Wellybobs Day Nursery

Farm walks, communication through signs and a baby space upstairs give Wellybobs Day Nursery a clear identity. Set at Barn Hill Farm on Selby Road, Goole, it combines countryside surroundings with practical attention to sleep, individual routines and the move between nursery rooms. Its enclosed garden and separate baby sleep room make that combination tangible.

At its 18 February 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Wellybobs Outstanding overall and found safeguarding effective, with excellent progress including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The detail behind that judgement matters: children learnt to negotiate turns, staff adapted activities to gaps in learning, and parents had regular conversations with their child's key person.

There is capacity for 81 children, with the current age range covering birth to five years; nursery attendance starts from three months and continues until school. Full-day, morning and afternoon sessions give families different ways to use the setting.

Rooms and Ages

Sleep has its own space. The upstairs Baby Room combines an open play area with a separate sleep room and a separate changing room, while individual milk and sleep routines are agreed with the child's key worker. That arrangement lets rest remain separate from active play. Shaped internal windows also give babies a view towards the preschool space and the fields beyond.

The ground-floor Toddler Room mixes child-chosen play with adult-planned activities, using water, sand, collage, blocks and puzzles to support communication, physical development and relationships. A Sensory Room (Sleep Room) uses experiences involving touch, smell, sight and sound; it provides another setting for exploration and quieter activity. Before moving on, children spend time with preschool staff and join their activities, making the next room familiar rather than entirely new.

Mathematics, construction, reading, role play and information technology have dedicated learning spaces in the Pre-School Room, which also has direct access to outdoor play. Children lead activities with staff support, while resources change to sustain their interest. The building's vaulted ceilings and skylights bring natural light into this space.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the nursery day through play and experiences that develop language, movement, relationships, early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding of the world. It is the shared framework for early-years provision. Here, observations of individual children help staff choose activities and plan what comes next, rather than expecting everyone to progress in the same way.

Makaton adds communication through signs. In February 2025, children practised new signs each week during group activities, giving children who were not yet speaking another means of expression. The curriculum was organised around promises to children and a planned sequence through the nursery, with assessments used to identify where extra help was needed.

Stories connected with practical exploration, too. In February 2025, a story of the month about winter led to investigating ice, using hammers to break it and watching it melt. Another activity combined cutting practice with learning about shapes. These examples show how one experience can bring together language, physical coordination and early mathematical thinking.

Outdoor and Community Life

Countryside is part of the daily offer: weather permitting, children take countryside walks, and babies may explore the garden or go around the farm. The enclosed garden at the front has play equipment and outdoor safety flooring. It gives outdoor play a defined space alongside the wider rural surroundings.

In February 2025, wider experiences included a visit to a local kitchen and visits by ice-cream vans. Food also became a subject for investigation at mealtimes, with children comparing uncooked pasta with its softer cooked form. These were concrete introductions to how food is prepared, rather than abstract explanations.

Relationships and Communication

The key person is the link between a child's home routines and nursery life. For babies, that includes learning their milk pattern and sleep needs; for families more broadly, it means having a familiar practitioner with whom to discuss teething, behaviour or toilet training. Consistent room teams support those ongoing conversations.

Baby Diaries record eating, sleeping and nappy changes each day, giving parents a practical account of care as well as activities. Development files bring together observations and photographs with written parental permission; parents can request access, and the file can be passed to the child's school if they wish. OurSchoolsApp carries nursery news, calendar information and weekly menus, with notifications when updates are added.

In February 2025, settling arrangements supported children moving between rooms, and regular key-person meetings allowed families to share changes at home and information from other professionals. Staff had also reorganised rooms in response to parental feedback about toilet training. Listening to families had a practical consequence for the nursery day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support has identifiable roles: a SENCO, an Emotional Health Co-ordinator, a behavioural specialist and a lead safeguarding officer. These provide routes for discussing development, emotional wellbeing and behaviour. At the February 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that additional funding supported the children it was intended for and that assessments helped staff identify concerns early and put support in place.

Daily independence received careful attention in February 2025. Children practised wiping their noses with the help of a mirror and learnt how to carry and use scissors safely. Staff also helped them ask for a turn with a toy and wait until another child had finished, making social expectations understandable through ordinary play.

Staff policy requires current paediatric first-aid certificates and annual refresher training. Collection arrangements use a password and identification when a parent authorises someone outside the usual collection arrangements, while medicines require prior written parental consent and their original labelled packaging. These are specific procedures families can incorporate into their care plans.

A nursery cook prepares food on site each day, using a rolling menu rather than a fixed repeating cycle. Dietary requests are renewed in writing annually, meals are adapted, and colour-coded plates help identify the correct food; the nursery also operates a strict no-nuts policy.

School preparation takes place through the Pre-School Room's group conversations, increasingly independent activities and contact with local schools. Staff ask families which school their child will attend so they can support that transition. Development-file sharing remains a parental choice.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Barn Hill Offices - Unit 6, Barn Hill Farm, Selby Road, Goole, DN14 7JP. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, throughout the year except bank holidays, which are not charged.

Three booking patterns are offered: Full Day Session runs from 7.30am to 6pm, Morning Session from 7.30am to 12.30pm, and Afternoon Session from 1pm to 6pm. The morning and afternoon patterns therefore support different parts of the day rather than simply shortening a full-day booking at either end.

Enquiries can be made through the nursery's form, by telephone on 01430 432033 or by email at info@wellybobsdaynursery.co.uk. Booking requires a completed registration form and a non-refundable registration charge; a deposit is returned or applied to the final month's fees when the contract ends. Current prices are available from the nursery office by email or telephone.

Getting There

The farm setting is on Howden's outskirts, with access from the A63 and M62. Parents have allocated parking, the estate has a 5mph speed limit, and pushchairs can be stored at the main entrance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Wellybobs participates in government-funded childcare, with 15-hour and 30-hour arrangements for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds offered either across the year or during term time. The 15-hour entitlement can be spread as 10.9 hours each week over 52 weeks or taken as 15 hours over 38 weeks; the 30-hour arrangement becomes 21.9 hours over 52 weeks or 30 hours over 38 weeks, subject to eligibility.

Attendance beyond funded hours is charged separately. Meals and snacks are included in fees, alongside formula, wipes and creams; parents supply nappies. This separates the items nursery fees cover from the everyday supply families bring themselves. The sessions and fees page provides the nursery's funding and attendance information.

• Room progression. Wellybobs has a Pre-Toddler Room alongside its baby, toddler and preschool spaces. During a visit, ask how your child's room placement and move between stages would work, including opportunities to become familiar with the next team.
• Dietary care. Annual written dietary information, adapted meals and colour-coded plates form part of the catering arrangements. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice and discuss their child's requirements with the key person and cook during settling.
• Attendance and funding. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions have different lengths, while funding can follow term-time or year-round patterns. Discuss your preferred combination with the nursery office, including the treatment of meals and consumables during funded hours.

Wellybobs suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance as well as full-day care, with countryside walks and room transitions forming part of the experience. The separate baby sleep space, daily care diaries and signs used for communication give the youngest children practical support, while preschool children have learning areas and direct outdoor access.

The February 2025 Outstanding judgement gives this setting a strong inspection position. Its most persuasive details are the ordinary ones done thoughtfully: adapting activities to children's needs, giving sleep its own space and using conversations with families to shape care. Those are useful reasons to consider Wellybobs alongside its rural location and choice of attendance patterns.