Kids Planet Eccleshill

A soft play room and a substantial outdoor play area give Kids Planet Eccleshill two clear outlets for active play. This Bradford nursery caters for babies through to preschool children, with refurbished indoor rooms alongside its outdoor space. Physical activity has room to happen indoors as well as outside.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 28 June 2024 inspection. The practical character of the learning stands out: children were developing independence through baking, serving food and managing everyday tasks, rather than keeping preparation for school separate from ordinary nursery life.

There are 80 places in total. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings give families different ways to organise attendance, while the distinction between private fees and funded-day extras deserves careful attention.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means learning through play and everyday experiences, with communication, movement and growing independence woven into the day rather than treated as separate lessons.

In June 2024, babies were putting baking mixture into cases themselves, while older children helped themselves to lunch and poured drinks. These are small tasks with a useful purpose: children practise doing things independently before moving to another playroom or starting school. The emphasis was on participation, rather than adults completing every step for them.

Mathematical learning also grew out of familiar experiences that June. Babies investigated shapes, staff counted alongside children, and toothbrushing became an opportunity to talk about position. Dough manipulation and squeezing toothpaste from tubes gave children ways to exercise their hands. Learning materials were ordinary and tangible.

There was a limit to the adult interaction, however. In June 2024, staff sometimes moved on before children had enough thinking time to develop an answer. Training plans addressing this were still being put into practice. For parents, the issue is the quality of conversation around an activity, as well as the activity itself.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor play area complements the soft play room and refurbished indoor spaces. The group-wide outdoor approach used here includes wildlife exploration, vegetable growing and active play. These give children different reasons to be outside: observing living things, caring for plants and moving their bodies.

In June 2024, children had been growing herbs, recognising birds and preparing food for them. Caring for the nursery hamster, Mr Whiskers, added another practical encounter with living things. These experiences connected nature with things children could do themselves.

Trips that June had included shops, museums and the library. Children also explored Christmas, Eid and Diwali, extending learning beyond their immediate surroundings and introducing celebrations from different cultures. The value lies in connecting nursery experiences with the wider world, rather than relying solely on indoor resources.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, the key-person arrangement linked children and parents with familiar staff. Parent evenings covered development and the next steps in learning, while individual home-learning packs gave families activities to continue outside nursery. That combination connected conversations about progress with something practical to do at home.

Famly, the parent app included in the group-wide offer here, supplies updates as the day unfolds. It adds a current communication channel alongside the face-to-face relationships described in June 2024, allowing parents to follow nursery experiences between conversations with staff.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged that children with SEND were progressing well, supported by assessments, professional referrals and strategies coordinated by the SENDCo. The useful detail is the mechanism: identifying developmental concerns and involving relevant professionals, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

In June 2024, children received help to recognise emotions and take responsibility for personal care, including handwashing. Physical experiences included floor activities and energetic outdoor movement. Emotional understanding and practical independence were both part of the account of daily care.

Organisation needed attention too. During June 2024, some collective routines, including meals and movement between spaces, became unsettled and children lost interest. A busy activity programme depends on the transitions working; parents should weigh this improvement point alongside the positive account of relationships.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is on Stone Hall Road, Eccleshill, Bradford, BD2 2EJ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 52 weeks of the year, with bank holiday and Christmas closures.

Full Day and Full Time bookings run from 8am to 6pm. Morning attendance runs from 8am to 1pm, and Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. An Early Bird session covers 7.30am to 8am, while ad hoc hourly care provides another booking option. These are different arrangements from the overall opening window, so a morning booking does not automatically include the earlier start.

Ad hoc sessions carry a higher rate than regular bookings. This matters for families whose attendance changes: occasional additional care and a recurring booking have different charging structures. The nursery can be contacted by telephone or email for an enquiry, and current prices come in its written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid attendance are both offered. Private fees include meals and snacks, together with formula, sun cream, wipes and nappies. Food is freshly prepared and dietary needs are catered for.

On days where early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately. The charges use different attendance-duration bands. A family combining funding with paid care therefore needs to distinguish the funded-day extras from what is included in private fees; the same inclusion wording does not describe both arrangements.

• Conversation and thinking time. In June 2024, staff development plans addressing children's communication were not fully in use. During a tour, ask how practitioners now give children time to form and express their ideas.
• Group routines. Meals and movement between spaces sometimes disrupted engagement in June 2024. Ask how these transitions are organised now, especially for a child who finds busy group moments difficult.
• The funded booking. Meals, consumables and activities attract separate charges on funded days. Request a written quotation for the exact morning, afternoon or full-day pattern you intend to use, including how funded hours fit within it.
• Your baby's day. Babies are catered for alongside older children, and the nursery has indoor activity spaces and an outdoor play area. Use the tour to ask how feeding, sleep and settling will work for your baby.

Kids Planet Eccleshill suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with active indoor and outdoor play an important part of the appeal. The soft play room gives its physical offer a concrete point of difference.

The June 2024 picture combines practical independence and established parent relationships with two meaningful improvement priorities: adult conversation and the organisation of group routines. Those are useful questions to carry into a visit. For families using funding, the separate extras also belong in the decision alongside the session pattern.