Mini Fingers Day Nursery

Mini Fingers Day Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2867489 Address: 658 Liverpool Road, Irlam, Manchester, M44 5AD Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 14/11/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: The Maxwell Team Limited

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. Leaders do not implement effective safeguarding policies and procedures. Arrangements for the use of mobile phones with imaging and sharing capabilities do not adequately protect children. Staff have access to smartphones in children's rooms that can take and transmit images. Leaders have not assessed the risks associated with their use or established effective monitoring arrangements. Furthermore, safeguarding procedures do not accurately reflect how these devices are used in practice. Consequently, leaders cannot assure themselves that children's images and information are adequately protected.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders do not take all reasonable steps to identify and manage risks within the premises. Environmental checks fail to identify hazards in areas accessed by children, including loose screws, exposed nails and hanging wires. Leaders do not recognise or respond promptly to some risks when they are identified. A fire-exit route is not kept clear. As a result, arrangements for identifying and addressing risks do not adequately protect children's physical safety.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders do not implement rigorous safer-recruitment procedures. Their recruitment processes do not consistently enable them to effectively explore and assess applicants' suitability, knowledge and competence before appointment. Leaders also do not identify and follow up discrepancies in recruitment information. As a result, they cannot demonstrate that their recruitment processes provide sufficient assurance about the suitability of those they employ.

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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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Achievement Needs attention

Some children do not make secure progress from their individual starting points. They do not consistently build on and consolidate what they already know and can do. At times, children's engagement in learning is limited. This restricts the progress some children make in developing and securing age- and stage-appropriate knowledge and skills for their future learning.

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Achievement Needs attention

Nevertheless, some children make progress in aspects of their learning and development. Some children who initially experience delays in their communication develop their language skills over time and become more confident communicators. Children also make gains in their personal, social and emotional development. For example, they develop relationships with their peers and become increasingly able to communicate their needs.

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Achievement Needs attention

The youngest children develop early communication, physical and exploratory skills. Babies respond to familiar words and songs, copy actions and investigate different textures and resources. Despite these positive gains, some children's achievement remains limited, and they do not securely develop the knowledge and skills they need for their future learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders' curriculum intentions are not implemented consistently across the setting. Some staff do not have a secure enough understanding of what individual children know and can do or what they need to learn next. As a result, activities and interactions do not consistently build purposefully on children's learning. At times, staff are occupied with other tasks, which interrupts teaching and contributes to children becoming disengaged.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The organisation of the curriculum does not consistently take account of the differing ages and developmental needs of children. When children of significantly different ages are cared for together, learning experiences are not sufficiently adapted or challenging for all children. Some children become bored and move quickly between activities. This also disrupts younger children's engagement and learning. Leaders acknowledge that the resources and activities available do not consistently meet the developmental needs of all children.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teaching is more effective for the youngest children. Staff have a clearer understanding of what they want babies to learn. They model words, sing songs and introduce simple mathematical language and concepts during play. Staff provide sensory experiences and encourage babies to explore, make choices and copy actions. Babies respond positively to these interactions, repeating actions and remaining engaged in their learning.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not use additional funding effectively enough to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children. They do not have an effective approach to deciding how funding will be used to address children's identified barriers. Leaders do not consistently identify the intended outcomes from this expenditure or evaluate the difference it makes. As a result, they cannot demonstrate that additional funding is making the impact for disadvantaged children.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders recognise when some children face significant barriers to attending regularly. However, where inconsistent attendance has continued to limit the implementation and evaluation of support over an extended period, leaders have not taken effective action to secure additional advice or support. This delays the identification of children's needs and the progression of further intervention.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Staff generally identify children who require additional help and respond to their individual circumstances. They develop individual support plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and work with parents and other professionals to coordinate support. Staff know the circumstances of children who have additional barriers to learning

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Urgent improvement

and contribute to meetings with other professionals, helping to provide continuity of support for children and their families.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Leaders have not established effective routines that consistently support children to develop positive attitudes to learning. This is particularly evident in the provision for children aged over two. Children spend significant periods without purposeful engagement. They frequently wander between experiences, become bored and rarely sustain their attention for more than a few minutes. Poor deployment and limited practitioner knowledge mean that adults do not consistently recognise or respond to children's disengagement. As a result, children are not developing the persistence, independence and self-regulation they need for future learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Leaders' oversight of attendance is also insufficient. Although practitioners understand procedures for following up unexplained absence, leaders do not ensure that persistent poor attendance is addressed effectively. For some children, inconsistent attendance significantly disrupts continuity in their learning and development.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Children generally have positive relationships with others. They are kind, share resources and respond to praise. Staff make some adaptations for children's individual circumstances and encourage independence during some routines. However, this is inconsistent. Children experience prolonged periods of waiting, and opportunities to practise independence and develop sustained engagement are limited. As a result, the routines children experience do not adequately prepare them with the behaviours and attitudes they need for their next stage of learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Leaders have not ensured that arrangements to protect children's welfare and safety are effective. On the day of the inspection, children used areas where loose screws, wood with exposed nails and wires at children's height were accessible. A fire-exit route used by children was not kept clear. Leaders did not recognise or respond promptly to some of these risks until they were brought to their attention. This shows significant weaknesses in leaders' ability to identify and minimise risks to children. As a result, children's safety is not assured.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

