefit from stories read one to one, toddlers enjoy pairing action and songs with books, while pre- school have accessible books that children independently look at when snuggled up with a friend. This sets children up to be lifelong readers, which is supportive of their overall development. Children are also confident communicators, as babies wave and say hello, and pre-school children talk about what they enjoy doing at nursery. The setting utilises information from parents, professionals and their own assessments to plan next steps that support children's development and incorporate their interests. As such, children's interest is sustained and they persist with challenging activities, whilst making progress from their starting points. Typically, the curriculum is taught well. Leaders monitor its implementation and have identified that maths is an area of focus, further supporting and strengthening teaching in this area. For example, they role model practice and have outsourced further training to support this area of development. Staff use mathematical language alongside practice and activities. As a result, children start to use this in context, such as 'empty' or 'gigantic'. Inclusion Expected standard Children are at the heart of this supportive setting. The team has high expectations for children, as they are all supported to reach their full potential. Recognising that not one approach suits everyone, the team utilise a cycle of assessment, planning and reviewing to tailor individualistic support for the children in their care. As a result, children make positive progress from their starting points. Leaders are reflective in their approach. They identify additional training required to best suit children's needs, for example, Makaton training. This gives babies and children that experience barriers in their learning, additional ways to communicate, making the wider curriculum more accessible for everyone. Leaders recognise and champion the importance of a joined-up approach. They regularly involve parents, carers, health visitors, and speech and language therapists in identifying targets for children. This ensures a joined-up approach to children's care, while supporting parents to further their children's development at home. Leaders effectively spend additional funding, identifying reasonable adjustments and specialist resources for children's special Urgent improvement educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, a specialist potty and Makaton books work to effectively reduce barriers to children's learning. Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement Risk assessment is not robust. Leaders fail to recognise risks associated with the current building work, such as access to the nursery building. This puts children at potential risk of harm. The garden is poorly maintained and while some improvement work has begun, swift action to reduce hazards has not been taken. Additionally, the team does not consistently identify when practices present hazards, such as storing play dough in nappy sacks, which are accessible to children. This puts children at potential risk of harm. Typically, children play outside. However, current building work has meant that older children have not been accessing the outdoors. While leaders have considered opportunities for children to access more physical opportunities inside, they have not considered how children can get fresh air and outdoor access, which is a breach of the early years statutory framework. Routines are supportive of children's individual needs. For example, a supportive potty-chair and specialist seating ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have their needs met, and can access the routine alongside their peers. An effective key- person system ensures children are offered warm and responsive care to suit their needs. As a result, children are confident learners who return to a familiar adult for reassurance as needed. Leadership and governance Urgent improvement There are several breaches of the early years foundation stage statutory framework. Leaders do not always recognise children could benefit from early help, and therefore do not make referrals to ensure that they receive the support they need. As a result, children's welfare and safety is at risk. Leaders do not ensure that risks and hazards to children's health and safety are swiftly identified and addressed. They do not ensure the team members are competent and have a thorough enough understanding of risk assessment, therefore exposing children to potential hazards. Leaders have failed to notify Ofsted about a change in the premises that has affected the space available to children as required. Recent building work in the garden means that some children have not been able to access outdoor play. Staff report that they are happy, feel well supported by leaders and the wider team, and genuinely enjoy their roles. They say that they have regular supervision meetings that help to identify any training or coaching needs to enhance their practice further. Leaders and staff regularly communicate with parents and carers to keep them informed about their child's time at nursery. They support parents to continue learning and development at home, sharing assessment information and advice, such as toilet training. The team is proactive in seeking out the views of parents to inform and shape next steps, such as by holding parents' evenings. This ensures that children receive consistent messages, supporting their development. Compulsory Childcare Register requirements This setting has not 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 What it's like to be a child at this setting Leaders do not appropriately respond to and manage safeguarding concerns. Leaders do not always identify and address risks, including security of the setting. While leaders have deemed their outdoor space currently unsuitable, they have not ensured that older children have daily access to the outdoors. These breaches pose risks to children's safety and welfare. Children are happy and settled at this inclusive setting. All children, including those with barriers to their learning, make progress from their starting points. Those with identified barriers benefit from adjustments that the team makes to the provision, such as specialist seating and the use of visuals. This responsive approach helps children to thrive. Children are warmly greeted by familiar staff and generally separate from parents and carers with ease. The team recognises the importance of attendance, following the nursery's policy and following up on absences. Children benefit from close bonds with key people, who positively role model relationships. This supports children's personal, social and emotional development and aids children in forming bonds with one another. This supports the children to work collaboratively to achieve tasks, such as carrying heavy equipment. They are praised by staff but are already proudly beaming upon achieving a difficult task together. This supports their problem-solving and cooperation skills in readiness for the future. Consistent expectations and routines support children to feel safe and know what comes next. The pre-school children know to tidy their room when there are lots of toys on the floor. They work together to reset the room, supporting a sense of belonging and autonomy over their space. Children are supported to be confident communicators, joining in with singing and filling in the gaps when the team pauses to allow them to recall the words. Makaton is used, which supports all children in being able to communicate. For example, babies sign for 'more' snack or drinks. Children engage well in the activities on offer for them. They show resilience and determination in tackling activities that challenge them and sustain their interest. Next steps The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action. We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to have taken the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date ensure leaders and staff have appropriate knowledge that enables them to identify, respond to and appropriately manage safeguarding concerns, in line with local safeguarding procedures 17/07/2026 ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to minimise risks to children 17/07/2026 take all reasonable steps to ensure unauthorised persons are not able to enter the premises 17/07/2026 ensure children have daily access to a safe outdoor area 17/07/2026 ensure leaders are confident in events that are reportable to Ofsted and that they are following the correct procedure 17/07/2026 Inspector: Katie Fowler About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2842710 Address: Rainbows Day Nursery, Stamford Street Pendlebury, Swinton Manchester M27 6GU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 29/05/2025 Registered person: MQ Childcare Ltd Register(s): EYR, CCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Salford 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 About this inspection The inspector spoke with managers, the special educational needs coordinator, practitioners, and parents and children 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. Age range of children at the time of inspection 1 to 4 Total number of places 88 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. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. 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