Hessle Pre-School Nursery

Bird-named rooms, gardens on both sides of a detached house and children growing food for their own meals give Hessle Pre-School Nursery a recognisable character. Little Shoots Gardening Club connects planting with tasting, while separate garden rooms accommodate the youngest children. Outdoor life has a practical place here, rather than being confined to an occasional outing.

At its 29 October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The setting has capacity for 42 children, with an accepted age range from birth to 60 months. It occupies 44 Ferriby Road in Hessle, HU13 0HT.

The strongest reasons to consider it are the different spaces for different stages, opportunities to explore outdoors and a settling arrangement shaped around each child. The important counterweight is equally concrete: in October 2024, children needed more opportunities to manage everyday tasks independently, and conversations about healthy eating needed greater attention.

Rooms and Ages

Wrens accommodates babies and Larks toddlers in separate garden rooms within the nursery’s provision for children aged 0 to 2. Swifts/Skylarks occupies the upstairs of the house for children aged 2 to 3. Robins uses a downstairs room and the outdoor classroom for preschool children. These are different parts of the setting, rather than simply different age labels within one shared space.

Moves between areas are considered individually and discussed with parents or carers, making each child’s readiness part of the transition decision.

For children aged 2 to 3, the nursery gives a staffing ratio of one adult to four children, compared with the statutory minimum of one to five. That is an enhancement for this age group. It is not a statement about how many children attend the room together.

Learning and Activities

The curriculum is linked to the EYFS, the framework for children’s learning, development and care, with learning through play and activities built around children’s interests. This is the educational foundation; the practical detail lies in how staff turn an interest into something to explore, discuss or attempt.

In October 2024, a pumpkin story led to a pumpkin hunt, turning reading into action. Staff used jigsaws when children were ready for more challenge, extending learning through familiar resources.

Books had a place for younger children as well as older ones. In October 2024, babies and young children explored pages and pictures, while a book-sharing scheme and library visits extended their contact with books. During bubble play, adults repeated simple words associated with the activity; older children took part in longer conversations connected to experiences at home. Language was woven into play, rather than reserved for a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

All-weather garden surfaces support outdoor play across the seasons. Mud kitchens, sandpits, construction areas, play houses and water play give children several ways to investigate materials and act out ideas. These are useful specifics for families whose children enjoy messy, physical play: the outdoor spaces accommodate more than running around.

Little Shoots Gardening Club involves children planting seeds and watching fruit, vegetables and other plants develop. Children taste produce they have grown, and it can also be used in meals and snacks. The activity connects the garden with the table, giving children something tangible to follow from its beginnings to something they can eat.

In October 2024, community walks and contact with neighbouring care homes brought children into contact with the area beyond the nursery. Meeting older generations and learning about people who help in the community added a social dimension to those experiences. This was about relationships as well as getting outdoors.

Relationships and Communication

Families receive an introduction sheet identifying their child’s key person when they start. Parents can contact the setting during the day to discuss how their child is settling, and regular parent evenings provide another opportunity to talk about progress. The key person gives those conversations a clear point of contact.

Settling sessions are arranged around the child and parent, with two hours free of charge; further settling sessions can be arranged, and the nursery will explain any applicable fees. That offers an initial period of familiarisation while allowing the preparation to be adjusted to the family. It also makes the distinction between the initial allowance and additional sessions important.

In October 2024, a parent engagement group gave families a way to contribute feedback about the nursery’s operation. Alongside individual conversations, it created a route for parents to raise ideas about the setting as a whole. The value lies in having both kinds of discussion: how one child is doing and how the nursery day works.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that personalised settling and key-worker arrangements supported individual needs, while visiting professionals and individual plans helped children with additional needs make progress. This is specific evidence of support mechanisms, rather than a blanket promise that every need can be met in the same way.

The nursery employs a catering manager, prepares meals on site each day using locally sourced ingredients and changes its menus regularly. Its catering arrangements include preparing food for children with allergies, and children also take part in baking activities.

In October 2024, children practised handwashing and explored caring for their teeth. The weaker element was the discussion around eating: adults did not routinely explain how food helps bodies grow. Practical hygiene and understanding nutrition are different things, and both deserve attention.

School preparation involves a preschool coordinator and work with children, families and local schools. In October 2024, teachers visited the nursery to discuss the skills children would need next. However, adults sometimes did tasks children could have attempted themselves, including putting on aprons and cleaning their hands and faces after lunch. Everyday independence needs to sit alongside preparation for number and phonics work.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm, across the year. It closes on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. That opening window gives working families a clear outer boundary for the day, while the Christmas closure is relevant when planning care around work commitments.

Nursery enquiries can be made by telephone on 01482 643565 or by email at hesslepreschoolnursery@yahoo.co.uk. The address is 44 Ferriby Road, Hessle, HU13 0HT. Keeping nursery enquiries with this contact matters because the organisation also runs separate out-of-school provision.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded sessions are offered for children aged 9 months and over, and for two-, three- and four-year-olds, with term-time delivery or a stretched arrangement. The nursery also offers 30-hour funded places. These are participation arrangements, rather than a guarantee that an individual family qualifies for a particular entitlement.

Parents supply nappies, creams, sunscreen, formula and bottles where needed. Spare clothes, a warm coat, waterproof clothing and wellington boots support outdoor play; comfort items can come from home too.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. Further settling sessions can be arranged, and the nursery will explain any applicable fees.

• Everyday independence. In October 2024, adults sometimes completed tasks children could try themselves. On a visit, ask how children now practise dressing for activities and managing their own washing after meals.
• Food and allergies. The nursery prepares food for children with allergies, but healthy-eating conversations needed development in October 2024. Allergy-affected families should confirm current kitchen practice; also ask how staff connect food discussions with Little Shoots Gardening Club.
• The attendance agreement. The opening day runs from 7.30am to 6pm, and funded hours can be taken term-time or stretched. Before booking, request a written quotation setting out the attendance pattern and how meals are treated within funded and paid hours.

Hessle Pre-School Nursery suits families who value outdoor play, growing and tasting food, and spaces that change with a child’s stage. Its year-round opening and term-time or stretched funded arrangements are relevant to families planning care around work or the nursery year.

The Good judgement in 2024 provides a clear inspection position. Gardens and gardening give the offer substance, while personalised settling adds a useful practical detail. The questions to pursue are concrete too: how much children now do for themselves, and how consistently everyday meals become opportunities to learn about healthy eating.