Invitation 2 Play
Call Us: 07932 566104
About Invitation 2 Play in Trafford
We are a family-run nursery in Trafford situated within Carrington Lane Methodist Church. We offer care for children, from newborn babies to children aged 5 years, and provide a range of age-appropriate resources and activities to encourage their development right up until they are ready to join school.
We follow the Curiosity Approach at Invitation 2 Play, and we are the first Curiosity Approach Accredited nursery in Trafford!
We also have a qualified teacher on site 51 weeks a year and each room and age group has a focused 'Teacher Time' Activity time slot every week.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy is based on creating awe and wonder in the Early Years, which we implement through exploration and learning. By blending indoor and outdoor classrooms and environments in a home-away-from-home environment, we are able to create a space where children feel empowered, curious and ready to learn.
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Who We Are
Invitation 2 Play originally began in 2012. After years of successful growth we decided to rebrand and, In 2018, we became Invitation 2 Play.
We offer a space which fosters independent, imaginative early learning in a fun and safe family-oriented environment, where little ones ranging from newborn babies to 5 years of age can explore the world around them. Our staff are referred to by friendly nicknames, such as “Grandma Jane”, to provide your child with comfort and support whilst away from home.
In 2019, Helen Ridgway joined the team and helped build Invitation 2 Play to it’s full potential, which you can see today! We continuously work to improve our nursery and provide the best possible care to children in Trafford. Our setting provides a nurturing, home-away-from-home environment for children. We’d love for you and your little one to be a part of our extended family!
We believe our innovative, nurturing approach gives children a bright and positive start in life as we encourage both exploration and discovery, as well as emotional intelligence and building friendships.
About Our Trafford Location
When you visit us here at Invitation 2 Play, you’ll see firsthand what makes us different!
Our setting includes:
Three weekly menus that are rotated to provide variation to mealtimes, all of which meet dietary restrictions such as gluten-free, vegan, etc.
Our staff are always working towards improving our setting. We have achieved various awards and accreditations, including Sun-Safe accreditation, Safe-Sleep ambassadors and Woodlands Trust Platimum Award. We are also the first nursery in Trafford to be Curiosity Approach accredited and have even been featured in two of their books!
Our beautiful, spacious garden is full of various activities and play equipment to promote socialisation and physical development. We are a Sun-safe accredited nursery and, as we like to spend a lot of time outdoors at Invitation 2 Play, areas of our garden are covered to provide protection from the elements.
Situated in Carrington Lane Methodist Church, our rooms are bright and spacious, allowing our children the freedom to roam and explore various rooms and activities which have been designed with different stages of development in mind.
Situated within Carrington Lane Methodist Church, our nursery provides a large, secure setting for your child to learn and grow. Although we are a free-flow nursery, meaning children can move freely throughout our setting, we have designated rooms which have been designed with specific age ranges and development stages in mind.
Room 1:
Born Curious - Newborn to 2 years
At Invitation 2 Play, our babies have access to two adjoining rooms which are carefully designed to support their learning in an exciting and engaging way. We understand that sensory play is essential for young learners and, as a result, our smaller room can be transformed into a cosy sensory room with comfortable seating and soft mats for tummy time, or an activity room where children can express themselves creatively. Additionally, this room doubles as a safe-sleep room with blackout blinds and soothing lighting.
When babies start at Invitation 2 Play, an individual routine is planned in conjunction with parents to ensure the transition from home to nursery is as smooth as possible. A daily handover ensures that parents are kept informed about feeds, nappy changes, sleep patterns and activities.
Staff in the Born Curious room work hard to make sure babies’ days are filled with fun and laughter through lots of one-to-one interaction, exploring interesting toys, bouncing and singing. When the babies are ready, planned activities enable them to discover and build upon their natural curiosity in a stimulating environment.
Room 2:
Risers Room - 2-3 years
The learning environment plays a key role in a child’s approach to learning. Our Risers room is designed to provide your child with a diverse range of activities and resources that encourage learning and communication through play, exploration, and development. Each area of the room has invitations to learn and play, with open-ended resources that allow children to explore, investigate and create in their own unique ways.
Materials and textures are embraced and thoughtfully added to the environment to promote creativity, thinking and problem-solving skills, questions, experimentation and open-ended play.
At Invitation 2 Play we make it our mission to show children how much we respect and believe in them and, in return, they have been able to demonstrate how capable and willing they are to learn. We see unique, imaginative and confident children following their own lines of enquiry and exploring their environment in new, incredible ways every day! We also end each day by “putting our room to bed”, which gives our Risers the opportunity to develop care and respect for their surroundings.
