Toy Box Day Nursery

A heated baby conservatory, a separate sleeping space and a preschool garden with a mud kitchen give Toy Box Day Nursery a clear physical character. The Daisy Road setting in Brighouse has capacity for 54 children, with an accepted age range of three to 59 months. Its open-plan layout is divided into spaces for different developmental stages, with adjoining conservatories connecting indoor play to separate outdoor areas.

At its 9 December 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged inclusion to be a Strong standard, the other evaluated areas to be Expected standard, and safeguarding standards to be met. The balance matters: individual support was the strongest area, while teaching still needed greater consistency.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings give families several ways to use the nursery.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Room, labelled for ages zero to two, combines sensory and movement play with a separate sleep area, an underfloor-heated conservatory used for eating and messy activities, and its own outdoor space with a low level climbing frame, sand and water trays and ride-on toys. Rest and active play therefore have different spaces. The room can accommodate twelve babies; that is a maximum, not a daily headcount.

Pre-School Room, labelled for ages two to five, combines shared play and outdoor access with age-group Circle Times, alongside areas for construction, role play, reading, music and creative work. Its stated maximum is 42 children, although the nursery prefers to keep the number around 35. Neither figure establishes the size of a group on a particular day.

Room transitions usually happen near the second birthday, with timing shaped by development and consultation with parents and the key person.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets expectations shared across early-years provision for learning, development and care. Here, that means talking, movement, friendships, mathematics and literacy through play.

Circle Times separate children into developmental groups for targeted activities. Owls are preparing for school and encounter phonics, problem solving and Numicon, which is used in mathematics activities involving numbers and patterns. Tiggers work on shapes, colours, letter sounds and recognising their names. Piglets, who have moved from Baby Room, practise sharing and taking turns through games, songs and stories. Shared play continues outside these group sessions, so younger and older children also interact.

In December 2025, staff introduced unfamiliar words during outdoor play and used stories and singing throughout the day. Physical activities included babies pulling up using low furniture, older children tackling steps and a slide, and children manipulating dough and mark-making tools. These examples connect language and movement to things children are doing, rather than reserving learning for a seated activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

The preschool outdoor area includes a wooden climbing frame, grass, tarmac and soft play surfaces, plus a sensory garden with a mud kitchen. Large planters support growing flowers, fruit and vegetables. This gives children opportunities to climb, get messy and follow the changes involved in planting and watering.

Babies have a partitioned soft play area with padded walls and a summer canopy. Their outdoor equipment supports crawling, early walking and exploration separately from the older children's play space. In December 2025, children also explored puddles and discussed where to move a worm safely, bringing everyday encounters with nature into their learning.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Person System allows children to develop a relationship with a practitioner in their age group during their first month, while responsibility for daily care remains shared across the room's staff. It gives families a regular contact without making care depend on one adult being present.

Learning Journey files bring together observations, photographs and children's work to describe interests and development. Parents can read and contribute to them or arrange longer discussions with staff. Twice-yearly Parent/ Carer Consultation Days provide scheduled meetings.

In December 2025, staff gathered information about babies' feeding and sleeping patterns and used home routines when children first started. Children were also helped to understand the sequence of the day and where their belongings went. Predictable routines gave settling a practical structure, alongside relationships with adults.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Links with Calderdale Early Years and the Portage and Early Years Support Team sit alongside contact with speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Specific training can be arranged around a child's needs. These are concrete routes for bringing additional advice into nursery care.

In December 2025, support included referrals to outside services, individual plans, medical training and resources purchased using additional funding. During singing, children who needed to move could do so while holding resources and listening. Small-group discussions also helped children put names to their feelings. Participation was adapted around the child, rather than relying on everyone joining an activity in the same way.

The manager holds the designated safeguarding and child protection role, and staff have current paediatric first aid training. These are arrangements for handling responsibilities and responding to incidents; the dated safeguarding judgement belongs to the inspection assessment above.

A nursery cook makes food from scratch, taking dietary requirements into account, while mealtimes also involve children serving food, pouring drinks and taking turns setting and clearing tables through the Helpers system. Dietary needs must be discussed with the manager before a child's first attendance.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm, and full-day sessions from 8am to 6pm; a full-week pattern uses those full-day hours. An early start at 7.30am is available on request and carries a separate charge.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and from 25 December to 1 January inclusive. Monthly charges are calculated around the agreed weekly sessions and remain payable during holidays, sickness and bank holidays. One Christmas week is excluded from charging, with the deduction spread through the year using a 51-week calculation. This is a regular monthly commitment, rather than payment only for days attended.

Getting There

Toy Box's address is Daisy Road, Brighouse, HD6 3SX, within the grounds of Woodhouse Primary School; the two share an access road. Enquiries can be made using the contact form or by telephone on 01484 717180.

The nursery describes close links with Woodhouse Primary School and other local schools. Attending does not guarantee a Reception place, and families still use the local authority admissions process. In December 2025, staff worked with local schools on children's preparation for the move, which concerns transition support rather than an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded sessions are offered for three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds. The funding arrangements cover 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, support for eligible two-year-olds, and 30 hours subject to eligibility. Delivery is term-time, with normal charges applying outside term time.

A non-refundable registration charge applies, and introductory settling sessions are included within it. Late collection attracts an additional charge, as does payment after the seventh day of the month. The fees and opening times explain the payment structure.

• Teaching consistency. At the December 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified occasions when staff lacked a precise learning intention and called for more targeted supervision and coaching. During a visit, ask how staff now select an activity's next step for an individual child and how coaching supports that work.
• The open-plan arrangement. Baby Room sits within a divided main space, with a separate sleep area and adjoining conservatory. A visit can help you assess how sound and activity move between those spaces during play and rest.
• The year-round payment commitment. Agreed monthly charges continue through sickness, holidays and bank holidays, with the Christmas deduction spread across the year. Families planning term-time attendance should weigh that arrangement alongside the funding pattern.

Toy Box suits families choosing morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day or full-week attendance. Its baby provision has useful physical detail: a stated room maximum, separate sleeping space, heated conservatory and dedicated outdoor area. Preschool children have shared play, developmental group activities and space for gardening and messy exploration.

The December 2025 assessment's strength in inclusion sits alongside a need for more consistent teaching. Weigh both against the open-plan rooms and continuing monthly payment commitment.