Kids 1st QE

Queen Elizabeth Hospital gives Kids 1st QE its clearest practical identity: childcare at a Gateshead hospital address, with capacity for 108 children. It accepts children from 3 to 60 months, covering babies through to children approaching school age.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its inspection on 25 May 2021. That is a dated judgement, and families should weigh it alongside the later complaint record discussed below.

From a baby beginning childcare at 3 months to an older child approaching school age, the accepted age range spans different family decisions. Parents choosing their baby's first childcare and those arranging care for a child aged 60 months are considering the same setting, but will have different priorities for daily routines and activities.

The 108 places describe the nursery's whole-setting capacity. They do not describe an individual room or the group a child would join. That distinction matters when weighing size: the total gives a sense of the scale of the setting, while the experience of an individual child depends on the arrangements within it.

The branch enquiry form includes space for a child's interests and further information from the family. This gives parents a concrete way to explain what matters to their child when making an initial enquiry, rather than submitting attendance preferences alone.

The staff structure includes an assistant centre director and a chef. These are separate management and food roles, useful practical distinctions for families considering how the nursery organises its work. A centre director role is also part of the branch team, placing the assistant role within a management structure rather than leaving families to interpret the title in isolation.

For parents, the useful detail is the separation of responsibilities: management roles and a chef role are both part of this branch's staffing structure. This gives a concrete starting point for understanding its organisation, while a role title alone is not a judgement about the quality of daily care.

For a baby starting at the youngest accepted age, the relationship with the adults providing daily care is an important part of the decision. Settling and sleep are practical priorities for a family beginning care at this age.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year and closes on bank holidays, so its calendar extends beyond school terms. For parents whose work continues during school holidays, year-round operation is a useful part of the offer. Bank holiday closures still need to fit the family's working calendar, especially where a parent's working day falls on one of those dates.

The booking form includes full-time childcare and morning or afternoon requests across the working week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each have AM and PM options. This makes the enquiry relevant both to families planning full-time attendance and to those seeking care for part of a day. The opening window describes when the nursery operates; the attendance options describe the patterns families can request.

A preferred start date is another part of the form. Parents can set out the intended beginning of childcare alongside the days or parts of days they want, giving the nursery a more complete picture of the request. Those details are useful together: a family planning care around a return to work has both a starting point and a weekly pattern to organise.

Full-time, morning and afternoon requests therefore belong in the practical comparison. They serve different schedules, even though they sit within the same weekday opening window.

Getting There

The address is Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, NE9 6SX. The hospital address is the key location detail for families weighing childcare against their regular destinations.

Enquiries can be made through the branch contact form or the central enrolments team on 0330 333 8133. The branch also has a telephone number, 0191 487 0244, giving families a separate local contact alongside the central new-parent route.

Online visit booking involves selecting a date and time and entering family details. The form also asks whether the child already attends the nursery on the contact route, helping distinguish an existing family's enquiry from a new-parent request.

• Later complaint record. Ofsted's records list a complaint dated 6 January 2026; its outcome is not published, so families may want to ask the nursery about it.
• Starting with a young baby. With children accepted from 3 months, use a visit to ask how settling sessions, sleep routines and the child's main staff contact would work together.
• Matching the working week. The enquiry form accommodates full-time, morning and afternoon requests. Discuss the intended pattern alongside the nursery's bank holiday closures before agreeing attendance.

Kids 1st QE suits families seeking childcare at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital address, whether their plans involve full-time attendance or morning and afternoon sessions. Its year-round calendar is another practical consideration. The Good judgement dates from 2021; the later complaint record is a separate consideration in the decision.