Room 3:
Explorers Room - 3-5 years
Similar to our Risers Room, our Explorers Room is designed to promote your child's learning and prepare them for big school. Situated in the Church Hall, a variety of activities and materials are thoughtfully incorporated into our large, bright and airy space, to encourage development and a love for learning. Our qualified and experienced team is dedicated to your child’s success, helping them excel in their early education. What sets us apart at Invitation 2 Play is the fact that we focus on school readiness, ensuring children have those vital skills needed before they move to big school. Our Explorers Room also holds our breakfast club, after-school club and holiday club, giving children an opportunity to mix with other age groups and develop their social skills in preparation for starting school.
The children in our Risers Room and Explorers Room each have a learning journey file, which is a written record of the individual progress of each child. Learning journeys contain all observations made by staff, photographs of your child's nursery experiences and artwork, and include an area where parents’ comments and observations can be added. Your child's learning journey is always available to view at any time by request.
At Invitation 2 Play, we are a free-flow nursery, meaning our children are given the independence to learn, play, interact and socialise wherever they feel most comfortable, which is especially beneficial for children with siblings of different ages at our setting. Children are allowed to access all rooms and facilities at our nursery with the assistance of our team, and our spacious garden is available for play unless the weather decides otherwise!
Merging Teaching and Childcare (clubs)
At Invitation 2 Play, we are proud to offer a breakfast club, an after-school club and a holiday club, for children 3 - 11 years old.
Our one-stop service enables parents to receive extra support outside of standard nursery and school hours, with comfort and ease.
Breakfast Club
Our Breakfast Club runs Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 9:00 am. Whilst here, children can enjoy a relaxed start to the day with their friends and choose from a range of healthy self-serve breakfasts, including cereals, toast and fruit.
After breakfast, children can choose to play, read, or join in with arts & crafts activities. A selection of indoor activities ranging from puzzles to construction are available, and our reading den and lego room are also available for those who prefer to relax in quiet areas.
The ‘walking bus’ will leave at 8:30 am to ensure your child arrives at school on time.
After-School Club
Running Monday to Friday, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, our after-school club offers a safe, fun environment for children to enjoy. We provide a range of activities (including baking, crafts, sensory play, small world play, outdoor play, puzzles and games) and our Lego room and reading den are always available for children who prefer quiet time. We even have themed days, such as “Messy Mondays”, to make our club extra special!
To build independence and self-confidence, children are encouraged to plan their own activities; however, our dedicated staff are always there to offer encouragement and support. Weekly group meetings are held to give all children the opportunity to voice their opinions and interests, as we want them to understand that they are an important part of decision-making at Invitation 2 Play!
Holiday Club
Invitation 2 Play holiday club runs every school holiday for children aged 4 to 11 years (only closing on public bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year). Days run from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, with the option to book a shorter day from 8:00 am - 1:00 pm, 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm, or 9:00 am - 3:00 pm.
At Invitation 2 Play holiday club, we offer an extensive range of activities that cater to all children. Whether sporty or creative, we have an activity suitable for all! Our programme of activities is constantly changing, even during the long summer holiday, and includes everything from parachute play, role play, golf, and relay races in our large hall, to trips to the park and themed days. Our highly qualified and trained staff ensure that your child has a memorable experience every day.
Hosted in our Explorers Room with access to our wonderful garden, all of our clubs give children the opportunity to interact with various age groups. This not only provides an opportunity for your little one’s creativity and imagination to blossom but also teaches them how to problem solve, work as a team, make decisions and build upon their social skills, as well as grow in confidence.
School Readiness Programme
We believe that it’s never too early to start learning and that it’s vital to always present opportunities for children to learn and grow as soon as they start at our setting.
With this belief in mind, we allow our Explorers to mix with children who attend our clubs, helping to familiarise them with children of other age groups, in turn removing the stress of this concept when entering a school setting.
If our explorers are planning on attending a school which is included in our school run, we offer to take them on the school run with us. This gives little ones the opportunity to see their future school regularly, building a sense of familiarity and excitement for them beforehand. As many children from our nursery will continue to attend clubs at Invitation 2 Play once they start school, this will also familiarise them with the routine of drop-off and pick-up.
By developing our programs with curriculum experts and childcare specialists, we’ve been able to hone in on what makes early education a success and created a learning programme that allows our children to enter school seamlessly.
About Our Team
The Invitation 2 Play family includes a diverse team of passionate educators who are committed to your child’s success. Our main priority is ensuring your child is able to develop in a nurturing, encouraging, secure environment. All of our staff are 100% First Aid trained and we are constantly working to stay up-to-date with current industry practices.
