Jolly Tots Pre-School Nursery

A converted school room and cottage in Queens Hall give Jolly Tots its physical character; a habitat hotel, vegetable garden and village outings give children plenty beyond the indoor rooms. This Burley-in-Wharfedale nursery has capacity for 55 children. Its outdoor provision is worth a close look: there are separate spaces for investigating nature and practising physical skills, rather than one playground doing every job.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, finding effective safeguarding, well-planned learning and successful support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, while asking for better whole-group activities. That is a positive judgement with a specific reservation. The interrupted story sessions matter for families weighing how older children develop sustained attention.

Treasures, Gems and Jewels organise the nursery day around babies, toddlers and preschool children. Full days and shorter sessions sit alongside full-time and term-time attendance, although the baby-room booking rules are more restrictive. The choice of room therefore affects the practical choice of hours.

Rooms and Ages

Treasures, the baby room, gives its age band as birth to 18/24 months and combines sensory exploration, water and sand activities, painting and support for crawling and walking. These activities encourage exploration through touch and movement.

Gems spans 18 months to three years, with stories, dance, music and messy creative activities supporting children as they become more independent. Activities balance adult help with opportunities to try things independently.

Jewels starts at three and prepares children for school through construction, imaginative play, creative work, outdoor activities and using a computer. The practical emphasis is on learning through doing. School preparation is built into play, with activities planned around children's interests.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, children build communication, physical and social skills through play and interaction. Jolly Tots puts play at the centre of its rooms, with activities shaped around children's interests.

In January 2023, outdoor dinosaur play became an opportunity to explore counting, measurement and shapes. Older children investigated how shadows changed as objects moved, with adults introducing vocabulary to describe what they could see. These examples show how ordinary play can carry mathematical and scientific ideas without needing a formal lesson.

Language work also varied with children's stage in January 2023. Babies heard animal names and sounds alongside books; toddlers used familiar songs, actions and changes in speed or volume. The useful distinction is between simply providing an activity and using conversation to extend it.

Whole-group work was less convincing at that date. Older children's stories were repeatedly disrupted, reducing the opportunity to practise listening for longer periods. That concern belongs alongside the positive examples of adults extending individual children's play, rather than being lost beneath the overall grade.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Outdoor Learning Area (OLA) combines a mud kitchen with a habitat hotel and natural materials for investigation. Larger construction resources let children build obstacles, castles and vehicles. Children can combine close observation with larger building projects.

Growing food gives the vegetable garden a practical purpose. Children have helped produce and eat vegetables and fruit, including pumpkins, strawberries and peas. Planting, tending and harvesting connect outdoor activity with food, giving children a sequence to follow rather than a single gardening experience.

The Green Playground has wet-pour surfacing and a shade sail. It supports crawling, balancing and other movement, while painting, water activities and imaginative play also take place outside.

Treasures outings include the duck pond, railway station, park and river. In January 2023, village involvement also included an annual scarecrow festival and visits around the village. The outings connect learning with village life.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2023, children sought familiar adults to share their play, and new starters received affection and comfort while settling. When children changed rooms, staff passed on information about interests, preferences and development. That exchange matters because moving rooms changes the people and surroundings a child depends on, even within the same nursery.

Parents received updates about daily experiences and learning in January 2023, while information from home helped staff build on children's interests. A closed social media page was one communication method at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified additional needs promptly, worked with families and outside agencies, and used extra funding to provide individual adult help where needed. The current team structure includes SENCO and safeguarding lead practitioner roles, and all staff have paediatric first-aid training. These are practical arrangements families can discuss in relation to their own child's needs.

In January 2023, the nursery employed 21 childcare staff, of whom 15 held early-years qualifications at level 3 or above. These dated totals do not describe room sizes or staff-to-child ratios.

A kitchen team includes a cook, an assistant cook and a kitchen assistant, and children receive home-cooked food with a weekly menu displayed for parents. The nursery publishes a nut-free policy and offers arrangements for allergies, intolerances and other dietary requirements.

Sessions and Attendance

Jolly Tots is at Queens Hall Cottage, Main Street, Burley in Wharfedale, Ilkley, LS29 7BT. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with closures for Bank Holidays and a week at Christmas. Both full-time and term-time attendance are offered.

Treasures has a full day from 7.45am to 6pm, a morning from 7.45am to 12.45pm and an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. A baby-room half day requires at least one full day to be booked each week. That condition matters if a family wants only short sessions: the shorter booking cannot stand alone.

Gems and Jewels offer full days from 7.45am to 6pm, morning sessions from 9am to 12.30pm and afternoons from 12.30pm to 3pm, as well as half-day arrangements. Breakfast club runs from 7.45am to 9am, and Teatime club from 3pm to 6pm. These additional periods can extend the shorter toddler and preschool sessions to cover more of the working day.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01943 862727 or by email at info@jollytotspreschoolnursery.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for qualifying two-year-olds and through the three- and four-year-old entitlements. The three- and four-year-old entitlement starts from the term after the third birthday, with up to 15 hours per week over 38 weeks or 570 hours stretched across the year; qualifying families can receive 30 hours per week over 38 weeks or 1140 hours stretched across the year. This offers a choice of distribution, rather than making funded childcare synonymous with term-time attendance.

Funding covers childcare; meals, additional services and extra booked hours or sessions are charged separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, including charges alongside funded hours for the chosen attendance pattern.

• Baby-room booking condition. Treasures half days require at least one full day each week. Families seeking shorter baby care need to weigh the whole weekly commitment, rather than looking at the morning or afternoon in isolation.
• Listening in larger groups. In January 2023, interruptions weakened older children's story sessions. On a visit, ask how group stories are organised now and how children are helped to sustain attention.
• Room transitions. Treasures uses an 18/24-month transition band, while Jewels has both three-to-four and three-to-five age descriptions. Ask how room moves are decided for your child and which leaving age applies.
• Food allergies. A nut-free policy and dietary arrangements are part of the food offer. Families managing an allergy should confirm current kitchen practice and how their child's requirements are communicated to staff.

Jolly Tots suits families who value outdoor investigation and a nursery day connected to village life, with full-day care or shorter toddler and preschool sessions, and full-time or term-time attendance. The Outdoor Learning Area and Green Playground give substance to that offer: growing food, building with large materials and practising movement each have a place.

The January 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality assessment, while interrupted whole-group stories remain a useful point to explore. For parents of babies, the full-day requirement attached to half days is a decisive practical condition. For older children, the combination of shorter sessions and breakfast or teatime provision creates a different attendance choice.