Rainbows Nursery Southpoint

Rainbows Nursery Southpoint

Unique reference number (URN): 2858363 Address: Units 9-10, 12 Lane End Road, Burnage, Manchester, M19 1TU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 14/08/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Rainbows Day Nursery (Manchester) Ltd

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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.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

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.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff are excellent role models. They teach children about kindness, respect and compassion as they frequently role model these values through play, discussions and when exploring stories. Staff actively promote children's personal, social and emotional development. They invest time in helping children to understand about turn-taking and help children to play alongside each other in a harmonious way. Children are actively supported to help to tidy up the toys and resources and to develop respect for their environment. Staff frequently notice and acknowledge children's efforts and offer praise and encouragement. This motivates children and helps them to understand the routines and boundaries of the setting. Staff use a range of strategies to support children to understand about their feelings and emotions. For instance, they redirect children to a calm corner and support them to regulate their emotions by using a range of fidget toys and calming resources. They also

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

frequently name and validate different emotions as they play to help to build their emotional development. Leaders take a keen interest in ensuring children attend regularly. They work closely with the local authority to explore barriers and reasons for inconsistent attendance and put different strategies in place to help children to access their full entitlement of hours.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's emotional wellbeing and safety are given high priority. Leaders and staff offer gradual settling procedures where in-depth knowledge is gained about children's differing interests, current stage of development and needs. This information is then skilfully used to ensure children receive responsive support to settle in and gain confidence at the setting. Children form secure attachments with staff who demonstrate excellent knowledge about the importance of building trusting and supportive relationships. They are passionate about helping the whole family to feel happy and a real sense of belonging. For instance, they use translation tools to communicate with parents and carers who do not speak fluent English. This helps to offer collaborative and consistent care and education to children. Leaders and staff are committed to ensuring all children have a voice at the setting. They participate in

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

programmes where they advocate for children's rights and help children to be active decision makers in their play and learning. Furthermore, they arrange talks from local road- safety teams to empower children to understand the importance of road safety.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The setting has also been awarded a 'Healthy Smiles' award for their commitment to offering high-quality food and meals that promote nutrition at the setting. They frequently teach children about healthy choices and plan lots of first-hand experiences to grow different fruits and vegetables and experience new foods. In addition, staff engage in promoting physical development training and deeply reflect on how they support children of all ages to develop their physical skills. For instance, they build in lots of tummy time for babies and support older children to engage in more challenging and risky physical play, for example, by frequently visiting the local park to enhance their strength, coordination and balance. Children's oral health is also promoted superbly. This is apparent when children learn about

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Expected standard

the importance of caring for their teeth when a dentist comes to visit and also when they receive toothbrushes and toothpaste when they first join the nursery.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Inclusion and equality are at the heart of this welcoming setting. Leaders and staff know children and families extremely well. They identify children's individual needs through early observations, daily conversations with parents and carers, communication trackers and individual plans. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing receive swift and effective support to help them to meet their unique needs and support them to move forward in their development. Leaders have high integrity in relation to making a real difference to children and families. They work in close partnership with the local children's centre and a wide range of other professionals, as well as the inclusion team at the local authority. Leaders' wealth of experience and knowledge enables them to contribute ideas in relation to how SEND provision can be enhanced across the setting and the wider borough through

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Inclusion Strong standard

contributing to audits and the evaluation of services.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff successfully reduce barriers in a sensitive way. They adapt routines, use visual aids and pictures, implement sign language and review the learning environments in order for children to take part alongside their peers. Support is skilfully and regularly reviewed and adapted when children's needs change. Staff use shared next steps and discussion to check whether the support in place is making a difference. This helps them to see positive changes in children's communication, confidence and independence. Leaders and staff have in-depth knowledge of the importance of using additional funding to target any gaps in children's learning. They invest in communication and language resources to help target this area of development. Leaders are passionate about helping children to understand what makes them unique and about others' lives different to their own. Staff engage in meaningful programmes, which promote equality and celebrate all children

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Inclusion Strong standard

through a range of fun and age-appropriate activities. Strategies such as these help to teach children about diversity.

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Achievement Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language and those who may face other barriers to their learning and wellbeing make positive progress across all areas of learning. They build confidence and demonstrate their independence as they make decisions about their play. They also serve their own food at mealtimes and develop polite table manners as they engage in conversations with staff and their peers. This helps to develop children's attention, social skills and coordination.

