Yellow Wellies Day Nursery

Storybooks, a forest area and an obstacle course give Yellow Wellies Day Nursery in Durham a recognisable character. In September 2025, babies made animal sounds from Dear Zoo, toddlers revisited The Colour Monster and older children searched for The Gruffalo outdoors. Books became things to talk about and act on, rather than simply listen to.

At its 5 September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The improvement point concerned making more of children's learning during activities, rather than simply providing an interesting activity in the first place.

Based at Avenue House, North Road, Durham DH1 4SG, the nursery accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. Its opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with closures for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. The 2025-2026 attendance arrangements included full days, mornings and afternoons, giving families different ways to organise childcare.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday routines give children opportunities to practise language, movement and independence. In September 2025, activities included singing, stories and adult commentary from the baby stage onwards. Conversation accompanied what children were doing, so new vocabulary had an immediate connection to their interests.

The books had different uses across the ages. Babies copied animal noises from Dear Zoo; toddlers remembered The Colour Monster and picked out a favourite character; older children brought The Gruffalo into their forest school play. Here, forest school involved exploring the wooded outdoor setting and linking a familiar story to that exploration. These examples give parents a concrete picture of how listening and speaking fitted into the day.

Hands-on activities also varied by stage. In September 2025, babies rolled paint across paper, while toddlers threaded sticks through leaves. Older children used digging tools and rode push-along vehicles. The different materials and movements allowed children to take part at their own stage, rather than all being given the same task.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2025, outdoor play extended beyond running about. Children negotiated an obstacle course together, using climbing and balancing movements, while older children experimented with balls and drainpipes. These were opportunities to coordinate movement, cooperate and explore what happened when objects moved.

The garden and forest area gave children things to investigate. Woodlice, slugs and falling leaves drew their attention to living things and seasonal change. In the mud kitchen, older children dug soil and made pretend cakes. That combination of nature, movement and imaginative play gives the outdoor space a clear role in the nursery day.

Relationships were built from information about the individual child. In September 2025, staff gathered details from parents at the start and used that knowledge in their work with children and families. Parents received updates about development and support for continuing activities at home. For families, this makes the exchange of information part of care rather than an occasional progress conversation.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support through early intervention and individual plans developed with families and other professionals, but also identified occasions when staff needed to deepen or stretch children's learning further. That distinction matters: understanding a child's needs and extending an activity are related responsibilities, and both deserve attention.

Everyday routines offered opportunities for children to do more for themselves. In September 2025, younger children practised feeding themselves, while older children served food and helped distribute cutlery. Small responsibilities made independence something children could practise during an ordinary meal.

Behaviour support was similarly practical. In September 2025, adults explained expectations consistently and helped children work through disagreements. Older children sometimes helped younger ones fasten dressing-up clothes. Cooperation was visible in small exchanges between children, rather than only in adult instructions.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery operates from Avenue House, North Road, Durham DH1 4SG. It opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, across the year apart from bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Durham enquiries can be made by telephone on 0191 384 1444 or by email at durham@yellowwellies.co.uk.

For the 2025-2026 fee cycle, a full day ran from 8am to 6pm, a morning from 8am to 1pm and an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. The full-time pattern covered Monday to Friday, and term-time arrangements also included full days, mornings and afternoons. The terms required each child to attend at least two sessions per week. A 7.30am start carried an additional charge in that cycle.

Funding and Paid Extras

In September 2025, the nursery provided government-funded early education for eligible children. Its Durham funding arrangements for 2025-2026 distinguished between term-time attendance over 38 weeks and an all-year pattern over 51 weeks. They covered funding for nine-month-olds and two-year-olds; for three- and four-year-olds, the options were 15 or 30 hours weekly over 38 weeks, or 11 or 22 hours weekly over 51 weeks. Eligibility remained a condition of the funded offer.

Meals were included in the private childcare prices for that cycle. For funded attendance, meals and snacks formed part of a separately charged enrichment contribution, alongside specialist teaching and resources, celebrations, outings, seasonal activities, IT access and family support.

The same dated terms included a non-refundable registration charge, monthly payment deadlines and a sibling reduction subject to terms and conditions. Families should use the nursery's current written quotation for prices and the charge structure applicable to their own booking.

• Extending learning. The September 2025 improvement point concerned missed opportunities to take activities further. During a visit, ask how practitioners now adapt familiar stories or outdoor play when a child is ready for more challenge.
• Attendance pattern. The 2025-2026 arrangements combined full days with morning and afternoon sessions, with a two-session weekly minimum. Ask which current pattern would fit your working week and your child's settling needs.
• Funded and private meals. The 2025-2026 terms included meals in private prices but charged separately for funded enrichment. A current written quotation should distinguish additional childcare hours, food, non-food consumables and other extras before you agree a booking.

Yellow Wellies suits families interested in a nursery day that brings books, conversation and outdoor exploration together. The September 2025 examples are useful precisely because they are concrete: animal sounds for babies, familiar stories for toddlers and wooded play for older children.

Its 2025-2026 arrangements included full days, mornings and afternoons, making those patterns relevant to families with different working schedules. The decision rests on how those patterns fit a family now, alongside the response to the learning-extension improvement point. The combination of individual support and practical independence provides a sound basis for that conversation.