The Village Day Nursery and Pre School

Ducklings for the youngest children, Cubs and Tigers Group for the older ones: the age groups give this Cottingham nursery a clear shape. The Village Day Nursery and Pre School has been part of the village since February 1991 and has capacity for 50 children from birth to five. Its emphasis is on children becoming confident enough to make choices, join in with others and manage more of their own care.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 20 April 2023. The detail from that visit gives families more to weigh than the grade alone: outdoor play included performance and planting, while books connected nursery learning with home. There were also improvements to make in healthy eating messages and advice to parents about digital safety.

Full-day and half-day bookings serve different working patterns, alongside funded early education for eligible children.

Rooms and Ages

Ducklings accommodates babies aged zero to one with a baby allocation of six, alongside an allocation of 12 toddlers aged one to two; Cubs and Tigers Group accommodates children aged two to five, with capacity for 32. These are age-group capacities, rather than a promise about how many children attend together on a particular day.

For parents choosing baby care, the separate baby and toddler allocations are useful points of comparison. The older group spans both toddler and preschool ages, making the way activities are adapted across that span an important part of the choice.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build skills through play, conversation and everyday experiences. Here, the stated aims include using mathematical language during play, singing familiar songs and becoming confident in talking to adults and other children. Independence is part of the learning, too.

In April 2023, activities linked stories with practical exploration. Children shaped play dough into an apple after discussing a caterpillar story, while gingerbread figures helped introduce comparisons of size. Those examples show how familiar materials can connect language, memory and mathematical ideas, rather than treating them as separate lessons.

Outdoor and Community Life

In April 2023, the large outdoor area brought children together for active and imaginative play. An outdoor stage supported dressing up and performing; tractor tyres and crates supplied climbing challenges. Children also planted sunflowers and made chalk drawings of the plants on a brick wall, with their growth prompting comparisons of height.

Preschool children had a weekly sports session at that time, including ball skills and cheerleading. Balls, digging and tricycles gave younger children ways to be physically active as well. The outdoor provision therefore supported several kinds of experience, from energetic movement to watching something grow.

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified successful support for children with special educational needs and disabilities through the SENCo's work with parents, professionals and local services. That judgement belongs to the inspection date, but its practical detail matters: additional support involved cooperation around the child, rather than an isolated nursery response.

In April 2023, babies could seek physical reassurance from staff and use comforters when needed. Children changing rooms were given time to adjust, with stories about feelings helping them understand transitions. Pictures showing routines and the use of signs also helped children understand what would happen next. These were concrete ways of making change more manageable.

Parents could borrow nursery books in April 2023, extending shared reading into family life. Children themselves selected books and discussed them with friends. This gave the home connection a simple, usable form: a book to share, rather than an abstract expectation that parents support learning.

Self-care was evident during that visit, too. Older children poured drinks, washed their faces and cleaned their teeth after lunch. The current learning aims retain an emphasis on managing personal care and using hands and bodies independently, so everyday routines remain part of what the nursery wants children to learn.

Fresh meals are prepared daily. Meals are included for full-time bookings and the ten-hour full-day rate; other booking patterns carry separate meal charges.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7am to 6pm, for 51 weeks each year. Bank holidays and Christmas week are closures, so families needing care through that period should build the break into their plans.

The booking choices include a ten-hour full day and a five-hour half day, taken in the morning or afternoon. Extra time outside a booked session is charged by the hour. The distinction matters: the opening window is longer than the full-day booking, so the hours a family needs and the session they purchase should match.

Parents working shifts or rotas are catered for. Admissions can favour a full-time request over a part-time one where work commitments, occupancy and room availability justify it. A waiting list is operated, making the attendance pattern part of the admissions decision rather than simply a price choice.

Getting There

The address is 31A New Village Road, Cottingham, HU16 4LX, in the village centre. Nursery enquiries can be made on 01482 876477 or by email to village@forunderfives.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for three- and four-year-olds, eligible nine-month-olds and eligible two-year-olds. The offer is 15 or 30 hours per week according to eligibility, over 38 weeks of the year. This term-time funding pattern is separate from the nursery's longer operating year.

Funded bookings can be made a term ahead, with intake beginning in the term after a child reaches the qualifying age. The nursery can limit funded sessions or designate particular ones according to its business requirements. For a family combining funding with paid care, the session arrangement matters as much as the entitlement.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Before a child starts, parents complete a contract and registration form covering matters such as collection arrangements, emergency contacts, allergies, dietary requirements and booked sessions.

• Ducklings and room changes. The youngest provision has separate allocations for babies and toddlers. On a visit, ask how the day is organised between those ages and how settling and the move into Cubs and Tigers Group are handled.
• Shifts and funded sessions. Shift or rota working is catered for, but funded sessions may be restricted and full-time requests can receive preference under the admissions policy. Ask how your actual rota would fit the ten-hour or five-hour booking choices.
• Healthy eating and digital safety. In April 2023, children needed more consistent guidance about food choices, and parents needed better support around safe use of digital technology at home. Ask what has changed in these two areas.
• The total care bill. Meal inclusion depends on the booking pattern, and additional hours are charged separately. Request a written quotation for your intended sessions.

The Village suits families seeking either ten-hour full days or five-hour morning or afternoon half days, with an age-group structure that carries children from babyhood into preschool. Its practical appeal includes provision for shift workers and a village-centre address.

The April 2023 picture was strongest where learning met ordinary childhood: shared books, physical play and growing independence. The two improvement points deserve direct discussion, while the fit between funded sessions, paid hours and a family's working pattern needs careful attention before committing.