ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, Lancashire · OL6 8XN
Inspected by Ofsted on 29 January 2026 under the report card framework.
Curriculum and teaching and Achievement were not inspected here — a setting is only graded on the areas its registration covers, so this is not a gap in its practice.
Each area is judged separately. Expected standard is the bar every provider has to clear — meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.
Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.
The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
On the Early Years Register and the Compulsory Childcare Register and the Voluntary Childcare Register.
ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, Lancashire · OL6 8XN. Location from the Ofsted register.
Inspections before November 2025 gave one overall rating rather than grading each area.
School Buddies in ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, Lancashire was last inspected on 29 January 2026. That inspection used Ofsted's report card framework, which replaced single-word overall ratings for early years settings in November 2025.
Ofsted graded 4 areas: behaviour and routines — Expected Standard; welfare and wellbeing — Strong Standard; inclusion — Strong Standard; leadership and governance — Expected Standard. Each area is judged separately, so a setting can be stronger in one than another.
Ofsted did not grade curriculum and teaching or achievement at this setting. A provider is only graded on the areas its registration covers — an out-of-school club, for example, is not inspected on delivering the early years curriculum. It is not a gap in the setting's practice.
Yes. Expected standard is the bar every provider has to clear, so meeting it is the pass rather than a mediocre result. Strong standard and exceptional sit above it; needs attention and urgent improvement sit below.
School Buddies is registered for children aged 3 to 11.
School Buddies is registered for up to 50 children at any one time. That is a registration limit, not the number currently attending.
School Buddies has been registered with Ofsted since 1 August 2001. Its unique reference number (URN) is 312337.