Sutton Tots Day Nursery

A garden used throughout the year, waterproofs for outdoor play and a toddler room with a cosy book corner give Sutton Tots Day Nursery a practical, child-sized character. Based on Church Street in Sutton-on-Hull, it takes children from two months old, with its oldest room catering for children up to five. The emphasis is on growing independence, from learning to manage personal care to building confidence for school.

At its November 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with staff assessing children’s learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and arranging referrals for additional support. That judgement belongs to that visit. The two teaching priorities were clearer use of mathematics in everyday activities and questions that took children’s thinking further.

Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings give families different ways to organise attendance. The room arrangements, outdoor provision and online learning journal provide the more useful picture of what children and parents can expect today.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room, for children aged 0–2, has a changing space outside the main room and activities intended to support early development. Separating changing from the play space gives this youngest group a clearly organised environment.

For children aged 2–3, the toddler room combines messy play using paint, sand and water with imaginative play, a cosy book corner and support for toilet training and other personal care skills. This is a room for practising doing things independently as well as exploring materials.

The pre-school room serves ages 3–5, combining construction toys, ICT and creative activities with introductions to reading, writing and numbers, while building confidence for the move to school. Its emphasis connects practical play with the skills children will use as they grow older.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care: children develop skills through play, planned activities and everyday routines. Sutton Tots combines activities organised around children’s stage of development with opportunities to choose and explore for themselves. Structured routines give the day a balance between adult teaching and active learning.

In November 2021, children built roads with wooden blocks and played with cars while adults introduced descriptive words. Pretend birthday cakes also prompted conversations about experiences at home. These examples show how familiar interests became opportunities for language, rather than learning being confined to a separate activity.

Mathematics needed more consistent attention at that visit. Counting songs and activities were present, but adults did not regularly bring mathematical vocabulary into ordinary moments; questioning also needed to do more to develop children’s ideas. For parents, the useful distinction is between offering an activity and using the conversation around it to deepen learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

OUR GARDEN is shared by all age groups throughout the year, and the nursery supplies waterproofs for outdoor play. Outdoor time can therefore remain part of the routine across changing weather, rather than depending only on dry conditions.

In November 2021, children explored temperature and keeping warm through movement. Jumping and exercise connected a physical experience with an everyday idea: what their bodies could do to help them feel warmer.

Relationships and Communication

Tapestry, the online learning journal, brings observations and progress records together for parents to access during the working day. Parents can contribute entries too. That creates a shared account of a child’s experiences, with room for information from home alongside nursery observations.

In November 2021, adults recognised what helped individual children settle and offered comfort that encouraged them to explore. Staff also shared developmental information and ideas for learning at home through online communication. These are dated examples of how relationships and information sharing worked together, rather than a description of a current settling package.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Current staff training includes paediatric first aid, safeguarding and food hygiene. These are practical arrangements for responding to children’s needs and managing the nursery day; the safeguarding effectiveness judgement remains the dated inspection finding above.

Independence runs through the room descriptions. Toddlers receive help with toilet training, while the oldest children work towards greater confidence before school. In November 2021, children practised serving food, pouring drinks and managing personal care, and older children took part in toothbrushing activities. Those routines gave them opportunities to take responsibility for small, manageable tasks.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 88 Church Street, Sutton-on-Hull, Hull HU7 4TD. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with bank holiday closures.

A full day runs from 7.30am to 6pm. Morning sessions finish at 12.45pm after a 7.30am start, while afternoons run from 1pm to 6pm. The different finish and start times matter when fitting nursery around work or other care arrangements. Payment is made in advance, either monthly or weekly.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01482 798008 or through the contact form. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children aged 3–5, alongside two-year-old funding for eligible children. Extra funded hours are charged by the hour. Funding eligibility and paid childcare are separate considerations when planning the attendance pattern a family wants.

Meals are included in session fees: a full day includes all meals, mornings include breakfast and lunch, and afternoons include snacks and snack tea. An on-site cook prepares the cooked lunch, with milk and water also provided during the day.

• Teaching beyond the activity. The November 2021 priorities concerned everyday mathematics and questions that extended learning. On a visit, ask how staff now use number language and follow-up questions during play.
• Toddler staffing. The toddler room’s stated arrangement is one practitioner for four children, compared with the legal minimum of one for five at this age. This gives families a concrete staffing point to discuss when considering the transition from the baby room.
• Funding across the year. The nursery opens year-round and offers funded childcare. Ask how funded hours would fit your chosen sessions across the year, including any charges for non-food consumables.

Sutton Tots suits families seeking full-day care, morning sessions or afternoon attendance, with an emphasis on independence as children move through the rooms. The shared garden, waterproofs and Tapestry journal give that offer tangible detail: outdoor play has practical support, and parents have a way to follow and contribute to their child’s learning.

The Good judgement dates to November 2021. Its teaching priorities make the quality of everyday conversations a useful point to explore alongside the room arrangements and session choices.