Helen Ridgway
Manager
Our lovely Manager Helen is qualified to teach from EYFS to university level. She teaches twice a day in our Explorers room, as well as supporting our apprentices.
Helen has two children of her own and her family is her world. After a long fertility treatment battle, She understands the struggles around family life. As her son suffers with multiple allergies, Helen has a strong focus on allergy awareness and food safety.
Katie Inglis
Owner
Starting her journey here at 16, Katie followed in her Mum’s footsteps and took ownership of our nursery in 2012, before rebranding in 2018 to the wonderful nursery that we are today. For Katie, money has no limit when it comes to Invitation 2 Play and she loves to shop around for new treasures to add to our setting for our little ones to explore.
Katie also has a son of her own, who still attends our clubs.
Denise Grice
Floor Manager
With over 20 years of experience and a daughter herself, our wonderful Denise is Floor Manager, meaning she oversees the whole nursery, as well as her key children in our Explorers Room.
Our very own Disney Princess, Denise loves to get involved with anything that’s themed, especially if it relates to Pirates or Fairies!
Lis
Level 3 Explorers Room
Hi I'm Lis, I have two grown up sons and two grandsons. I love reading, I walk a lot, I have a jack Russell called Poppy.
Helen Evans
Bank Staff
Starting her journey here at 16, Katie followed in her Mum’s footsteps and took ownership of our nursery in 2012, before rebranding in 2018 to the wonderful nursery that we are today. For Katie, money has no limit when it comes to Invitation 2 Play and she loves to shop around for new treasures to add to our setting for our little ones to explore.
Katie also has a son of her own, who still attends our clubs.
Chloe
Level 3 Apprentice
I have started my childcare apprenticeship at Invitation 2 play. I am working toward my Level 2 in Childcare and Education. I started childcare when I was in college which motivated me to work with children. I am based in the risers room with the 2-3year old's. I love going to new places.
Grandma Jane
Level 3 Practitioner
I am a level 3 practitioner of 22years, having previously owned the nursery and 5 breakfast/afterschool clubs. In 2012 my daughter Katie took over the nursery and I now cook for your lovely children.
Nadine
Level 2 Qualified, Level 3 Apprentice
Hello my name is Nadine. I started at Invitation 2 Play in 2022 as a student. I am now doing a Level 3 apprenticeship in Childcare and Education. In my spare time I enjoy going to the gym.
Abby
Level 3 Practitioner
Hello, my name is Abby C. I am a Level 3 partitioner and have worked in childcare for 10 years. I am based in the explorers room. I have a son called Leo who is three.
Keeley
Level 3 Practitioner
Hello, my name is Keeley. I have been working in childcare since I was 16. I started my career in a children’s creche, then went on to complete my Level 2 & 3 in Childcare and Education. I have worked in various different nurseries in the last 15 years. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my husband to be and our children.
Alicia
Level 2 Practitioner
Hello, my name is Alicia (Cici). I am a Level 2 practitioner and currently completing my Level 3 in Childcare and Education. I have been working in childcare for 7 years and enjoy all things messy play! I am based in the risers room.
Emma
3rd in charge, Risers room leader
My name is Emma, I have 20 years experience in childcare. I have lived in Sale all my life and it is nice to work in my local area. In my spare time I enjoy card making and scrapbooking.
What to Expect from Invitation 2 Play
Our mission is to provide the highest quality childcare in Trafford, if not the world!
As part of our commitment, we provide all of our little ones with:
Healthy, chef-prepared meals each day that meet dietary restrictions such as gluten-free, vegan, etc.
Flexible hours to accommodate parents with busy schedules.
The opportunity to explore local surroundings, including field trips to Wellfield Park, The River Mersey, The Train Station, Ashton on Mercy Village, and more!
Events that allow kids to learn more about the world around them and celebrate key holidays (for example, we keep the magic alive at Christmas with Santa snow play, reindeers, even Santa's elves come to pay us a cheeky visit!)
A sensory room that offers comfortable seating areas and large soft mats for tummy time, designed to engage children in different sensory activities and contribute to their development.
Outdoor play that teaches little ones how to respect Mother Nature and interact with her in a meaningful way.
A diverse, all-inclusive environment where all cultures and traditions are honoured and respected.
We would be thrilled to have you join our nursery family in Trafford. Contact us with any questions at 07932566104 or click the button below to schedule a tour!
We would be thrilled to have you join our nursery family in Trafford. Contact us with any questions at 07932566104 or click the button below to schedule a tour!