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Achievement Expected standard

Furthermore, children enjoy exploring books about the farm, different animals and what sounds they make. This helps them to build their knowledge of nature and the wider world. Children engage in recycling projects and learn about the importance of caring for the environment. They also engage in activities such as growing vegetables in a community garden to help deepen their knowledge of different fruits and vegetables and what plants need to help them to grow. Children clearly thrive at the setting and are well supported to be ready for their next stage of learning and their eventual move on to school.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum is generally designed well to support all areas of learning. Overall, staff plan effectively for children's individual needs and make adaptations to ensure that all children are able to learn and make positive progress. On occasion, the resources staff use and the way they deliver the curriculum do not fully enable children to extend their language skills and learning to the very highest level. For instance, when playing in the mud kitchen outdoors, although children have lots of fun and gain appropriate new language and counting skills, staff do not help them to fully extend their imagination and problem-solving skills to the highest level.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Throughout the day, children show happiness and eagerness to join in. They enjoy exploring a range of locks, switches and buttons. This fosters their concentration and hand–eye coordination as they play. They also have fun listening to stories such as 'The Gruffalo', and staff support them to discuss his orange eyes and the purple prickles all over his back. This helps to develop their listening and attention skills and builds a love of reading and early literacy. Furthermore, children like participating in drawing with chalks, and staff help them to discuss different facial features and how they feel. During play, staff frequently weave in opportunities for counting and making comparisons. This is evident when they participate in construction activities. They count bricks and discuss which structure is the tallest. This helps to develop children's early awareness of mathematics.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leadership and governance are a strength of the setting. Leaders are ambitious, committed and reflective. They are particularly dedicated to ensuring the setting is fully inclusive and that they work in close partnership with harder-to-reach families. Leaders and staff organise frequent stay-and-play sessions where they can give parents informal advice and guidance in relation to dummy use, toilet training, supporting mealtimes and positive behaviour. They also offer frequent support with funding or school applications for parents and carers who have less experience of these processes. Recruitment procedures are rigorous to ensure that staff are suitable for their roles. Leaders also offer a well-structured induction programme that is followed by all newly appointed staff. This includes regular team meetings, supervision arrangements and in-house apprenticeship workshops. Furthermore, leaders provide ongoing modelling and guidance to staff so that they develop a core

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

understanding of child development and are able to deliver supportive care and education. Staff engage in meaningful training, such as baby training, promoting physical development and sleep training. However, at times, leaders do not fully monitor whether key messages from training are consistently implemented. For example, staff do not consistently prioritise how they can fully extend children's learning to the highest level.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Partnerships with parents and building a supportive community are at the centre of the ethos of the nursery. Parents cannot speak more highly of the setting. They state that their children are cherished, celebrated and nurtured by the committed and loving staff. They also highlight that their children are making notable progress and that they love attending.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children evidently flourish and thoroughly enjoy their time at this highly inclusive and nurturing setting. Responsive and caring interactions are securely embedded and help to support children's wellbeing and emotional development. Children demonstrate that they feel happy, safe and secure. They regularly smile and laugh and seek out cuddles from the staff that they form meaningful bonds with. Children are routinely treated with respect and kindness by the caring and attentive staff and are highly valued as unique individuals. Any potential barriers that some children may face to their learning and wellbeing are well understood by leaders and staff. Consequently, all children receive tailored support to enable them to make positive progress and enjoy the range of available activities alongside their peers.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children demonstrate positive levels of motivation and curiosity as they play and learn. High priority is given to exploration and providing children with lots of time to practise and secure new knowledge and play skills. For instance, young children enjoy exploring play dough and receive effective support to discuss how it feels and learn words such as 'roll', 'pat' and 'mould'. They also enjoy looking at pine cones and the patterns they make in the dough and discuss how the season is changing to autumn. In addition, children generally have fun exploring in the mud kitchen outdoors and receive helpful support to make comparisons, count their scoops of mud and pretend they are making soup and mud pies. This effectively fosters their communication skills, imagination and early mathematical knowledge.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children consistently display positive attitudes towards learning and are motivated learners. They respond superbly to the well-established routines and boundaries at the setting. Children gain confidence and a positive view of themselves as they play. They evidently benefit from lots of encouragement and praise from the responsive staff. Children show high levels of emotional security and enjoyment as they play, explore and learn.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to review the impact of staff training to further strengthen staff interactions to extend children's learning to an even higher level.

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Address:

Units 9-10 12 Lane End Road Burnage Manchester M19 1TU

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Rainbows Day Nursery (Manchester) Ltd

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. Leaders should continue to develop how staff plan activities to more precisely support children's next steps and further develop the depth of the curriculum.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children and parents during the inspection.

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About this 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. This data is from 10 September 2026

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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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.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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