Our Summary
About Us
***Ofsted rated GOOD in January 2022***
A warm welcome to Growing Minds Montessori Childcare. We are a homely setting based in Barnton, a family friendly village a couple of miles from Northwich town centre.
Growing Minds Montessori Childcare was founded by husband and wife, Stephen and Debra, following the success of their childminding business. While childminding Debra studied Early Years Education in Montessori Pedagogy.
We have healthy, nutritious meals and snacks freshly prepared by our cook. The nursery is spacious and homely with the children being the main focus of all we do. We have an allotment for children to grow their own food and we have a large outdoor play area for the children to enjoy.
We follow the EYFS curriculum and statutory guidelines with the added benefit of following the Montessori approach to learning and development. Our approach is child focused and very high quality. The rooms are prepared with development milestones in mind, so children reach their full potential independently and at their own pace. Children have a natural inner motivation to learn and our resources ensure children make the most of that absorbent state of mind. In the preschool room most of the resources are a little bit different to those found in regular nurseries. They were designed by Maria Montessori, who was a pioneer in early years education. Her philosophy and method of teaching were based on her scientific studies. We still have modern day resources too, such as a dedicated children's laptop, many children's favourite books, a mud kitchen and a forest school area.
Please come and visit us! The nursery has a great atmosphere and is bright, airy and welcoming.
Our Availability
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| After School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Evening | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 24/02/2025 | |||||||
Our Fees
- Childcare from £27.00 per day
Our fees are all inclusive! All food, drinks (including formula for children under 1 if required), nappies, wipes etc, daily activities, local outings and any other additional activities are included in the fees.
Unlike most other settings we do not charge any registration fees! We charge two weeks of normal fees calculated using the child’s usual sessions as a deposit. The deposit will be credited against your first month’s invoice minus any other charges.
We offer funded sessions for 9 months - 4 years old. You can receive 15 – 30 hours a week for 38 weeks a year (term-time only) or 11 – 22 hours a week for 50 weeks a year free of charge.
My Local Schools
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Hartford Manor Community Primary School
- I provide drop offs and pick ups at Barnton Community Nursery and Primary School
Our Ofsted Inspections
The inspection grades below have been obtained from the Ofsted website based upon the registration number the childcare provider has provided to us. You should verify this information yourself prior to using the childcare provider.
Our Documents
- Ofsted Certificate (added 12/04/2022)
- Inspection Report: Ofsted Inspection Report (added 12/04/2022)
Reviews
5 out of 5
Latest reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Growing Minds. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk members and not of Childcare.co.uk. Parents must carry out their own checks and references on childcare providers to ensure that they are completely happy before enaging in the use of their services.
My son had the best couple of years at Growing Minds. They really helped to ease my anxiety when he first started. He developed so well as a person and the Montessori learning has really allowed him to love to learn. They noticed when he was ahead in development and adjusted his goals. The facilities are fantastic especially the outdoors and I loved that all we had to pack was spare clothes, I was also amazed at how well my son ate his meals and the food always sounded so good.Everything was so personal and the updates on the app were so valuable to see how well he was cared for and how happy he was. He loved all the staff and we were really sad to say goodbye.
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JylEddy
on 21/11/2022
Our boy spent from 6mth to 4yo at Growing minds. His development, care, tuition and thoughtful staff were second to none. Highly recommended. The home cooked food was enviable, our boy ate better than us for his 3 1/2 years and his pallet is wholesome now. We’d definitely go back if we had another one
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Little 1
on 20/11/2022
It is so hard to choose the right people to take care of your children. It was great decision to choose Growing Minds as a nursery for our 2 daughters (1 and 3yo). They absolutely love it! They have days full of healthy food, outdoor activities, gardening and learning about growing plants and small animals living in it, painting (even with vegetables), doing muppet shows, singing and reading, learning. I could go on and on. But most importantly it is a safe, kind and gentle environment which you want to surround your child with.
P.s. They have only wooden (but colourful) toys which is an advantage as well! Thank you guys!
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Jusmik
on 13/04/2022
My son has attended Growing Minds Montessori Childcare since he was 4 months old. He is now 3.5 years old and he absolutely loves his time at the setting! The staff have been fantastic, the communication has always been second to none, lots of photos and updates about his day which really puts my mind at ease. He has learnt so much especially during his time in pre school with his teacher Janet who he never stops talking about! He has delicious home cooked food every day, and is always taking part in a wide range of activities and learning so many new skills. I feel like the setting has definitely got my little boy ready for school in September and I thank the team so much for their involvement in his early years. Highly recommend!
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Em P
on 10/04/2022
Choosing somewhere to send my little boy was extremely hard for me, I was supposed to go back to work after 7 months and I wasn’t in the right mindset to decide where to send Blake, I visited nurseries in our local area and was shocked that they didn’t even ask Blakes name, I was really struggling until myself and my dad visited Debra and Steve and I remember saying to my dad, I think he will be happy here. For me a childminder is more one-to-one care but with the added benefits of also having some friends to play with.
Our little boy is now 2 and is turning out to be a happy independent little guy which is down to the way Debra & Steve encourage the children at every opportunity.
They go out on daily trips, whether that be to the park, down to Grozone, Topsy tumbles, or the library in fact they do so many fun things that Blake would probably stay all week if he could!
Debra and Steve are flexible and often help us out if we are ever in need of extra daycare, If you’re looking for a caring environment for your little one then you’ve come to the right place.
Thank you both for taking such good care of our beautiful boy
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by
Parent
on 19/02/2018
Leaving my 11 month old little boy with 2minders was the best decision I made. This 11 month old is now a happy, confident 3.5year old and just loves Debra, Stephen and their 3 daughters. Their experience and knowledge of young children along with a home from home setting lead me to chose this environment over nursery. From jumping in muddy puddles and playing in the mud kitchen to painting and story time, 2minders make sure my little boy is never bored, in fact, he never wants to come home! Thankyou 2minders for creating a wonderful environment for my little one to thrive in.
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by
Parent
on 04/07/2017
We needed childcare for a one off occasion as family a member was having our son to help us out twice a week but unfortunately the family member decided last minute she didnt want to have him on this particular day due to her relationship breaking down, so after thinking about it long and hard as we had to take time off work to try and sort something out we decided to look for a childminder and we were told by a friend to contact Debra, so thats what we did and she was very helpful and understanding considering it was very last minute as we needed childcare for the following day, Debra was happy to take Logan for the day she took pictures of Logan for me to she me what he had done during the day and i could tell from the pictures how much Logan had enjoyed himself,
And we felt extremely comfortable leaving our precious boy with someone hes never met before.
Debra said what a pleasure it was to have Logan so we decided that Logan could go 2 days a week so we could both work full time and it was the best decision we have made, Logan has learnt so much since he has been going to Debra and Stephen!
From his speech to general activities he has come a long way.
We would highly recommened Debra and Stephen
Keep up the good work :)
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AmyLou91
on 22/08/2016
I required full day childcare for my preschool daughter and wrap around care for my eldest who attends school.
Debra and her Husband Steve were always incredibly friendly, caring and flexible from day 1. We managed to sort out childcare that collaborated well with my time at work.
Both of my daughters loved telling me what they had got up to at Debra's house -there were always outings around the local area and lovely little homemade artwork on special occasions.
I cannot praise both Debra and Steve enough. My children were extremely well cared for and I felt totally at ease leaving my most precious treasures in their capable hands.
I would certainly recommend Debra and co to anyone looking for childcare solutions -A1 !!!
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Parent
on 18/07/2016
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