Woodlands Day Nursery and Pre School

Fox Cubs, Squirrels and Badgers give Woodlands its woodland character; a single-storey building and secure outdoor space give it substance. Set within the grounds of Goole hospital, this nursery has capacity for 48 children aged three to 60 months. Its rooms separate the youngest babies from toddlers and older children, while books, songs and everyday independence shape the learning offer.

Ofsted rated Woodlands Good on 19 September 2023. The practical appeal today is the combination of outdoor learning space, age-banded rooms and attendance choices that include half-day sessions and full days. For parents comparing care around work, the hospital setting and early opening are useful details, but the teaching and relationships deserve equal attention.

Rooms and Ages

Three rooms organise the day: Fox Cubs takes children aged four to 18 months; Squirrels covers 19 to 29 months; Badgers serves children aged 30 to 60 months. These are room age bands, rather than separate capacities. The whole nursery occupies a large building on one level, with secure outdoor learning space overlooking rural surroundings.

That progression gives families a clear picture of where their child fits as they grow. The youngest room is Fox Cubs, while Badgers spans the older toddler and preschool years. Room changes therefore matter alongside the initial choice of nursery: the age bands provide useful points around which to discuss continuity of care.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning, development and care, with play and everyday experiences helping children develop communication, physical skills and independence. This is the shared foundation for early years provision. Woodlands builds its daily approach around children's interests, using stories, books, singing and music alongside practical activities.

Language and movement feature clearly in that approach. Adults model speech and behaviour, while resources and experiences encourage children to use both small and large movements. Everyday tasks are part of learning too. The intention is that children understand more about themselves and their surroundings through things they can try, practise and discuss.

In September 2023, staff repeated words with correct pronunciation and used questions to keep conversations going. Children also took a familiar bear-hunt story outdoors, exploring grass, water and mud as they acted it out. That example connects storytelling with movement and exploration, rather than treating books as an activity confined to indoors.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor space is a substantial part of the setting's physical offer. In September 2023, children tackled ramps and balanced across obstacles assembled from planks and tyres. They also combined sticks, water and mud in imaginative play, and grew vegetables and herbs with staff to learn about food's origins.

Those experiences brought physical challenges and practical discovery into the same part of the day. There was also a teaching weakness: in September 2023, adults sometimes missed opportunities to develop children's ideas and comments during freely chosen outdoor play. The space and resources were there; making fuller use of children's own thinking was the next step.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2023, building attachments received close attention when children started nursery. Staff spoke calmly, treated children respectfully and recognised their efforts, while children practised waiting for turns. For a family considering the first separation from home, that emphasis on relationships is more useful than a general promise of kindness.

Communication then extended beyond conversations at collection. In September 2023, parents received daily updates and could follow learning through online journals; stay-and-play opportunities took place during the year. Together, these gave parents ways to understand both what their child had done and how they were developing.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND very well supported, with a coordinator working alongside families and outside agencies to arrange early help and targeted support. These are dated judgements, grounded in how adults worked with children and families at that time.

Practical independence also ran through the September 2023 nursery day. Babies practised feeding themselves and moving independently; preschool children worked on fastening coats, putting on wellington boots and washing their hands. These were ordinary routines with a purpose: helping children manage more of their day themselves.

Staff support required further attention in September 2023. Monitoring did not consistently provide the help practitioners needed to adapt their teaching when moving between rooms. That matters in a nursery organised by age: approaches that work with one group need adjustment for another.

Sessions and Attendance

Woodlands opens Monday to Friday, from 7.15am until 5.30pm, across 50 weeks of the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. The early start may fit an early working day, while the closing time is a firm boundary for collection arrangements.

Attendance choices include five-hour half-day sessions, either morning or afternoon, and ten-hour full days; a 50-hour full-time weekly pattern is also offered. Extra time beyond a session is charged at the hourly rate. These durations describe the booking choices, while the opening hours describe the nursery's operating window.

Before attendance begins, parents complete a registration form and sign a contract covering matters such as collection arrangements, health information, dietary needs and sessions. Admission priorities include looked-after children, specified additional needs or vulnerability, siblings and families living locally. A full-time request may take preference over part-time attendance depending on work commitments, occupancy and room availability.

Getting There

The address is Goole & District Hospital, Woodland Avenue, Goole, DN14 6RX. Enquiries can be made directly by telephone on 01724 290461 or by email at woodlands@forunderfives.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for three- and four-year-olds and eligible nine-month-olds and two-year-olds, with 15 or 30 hours a week depending on eligibility, over 38 weeks. Funded places have a termly intake, and bookings can be made a term ahead; the nursery may restrict funding to particular sessions according to its business requirements.

Meals are freshly prepared each day, and their cost depends on the booking: they are included in the full-day and full-time weekly rates, while breakfast, lunch and tea are charged separately under other rates. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and NHS employees qualify for a discounted rate.

• Outdoor teaching. In September 2023, adults did not consistently develop children's ideas during outdoor free play. On a visit, ask how practitioners now extend conversations and exploration in this space.
• Moving between rooms. September 2023 monitoring did not always give staff enough help to adapt to different age groups. Ask how a move between Fox Cubs, Squirrels and Badgers is managed for both children and practitioners.
• Attendance and funding. Half days and full days serve different schedules, but full-time requests may receive preference under specified conditions, and funded sessions can be restricted. Discuss the intended weekly pattern before agreeing a contract.
• The complete care cost. Meals are included only under the full-day and full-time weekly rates. Ask for a written quotation showing the session and meal costs for your intended attendance pattern.

Woodlands suits families seeking either morning or afternoon half-day care or full-day attendance, with an early opening time and a clear progression through named rooms. Its single-storey setting and secure outdoor space provide a concrete reason to consider it, while interest-led activities give the nursery day a recognisable shape.

The September 2023 picture included close attention to attachments, practical independence and parent communication. It also left two useful questions for families: how outdoor conversations are extended and how staff are supported when changing age groups. Those questions belong alongside the attendance pattern and total care cost when deciding whether Woodlands fits.