Channings Nursery in Newhey, Near Milnrow

The Channings Nursery in Newhey had been a Conservative Club prior to opening as the first Channings Nursery in 1989. Situated in a semi-rural location on a quiet road in Newhey, this nursery is surrounded by open countryside.

We are very accessible for the new Kingsway Business Park at M62 J21, which spans Newhey, Milnrow and Rochdale.

The nursery has recently undergone a £150,000 refurbishment, which included an indoor/outdoor play area, allowing the children to play in the fresh air without getting wet when it rains. The children benefit from the large, spacious interior, especially in the ‘classroom’ for our 3 and 4 year olds.

Our Children Outside Of The Nursery

We make the most of our beautiful location. In fine weather we take the children for walks to Haugh Fold and the children like to see the horses on Bentley Lane. One of our children lives on a farm nearby and by prior arrangement we take the children to visit the farm and see the animals.

We are located close to the local park and we have access to a huge playing field immediately behind the nursery.

Golden Grin Award

Our Newhey Nursery has received the Golden Grin Award. It is designed to recognise nurseries and schools taking positive action to help prevent tooth decay and improve nutrition amongst children. We have carried on the healthy eating theme by providing healthy and interesting meals such as salads, chilli and rice and pasta bake, with fried food removed from the menu.

Childrens’ Development

At Channings Newhey Nursery we apply the Rochdale Early Years Foundation Stage profile. We use this as the basis for our weekly activity planning.

We like to encourage lots of singing and tactile activity across all of the age groups. Even in the baby room our babies will clap hands in the sessions.

From the age of around 12 months the children are starting to use spoons and forks and set the table.

At toddler stage our children are using pens and pencils and starting to mark on paper.

At Pre School stage we observe the children in happy play and record their development. They are recognising numbers and letters, developing social skills such as queing and taking turns, and also gaining their independence.

My First Poem

Young Writers, part of Forward Press Ltd run annual writing and poetry competitions. Their goal is to encourage literacy and creative writing in children. This year all of our Pre School children entered the competition and six of them have had their entries accepted for publication in the My First Poem Northwest book, published in February 2008.

Our Young Graduates

When our children leave us to move on to school, we like to mark the occasion with a Graduation Ceremony. The children dress as their favourite book or cartoon characters and receive a commemorative certificate. The local press attends to cover the event and here is an excerpt from their story:

“Every room of the nursery was transformed into a fun filled party zone so that the ‘graduates’ could play games, including pass the parcel and musical bumps. The children and staff also tucked into tasty treats from a buffet at the celebration”