Yellow Wellies Day Nursery

Close relationships and hands-on play defined Yellow Wellies Day Nursery's March 2023 inspection findings. At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, finding effective safeguarding, warm relationships with key people and useful individual support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The strengths were practical: adults who understood children, learning through everyday play and support that connected nursery and home.

Based in Bishop Auckland, the nursery has capacity for 100 children and accepts ages from 3 to 60 months. That is a whole-setting figure, rather than the size of an individual group. Full days sit alongside morning and afternoon sessions, giving families several attendance patterns to consider.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care: everyday play supports new skills alongside children's physical and emotional needs. In March 2023, the planned curriculum gave activities clear learning intentions, with adults encouraging children to persist, explore questions and tackle challenges. The important distinction is between offering an activity and knowing what a child should gain from it.

The youngest children's experiences were sensory and exploratory in March 2023. Babies investigated their reflections and experimented with water toys that moved or sprayed. These were simple materials with useful possibilities: looking, recognising, trying an action and watching what happened next. Adults joined the play rather than leaving the equipment to do the work.

For older children, a garden egg hunt in March 2023 brought several kinds of learning together. Children concealed pretend eggs, helped one another search, compared colours and counted their collections. It connected conversation, cooperation and early number skills within an enjoyable game.

Outdoor and Community Life

Community experiences extended beyond the nursery in March 2023. Children took part in local events, visited a railway museum and sang to residents outside a care home. Those examples connected children's learning with places and people beyond the nursery.

There was also a clear development point. In March 2023, staff did not consistently use children's questions about people and places to deepen their understanding of cultural differences and equality. Curriculum sequencing needed greater precision too, so that practitioners understood how one skill prepared children for the next. These are useful questions about the substance of learning, beyond whether the day feels busy.

Relationships had a concrete role in daily life in March 2023. Children formed close bonds with their key person, while adults helped them recognise feelings and modelled considerate conversations. Encouragement supported children's confidence, and children could talk about their emotions. For families, that makes the key person relationship relevant to both settling and the child's ability to express a need.

Individual support in March 2023 involved the special educational needs coordinator seeking advice and funding, working with practitioners on individual plans and arranging small-group activities. Parents and outside professionals were involved, with agreed approaches connecting home and nursery. This describes a mechanism for support, rather than a blanket promise about every child's experience.

Health habits also featured in March 2023. Adults explained hygiene and oral health, while older children reminded friends to drink when thirsty. These everyday exchanges helped children take an active part in looking after themselves. Parent partnership included opportunities for families to contribute to their children's learning, making communication more than a handover at the end of a session.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 9 Kensington, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland, DL14 6HX. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with closures for bank holidays and one week at Christmas.

Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm; Morning is 8am to 1pm and Afternoon is 1pm to 6pm. Full Time covers Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm. Every child must attend at least two sessions a week, so families should build that minimum into their childcare plan.

Funded options include 9am to noon, 1pm to 4pm and a term-time day from 9am to 3pm. Other funded patterns use the morning, afternoon or full-day windows, with an earlier morning option from 7.30am to 1pm. A 7.30am start carries an additional charge.

KIDS CLUB serves children aged 4 to 8 years, with breakfast provision from 7.30am to 9am and after-school provision from 3pm to 6pm. Breakfast and school drop-off are included in the first pattern; school collection and tea are included in the second. This is separate from the nursery's early-years age range.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 9-month funding, 2-year-old funding and funding for children aged 3 and 4, subject to eligibility. Term-time delivery covers 38 weeks; the all-year arrangement stretches funding across 51 weeks. The weekly allocations differ between those arrangements, so the choice affects how entitlement fits the family calendar.

Meals are included in private nursery fees, while meals and snacks sit within the separately charged enrichment offer for funded attendance. That contribution also covers additional resources and specialist teaching, celebrations and outings, and digital access and family support. Funding and the enrichment charge should therefore be considered separately when comparing attendance patterns.

A non-refundable registration charge applies, subject to terms and conditions. Fees fall due within the first seven days of the month, and late collection attracts additional charges. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Learning progression. The March 2023 improvement points concerned the order in which skills are taught and deeper learning about cultures and differences. At a visit, ask for an example of how an activity now builds on a child's earlier learning.
• Attendance commitment. The minimum is two sessions each week, with full days, mornings and afternoons serving different routines. Choose the pattern around the hours you need rather than the opening window alone.
• Funded attendance. Term-time and stretched funding use different weekly allocations, and the enrichment contribution includes food and additional experiences. Compare the funded hours and charged elements together before choosing a pattern.

Yellow Wellies suits families considering morning sessions, afternoon sessions or full days, including those balancing term-time attendance against care across the year. Its March 2023 strengths centred on relationships, practical play and coordinated individual support. The learning sequence and opportunities to explore differences deserve equal attention: they are the clearest tests of how the educational offer has developed beyond those dated observations.