Bubbly Bear
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open a few years
A day nursery in Manchester for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 07:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £61.00 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2021, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
51 weeks a year.
| Age | Full day | Session | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £61.00 | £42.00Afternoon, 5 hrs £43.00Morning, 6 hrs £47.00School day, 6 hrs |
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Government funding and working parent funding places for children from 9 months old up to 4 years old.
Worth knowing. Funding hours cannot be deducted through monies, funding hours will be deducted through hours and sessions.
What childcare usually costs in Manchester
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Manchester from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
M22 5JAWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 22 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff focus on children's self-assurance and confidence. They celebrate their successes and encourage children through their own good modelling of behaviour.
Older children engage keenly with visitors to the setting. They approach the inspector, showing their favourite toys and playing an animated game. They test different objects in the water tray, having the inspector predict whether they will sink or float. They cheer when the inspector is right, and say 'oh well, maybe next time' when she is wrong. They display wonderful social skills and resilience, encouraging the inspector and their friends to keep on trying. Children feel secure and safe to demonstrate these skills, in part, due to their warm, trusting relationships with the familiar staff who are close by.
Younger children flourish in the calm, soothing environment that staff create for them. They independently explore, showing that they are curious learners as they inspect different resources. They regularly check in with staff, finding the comfort and reassurance they need. All children begin to build skills that prepare them for the next stages of their learning. Staff support younger children to begin to feed themselves, help with hygiene routines and communicate their needs. They provide older children with exciting activities that help to strengthen their pencil control skills. The children attempt to write letters and begin to showcase their independence. This supports children's upcoming move to primary school.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide suitably maintained spaces and facilities for staff to use, away from the childcare rooms.
- 22 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 6 March 2024Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Bubbly Bear
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £61.00 a day still the rate? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.