Strawberries Private Day Nursery

A baby-only outdoor area, a toddler home-play corner and covered outdoor access for preschool children give Strawberries Private Day Nursery a clear progression through its rooms. This Bradford setting takes children from 3 months to 5 years and has 57 places in total. Its strongest practical detail is the separation of spaces for different stages, from crawling and resting to imaginative play and mark making.

At the February 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance to be at the expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. Two improvements remained: matching activities more consistently to children's development and helping children understand healthy choices around screen time. Those are useful points to weigh alongside the room arrangements.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions provide different attendance patterns rather than a single all-day option.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room serves children under 2, with a maximum of 12 babies, large windows, carpet for crawling, a hard floor for messy play, a milk kitchen, a rest space and an outdoor area reserved for babies. That room cap deserves attention: it describes the maximum for this youngest room, rather than the number attending on any particular day.

For children aged 2 to 3, the Toddler Room combines messy play, a carpeted storytelling space, daily singing and movement, somewhere to nap, and a home-play area with a small wooden cooker, sink and washing machine. These are concrete opportunities to move between language, pretend play and hands-on exploration. The separate toddler outdoor area extends that choice beyond the room.

The Pre-School room, for ages 3 to 5, mixes child-led play with organised activities, including mark making at tables, and has covered outdoor access for free-flow play. Its planning moves from termly themes to activities within those themes and then weekly plans that take account of children's interests and development. For parents, the useful question is how that planning translates into an activity their own child can tackle.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: the day combines play and planned experiences with attention to communication, physical skills and relationships. Here, the room equipment makes that tangible through stories, music, messy materials, pretend domestic tasks and early mark making.

In February 2026, familiar stories prompted children to listen and discuss what they knew, while adults made time for their ideas and feelings. Children also practised cooperation through shopkeeper role play. This gives a clearer picture of the day than a curriculum label alone: language is used in conversation and play, alongside opportunities to make decisions and listen to others.

The same February 2026 findings identified an uneven match between some activities and children's developmental stages. Some children could not participate fully enough to extend their skills. The issue is practical rather than abstract: a well-equipped room still needs adults to choose and adapt activities for the children using it.

Outdoor and Community Life

Each age group has an outdoor arrangement suited to its room: babies and toddlers have designated play areas, while preschool children can use a covered outside space. That distinction matters for families comparing how younger children explore outdoors and how older children move between indoor and outdoor play.

In February 2026, the outdoor space had been redesigned around children's physical development. Threading indoors offered another kind of physical practice, using smaller movements. Together, these examples show attention to both whole-body movement and hand control rather than treating physical development solely as outdoor exercise.

Relationships and Communication

A designated keyworker is part of each room's arrangements. Baby and toddler care includes working with parents around familiar daily routines, which makes the handover of information about sleep, feeding and settling especially relevant for younger children.

In February 2026, a buddy key-worker arrangement supported assessment, and practitioners gave parents detailed feedback when sessions ended. Adults also got to know children and their families before they started, so support could be planned around the individual child. These are useful mechanisms for continuity: care is organised around a child's needs, with another practitioner involved alongside the key worker.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its February 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children were developing their language and independence, that key-person relationships gave babies comfort, and that SEND support included timely referrals, individual learning plans, visual timetables and objects used as prompts. Those specific tools matter because they help a child understand what comes next and enable adults to adapt participation rather than expect every child to respond in the same way.

In February 2026, practitioners drew on external teams for support with speech, language and social care. Mealtime responsibilities included preparing for meals and serving food, giving children opportunities to practise everyday self-help tasks. Safer sleep and eating guidance formed part of daily routines at that time.

In February 2026, meals were prepared on site. The preschool room offers home-cooked food with a varied menu.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 7am to 1pm, afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm, and full-day sessions from 7am to 6pm. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Flexible attendance is also offered, subject to availability; it should be treated as a conditional booking option rather than a promise of any chosen hours.

The nursery operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. That is an important distinction for families whose childcare needs continue through school holidays: the closure periods still need to fit the household's working arrangements.

Getting There

The address is Eaglesfield Drive, Woodside, Bradford, BD6 2PY, and the premises have disabled and wheelchair access. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01274 691005 or through the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

There is no registration fee. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Activities matched to development. In February 2026, some activities did not allow children at different stages to participate fully. During a visit, ask to see how the same activity is adapted for a child who needs more support or a greater challenge.
• Healthy choices and screens. February 2026 findings called for more discussion of healthy screen habits, even though technology was not used in the setting. Ask how staff now introduce that topic in an age-appropriate way.
• Baby routines. The Baby Room combines a maximum of 12 babies with a rest area and baby-only outdoor space. A visit is the time to discuss how your child's sleep and feeding routines fit around the room's shared day.
• Your complete childcare bill. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings create different options. Ask for one written breakdown covering your intended attendance, funded entitlement, meals and non-food consumables before choosing a pattern.

Strawberries suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon care or full days, with separate rooms that give each stage its own equipment and outdoor arrangements. The baby-room cap, toddler pretend-play equipment and preschool covered outdoor space make the offer easy to picture.

The February 2026 position supports a measured choice. Relationships and individual support have concrete mechanisms behind them, while activity suitability and education about screen habits remain the two points to examine closely. Families should weigh those questions against the room and attendance pattern their child would use.