Swanland Nursery

Individual sleep pods, baby-led play and a small whole-setting capacity give Swanland Nursery a clear identity. This is the baby provision at The Old Cow Shed in Swanland, rather than the preschool provision at Christ Church. It has 12 places in total; its nursery offer covers children from six months to two years.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The practical detail behind that judgement matters: familiar adults supported settling, activities followed children's interests, and everyday outings connected very young children with village life.

There is a useful choice of attendance patterns, including morning, afternoon and longer sessions, with both term-time and year-round places. The distinction between this baby setting and the provider's older-child provision matters when planning the next stage of care.

Rooms and Ages

The Nursery caters for children aged six months to two years, with a maximum of 12 babies per session, an open room layout and daily opportunities for sensory exploration, music, messy play and physical activity. Children can influence the direction of their play. That makes their interests part of the day's activity rather than simply something to accommodate after an adult's plan.

Personal belongings have an individual storage box. For naps, each child has their own bedding and an individual pod. Those are useful practical details for parents weighing how play, possessions and rest fit together in a shared baby room.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: for these young children, learning happens through play, conversation, movement and growing independence. The baby provision's daily sensory and physical activities give that framework a concrete shape.

In September 2024, small movements received deliberate attention. Children used paintbrushes to clean cars, explored balls and ramps, and used magnetic drawing pads. These experiences gave them opportunities to practise hand control, coordination and early mark-making. Younger children also had support to crawl, walk, move around furniture and practise standing briefly, so physical learning included their next developmental steps as well as organised activities.

Conversation ran through play. In September 2024, adults expanded children's spoken words into longer phrases and talked about what children could see and do. Two weaknesses qualified that work: adults sometimes moved on too quickly for children to answer, and dummies were not removed promptly enough during speech. Both matter for a nursery serving children at the beginning of spoken communication.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2024, daily walks included the village pond, where children fed birds and ducks. Children also had opportunities to visit a local residential home and church, while library sessions combined bouncing and rhymes. Village life supplied experiences beyond the nursery room, with different people, places and sounds to encounter.

These were inspection-time activities, rather than a promised timetable for every child. Their value was in making the surroundings part of children's experience, alongside the sensory and movement opportunities indoors.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2024, key workers offered comfort to newcomers and paid attention to familiar routines. Information from parents, combined with staff observations, helped shape children's next activities. That linked care and learning to the individual child, rather than treating settling as a separate introductory stage.

Communication included conversations with parents and an online application for sharing information. For families leaving a very young child in care, those two channels offer different kinds of contact: a direct discussion and information that can be revisited later.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In September 2024, staff adjusted activities around children's interests and individual needs. Everyday independence was encouraged through eating with cutlery, washing hands and finding coats in personal storage. Even at this age, care routines created opportunities for children to attempt things themselves.

The setting employed six childcare staff in September 2024. That was a workforce count, not the number working with children at any particular moment, and it should not be read as a staff-to-child ratio.

Moving on received practical attention too. In September 2024, key workers accompanied children on visits to preschool and helped build familiarity with its adults and surroundings. The baby provision and older-child provision were separately registered, so this was preparation for a change of setting rather than a single room change.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery's address is The Old Cow Shed, Main Street Swanland, North Ferriby, HU14 3PE. The baby location is also identified as the rear of 14-16 West End, with the same building name and postcode.

Monday-to-Friday opening hours run from 7.30am to 5.30pm. The three-session 30-hour funded pattern ends at 5.30pm, with an additional paid half-hour for collection at 6pm. Session choices are 7.30am to 5.30pm, 9am to 3pm, 9am to noon and noon to 3pm. Both year-round and term-time attendance are offered. Enquiries can be made through the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded places cover 15 and 30 hours, with a limit of 10 funded hours within one session. The attendance choices include using 30 hours across three 7.30am-to-5.30pm sessions or five 9am-to-3pm sessions; 15 hours can cover five mornings or a combination of two 9am-to-3pm days and one morning. Term-time and all-year places are offered, but those labels alone do not describe how funded hours are spread over the year.

For funded attendance, food and non-food consumables are separately charged through optional packages. Parents who opt out may supply their own food, drinks and non-food items; the full policy is supplied at induction. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the funding page explains the attendance combinations and package structure.

• Early communication. The September 2024 improvement points concerned giving children longer to answer and managing dummies during speech. Ask how practitioners now build thinking time into conversations and handle dummy use.
• The baby-to-preschool move. This review concerns The Old Cow Shed baby provision. Discuss how visits and familiar-adult support work when your child moves to the separately registered older-child setting.
• Funded attendance and extras. Funding is limited to 10 hours per session; the three-session 30-hour funded pattern has an additional paid half-hour for collection at 6pm. Ask for a written attendance quotation showing the funding arrangement and your choice of optional food and consumables packages.

Swanland Nursery suits families choosing between shorter morning or afternoon attendance and longer daytime sessions for a baby or young toddler. Its open play space, individual sleep pods and child-led daily activities give parents concrete features to weigh.

The September 2024 judgement was Good, with communication practice the clearest area requiring attention. Familiar key workers and supported preschool visits added substance to the care arrangements at that time. For parents, the decisive combination is baby-specific provision, several attendance patterns and, for funded attendance, a choice between purchasing consumables packages and supplying items themselves.