Sticky Mits Childcare Centre

A sensory room for babies, miniature play spaces for toddlers and a preschool IT room give Sticky Mits Childcare Centre a recognisable character. This Doncaster city-centre nursery separates its provision into Cubs, MEERKATS, Tigers and Crocodiles, with activities changing as children become more independent.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 9 December 2022 inspection. That judgement belongs to an older snapshot of daily practice, rather than a fresh assessment of the current rooms. The nursery has capacity for 114 children and takes babies from three months, with provision continuing through the preschool stage.

The main premises occupy the second floor in the Waterdale Centre, with a nursery and separate preschool across more than six hundred square metres. Flexible hourly booking, including changes for shift-working families, is another important part of its offer.

Rooms and Ages

Cubs takes babies from three months to approximately 18 months to two years; its extension area and sensory room support tactile exploration, while painting, early role-play and adult-led activities sit alongside opportunities for babies to choose what interests them. Cubs has one member of staff to three children, the statutory minimum for babies. Communication is part of the room's activity planning, rather than something reserved for a formal group session.

MEERKATS covers roughly 18 to 30 months, using its room and outer area for growing independence through choosing toys, dressing, tidying and shared play. Circle time, small world play and mealtimes provide occasions to practise communication with other children. Daily activity planning is displayed for parents, creating a practical connection between what children try here and what families might continue at home.

Tigers serves children aged approximately two and a half to three and a half, with a large free-play space and smaller areas including art attack, ocean room, Granny May's cottage and little explorers for imaginative and independent exploration. These separate settings give children different starting points for play. The routine also makes room for adult-led tasks and relaxation, while staff help with developing self-care, including potty training.

Crocodiles is for children over three and a half, combining literacy, phonics and numeracy activities with free play, a toilet suite, an IT room with an interactive smart board, a purpose-built sand and water area and space for messy activities. Older children choose and serve fruit and drinks at snack time. The emphasis is on doing more for themselves while becoming familiar with structured group learning.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage framework guides activities and the monitoring of children's development, with experiences adjusted to individual needs. In parent language, this means learning through play and everyday routines, alongside activities led by adults, rather than expecting every child to progress at the same pace. Each room gives that work a different emphasis: communication for babies, growing independence for toddlers and more explicit literacy and number work in preschool.

In December 2022, children counted cars on a ramp and pasta during pretend cooking, and explored size and floating during water play. Everyday activities gave numbers and descriptive language a practical meaning.

In December 2022, some adult responses merely named an object instead of developing the conversation. Richer exchanges were needed to extend learning: equipment alone could not do that work.

Outdoor and Community Life

Crocodiles has planned educational outings that include the museum, library, local parks, market and railway station, together with access to outdoor facilities at the Central Children’s Hub. These outings connect preschool learning with the surrounding city.

In December 2022, the premises lacked direct outdoor access, and children used a dedicated physical room daily for cycling, climbing, jumping and yoga. Babies also explored a climbing frame and ball pool. Indoor movement was therefore a substantial part of that inspection-era day; access to facilities elsewhere is a separate element of the current preschool offer.

Relationships and Communication

In December 2022, settling programmes were tailored to families, and staff planned next steps using their knowledge of each child. Babies looked to their key person for reassurance when approaching unfamiliar people, giving them a familiar adult to turn to.

Communication with families in December 2022 included interpreters where needed. Staff learnt words from children's home languages and used songs and familiar books to introduce English vocabulary. Those practices connected language development with comfort and familiarity, rather than treating communication as a task children had to manage alone.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements and SEND support that included identifying needs, adapting activities and making prompt referrals to external agencies. These are dated findings about how support worked, not a blanket assurance about every child's experience today.

During December 2022, staff also worked with other professionals on communication needs, combining spoken words with pictures, objects, gestures and signs. The practical purpose was to help children understand instructions and communicate. Individual activity planning and external support were connected, rather than presented as separate strands of care.

Behaviour management was less consistent in December 2022. Different responses included removing a child from an activity, lengthy explanations and occasions when behaviour received no follow-up. Children therefore did not always receive a clear, consistent message about expectations. That concern deserves attention alongside the positive account of relationships and independence.

Food is prepared by a chef in the nursery's kitchen, with recipes made without added salt. The nursery caters for dietary needs and allergies, and breakfast, lunch and tea carry separate charges.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 1-2 Queensgate, Doncaster, DN1 3JN. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. For families whose work or study is based in the city centre, the location and opening window are practical reasons to consider it.

Families pay for booked hours rather than fixed sessions. Shift-working families can arrange changing days or hours from week to week, making the booking model useful for variable work patterns.

Additional charges apply to booked care between 7am and 8am and between 5pm and 6pm, and late collection also attracts a charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01302 768002 or by email to office@stickymits.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

Sticky Mits offers 15 or 30 flexible FUNDED hours for children over nine months and for two-, three- and four-year-olds, subject to eligibility. Private childcare and preschool care beyond funded hours allow families to combine funding with additional paid time.

Meals and snacks are charged separately during funded childcare. Funded children incur no additional resource or non-food consumable fees. Keeping these categories separate matters: a funded childcare arrangement can still involve food charges, even though resources and consumables do not attract an extra fee.

• Indoor space and outings. The premises are on the second floor, while Crocodiles uses outdoor facilities at the Central Children’s Hub. On a visit, ask how outdoor access works for your child's room and how often its outings take place.
• Conversation and behaviour. December 2022 improvement points concerned extending learning through adult interaction and using consistent responses to behaviour. Ask staff to explain their current approach, with examples relevant to your child's age.
• Hourly booking. Changing days or hours is part of the offer, but early and late care attracts additional charges. Agree the changing-hours arrangement and request a written quotation for the pattern you intend to book.
• Dietary needs. The kitchen caters for allergies and other requirements. Families affected by allergies should confirm current preparation and serving arrangements before agreeing care.

Sticky Mits suits families who want room-by-room progression from baby care to preschool, with tactile exploration, imaginative spaces and increasingly independent routines. Its hourly model is relevant both to shift-working parents changing their attendance pattern and to families combining funded childcare with extra paid hours.

The strongest practical details are the sensory room, the smaller imaginative spaces within Tigers and Crocodiles' equipment and outings. The December 2022 Good judgement provides a positive dated assessment, balanced by clear improvement points on adult interaction and behaviour. A visit should connect those details to the room and booking arrangement your child would actually use.