There are wider weaknesses in children's care. Hygiene practices do not consistently promote children's good health. Staff do not always follow appropriate handwashing routines before children eat. Arrangements for children's individual care are also inconsistent. Some practitioners are unclear about key-person responsibilities, including for children who require support with intimate care and developing self-care skills.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Some aspects of care are effective. Staff know children's dietary requirements, allergies and stages of weaning. They provide food appropriate to children's developmental needs and encourage independence at mealtimes. Staff understand safer-sleep procedures and babies are settled safely to sleep.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not have effective oversight of the provision and do not demonstrate a secure understanding of their statutory responsibilities. Governance arrangements are weak. Leaders are unclear about the responsibilities associated with their role. Leaders do not identify significant weaknesses in practice or take prompt action when concerns are identified. This has resulted in significant weaknesses in safeguarding and children's welfare, alongside inconsistencies in teaching and routines.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Systems for monitoring practice are ineffective. Leaders have not identified weaknesses in environmental safety, key-person arrangements or the quality of children's experiences. Their oversight of additional funding does not ensure that it is used precisely to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not consistently support staff's professional development and wellbeing. Inexperienced staff are not provided with sufficient time during their working hours for their off-the-job learning, and leaders do not understand these arrangements. Staff are also unclear about when they last received supervision or what actions were agreed. As a result, professional development and supervision do not consistently help staff develop the knowledge and expertise they need for their roles.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Relationships with parents are more positive. Parents receive information about children's progress, and staff work with families and other professionals to support children's individual circumstances. However, leaders do not demonstrate sufficient capacity to identify and address significant weaknesses across the provision.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has not met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has not met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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

Children's health, welfare and safety are not consistently assured. Significant weaknesses in safeguarding practice mean that children are not consistently protected from harm. Children encounter hazards that established checks fail to identify, and staff do not consistently follow appropriate hygiene practices. Nevertheless, children benefit from some appropriate care routines. Babies sleep safely, and children's dietary requirements and stages of weaning are understood.

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

Children's day-to-day experiences vary considerably across the nursery. Babies generally enjoy warm and responsive interactions with staff. They smile, explore sensory experiences and respond enthusiastically to songs and familiar words. They copy actions and begin to use early mathematical language during their play. Older children do not consistently enjoy the same quality of experience. They frequently move between activities without becoming meaningfully engaged and spend periods waiting for adults to organise what happens next. This limits their enjoyment of learning and the progress they make.

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

Children generally develop positive relationships with one another. They share resources, respond positively to praise and are kind towards their peers. However, routines do not consistently help children to develop independence, sustained attention and self-regulation. Children of significantly different ages are sometimes cared for together without experiences being adapted sufficiently to meet their differing developmental needs.

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

Children who face additional barriers to their learning receive some individual support. Staff know the circumstances of children who are known to children's social care and work with other professionals. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have support plans to help them make progress. However, persistent poor attendance for some children disrupts the continuity of this support and limits their learning. Overall, children experience positive relationships and make progress in some aspects of their development. However, significant weaknesses in safety, care, routines and the quality of learning mean that children do not consistently achieve, belong and thrive as well as they should.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

ensure safeguarding policies and procedures are effective, reflect practice in the setting and are consistently implemented, including robust controls for the use of mobile phones, cameras and other devices with imaging and sharing capabilities, so that children are protected from harm 15/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that the designated safeguarding lead has the knowledge and understanding to identify and assess safeguarding risks, including those associated with the use of technology, and implements effective measures to protect children from harm 15/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure effective risk-assessment arrangements identify hazards promptly, and that action is taken to remove or minimise risks before children access affected areas, including maintaining safe and unobstructed fire-exit routes 15/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure safer-recruitment procedures enable leaders to rigorously assess applicants' suitability, knowledge and competence and that recruitment information is appropriately scrutinised, verified and followed up before appointments are made 15/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure supervision arrangements are effective to tackle weaknesses in staff and managers' practice so they are able to fulfil their roles and duties effectively 15/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

implement effective procedures to follow up children's absences and take appropriate action where absences give rise to safeguarding concerns 15/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure the key-person system is effective in meeting each child's individual care and learning needs and in 15/10/2026

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Address:

658 Liverpool Road Irlam Manchester M44 5AD

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Action Completion Date

supporting parents to seek additional help where appropriate

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Action Completion Date

improve hygiene practices to ensure that children's good health is promoted and the risk of cross-infection is minimised 15/10/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure the implementation of the curriculum is effective so that practitioners understand what individual children need to learn next, and provide purposeful experiences that are appropriate and meet children's different ages, developmental stages and starting points 16/11/2026

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Action Completion Date

establish effective routines and deployment that support children to remain purposefully engaged and develop independence, sustained attention, persistence and self-regulation in preparation for future learning 16/11/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children, parents and carers 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. Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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About this inspection

Registered person: The Maxwell Team Limited

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 19:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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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.

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Urgent improvement

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

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