Sunflowers Too Day Nursery

A Victorian house with separate garden access for babies and preschool children gives Sunflowers Too Day Nursery its character. The Hessle setting spreads across three floors, with the youngest children downstairs and toddlers upstairs. Its layout makes the outdoor arrangements worth considering room by room, rather than treating the garden as one shared feature.

At its January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and judged safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: staff extended children's conversations, adapted settling to family routines and gave preschool children a voice in decisions about food. These are useful indicators of how learning and care worked together at that visit.

The nursery has capacity for 45 children, with a current age range of two months to five years. That is a whole-setting figure, rather than the number sharing an individual room. Its address is 2 Station Road, Hessle, HU13 0BB.

Rooms and Ages

Babies have a ground-floor room connected directly to a secure side garden, preschool children occupy a rear ground-floor room with free-flow garden access, and the toddler rooms are upstairs. These are different arrangements for different stages. For babies, the direct connection gives outdoor time a place beside their indoor care; for preschool children, the garden forms an extension of their play space.

The kitchen is upstairs too, while the second floor contains the office and staff room. This is a nursery organised within a house, with children's spaces distributed between levels. Families choosing between rooms should consider the space their child will actually use, rather than the building's overall size.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, learning and care belong together: conversation, play and growing independence are part of the educational day, rather than separate from it.

In January 2024, toddlers spent sustained time investigating dry oats, moving them between bowls with spoons while staff used questions to extend their thinking. A simple material became an opportunity to explore texture, practise handling tools and work through problems. The important detail was the adult response to the children's interest.

Language had a clear place in the January 2024 day. Each room used two books during the week, returning to their stories so children could anticipate what happened next and join in familiar phrases. Staff also introduced vocabulary during activities. Repetition gave children another opportunity to participate, rather than making every reading a new encounter.

Five little ducks, a counting rhyme, connected singing with number order in January 2024. The pre-school council gave children a different kind of participation: they contributed views about mealtime foods. Together, these examples show both adult-guided learning and opportunities for children to influence nursery life at that time.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2024, settling happened gradually, with staff gathering information from parents about their child and routines. Babies' care followed the pattern used at home. That makes the exchange of practical detail meaningful: information about babies' home routines informed care, rather than simply filling an introductory conversation.

Key-person knowledge also shaped the January 2024 approach. Staff knew their key children and considered what each needed to learn next. For families, that is a more useful model than expecting children of the same age to need identical activities or support.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

During January 2024, staff helped children deal with feelings and reminded them about sharing and other people's needs. Encouragement varied with age: babies received applause and praise, while preschool children received recognition for positive behaviour. The emphasis was on helping children understand and practise social habits.

Independence extended to personal care and food in January 2024. Children practised nose wiping followed by handwashing, and preschool children selected and served their lunch. Red plates identified meals for children with allergies, making a dietary arrangement visible within the mealtime routine at that visit.

Today, the branch has a Housekeeper preparing meals in its upstairs kitchen. Food preparation is therefore part of the nursery building's daily operation, rather than an incidental facility elsewhere.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays. The nursery operates across the year, closing on Bank Holidays and for one week at Christmas. Those closures matter when matching childcare to working commitments: the weekday opening window does not remove the need to plan for the Christmas break.

Families can contact the Hessle nursery on 01482 627758 or email Hessle@sunflowersdaynurseries.com. The branch is at 2 Station Road, in East Riding of Yorkshire, with postcode HU13 0BB.

Funding and Paid Extras

In January 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated description of its participation, rather than a promise of eligibility for an individual child. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Different outdoor arrangements. Babies have direct access to a side garden, while preschool children have free-flow access at the rear. In January 2024, staff wanted children to move more freely into the garden and intended to enlarge the toddler garden. During a visit, ask how those plans have developed and how outdoor time works for children upstairs.
• The Christmas closure. The nursery closes for one week at Christmas as well as Bank Holidays. Families needing care across the working year should allow for that break.
• Your child's funding quotation. Funded provision covered two-, three- and four-year-olds in January 2024. Ask which current entitlement applies to your booking and how meals and non-food consumables are treated in the written quotation.

Sunflowers Too suits families seeking weekday childcare across the year in a house-based setting, with separate spaces for babies, toddlers and preschool children. The direct outdoor connections downstairs give its physical layout practical appeal.

Its January 2024 Outstanding judgement has substance behind it: repeated stories, responsive conversation and care informed by home routines. The balance for parents is between those strengths, the room their child will use and the annual closure pattern. This is a nursery to assess through those concrete details.