Rainbow Lodge

Direct access to outdoor play and learning shaped around children’s interests give Rainbow Lodge its character. This purpose-built nursery in Brough combines adult-organised activities with play that children choose themselves, allowing their interests to influence what happens next. The emphasis is on learning through doing.

Rainbow Lodge welcomes children from 3 months to school age and has 40 places in total. At its 25 April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than an assessment of today’s practice.

Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance patterns give families different ways to organise childcare. The timing details need attention before booking.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children’s learning, development and care: play provides opportunities to build communication, physical skills and independence. Here, organised activities sit alongside children’s own choices, while staff observations help shape learning spaces around their interests and needs. That makes the child’s developing interests part of the planning process.

Play rooms are equipped for the age groups using them, with outdoor play accessible directly from the nursery. This physical connection makes the outdoor area part of the setting’s play provision rather than a separate destination.

In April 2023, babies explored steps and a slide outdoors, while ride-on toys, bicycles and chasing bubbles offered different ways to move. These examples show physical learning woven into play.

In April 2023, fine-motor practice progressed from tweezers used to collect objects to intricate threading; preschool children used tweezers to pick up smaller items. The purpose was practical: developing the hand strength and grip needed for early writing. Local walks also gave children something to discuss: they linked sightings of ducks with books they knew.

Counting and number rhymes featured in April 2023, but shape, space and measurement received less attention during play. The improvement priorities were broader mathematical teaching and a sharper assessment of staff’s teaching skills. For parents, this distinction matters: enjoying number songs is one part of mathematical learning, rather than the whole of it.

Each child has an assigned member of staff who supports their development and acts as a particular contact for parents. This gives families a clear person with whom to discuss their child, rather than leaving communication to whoever happens to be available. Sharing nursery experiences with home is part of the approach.

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities were supported through individual targets agreed with parents and other agencies, and made good progress. The useful detail is the mechanism: adults worked together on the child’s next steps.

In April 2023, staff comforted unsettled children promptly and used conversation and reassurance with babies. Children moving from the baby room to the toddler room joined group activities and followed the new routine. Independence also had everyday expression through putting on coats and shoes, handwashing and serving lunch.

An online system supported exchanges between home and nursery in April 2023, while staff helped parents with self-care and toilet training. These were practical links between the two parts of a child’s day, extending beyond a simple account of activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Rainbow Lodge operates at 12 Elloughton Road, Brough, HU15 1AE. It opens throughout the year on weekdays, closing for bank holidays and Christmas week. Families can make enquiries by telephone on 01482 668556.

Full-time attendance runs from 7.45am to 6pm. Part-time options are a morning from 7.45am to 12.45pm or an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. The fee table also contains full-day, morning and afternoon booking patterns, including a weekday five-day option; the timing discrepancy is a booking consideration below.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is offered in morning or afternoon sessions lasting five hours. Childcare within those funded sessions carries no charge, but meals, snacks and supplied consumables are charged separately. Families should therefore distinguish the funded childcare itself from the additional items accompanying it.

For privately paid full-day or half-day attendance, food and any consumables supplied by the nursery are included in the fee. That wording covers the items it supplies. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the funded and private arrangements should be considered separately when comparing costs.

• Session timings. The general timetable ends full-time care at 6pm and starts afternoons at 1pm; the fee table ends full days and afternoons at 5.45pm and starts afternoons at 12.45pm. Confirm which timetable will apply to your booking before arranging work or collection.
• Mathematics and teaching. April 2023 improvement priorities covered mathematical breadth and the evaluation of teaching. At a visit, ask how shape, space and measurement now enter play, and how staff receive feedback on their teaching.
• Funded-session extras. Funded childcare is organised into five-hour morning or afternoon sessions, with food and supplied consumables charged separately. Consider those additions alongside the attendance pattern when comparing a funded booking with privately paid care.

Rainbow Lodge suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day childcare, with an assigned staff contact and play shaped around children’s interests. Direct outdoor access is a useful physical feature. The April 2023 judgement provides a positive inspection reference, balanced by clear development priorities around mathematics and teaching evaluation. The practical decision is to settle the session timetable and distinguish funded-session extras from inclusive private fees.