Westside Day Nursery at Grange Road

A sensory room, separate spaces for babies, toddlers and preschool children, and a garden shared by the older age groups give Westside Day Nursery at Grange Road a clear physical shape. Babies have an outdoor space of their own. For parents weighing how a child will move between busy play and quieter moments, those arrangements are a useful starting point.

At its 28 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical strengths sit alongside two improvement priorities: organising staff duties more effectively and helping children stay involved in group activities.

Based at John Havelot House on Grange Road in Hull, the nursery has 53 places in total and accepts children aged 0 to 60 months. It opens throughout the year, Monday to Friday, from 7am to 6pm.

Rooms and Ages

The baby, toddler and preschool spaces are separate, allowing the nursery day to be organised around different stages of development. The toddler and preschool groups share a garden, while babies have their own outdoor area to explore. That separation matters for families comparing the youngest children's surroundings with those of more mobile children.

The sensory room adds another kind of space. In January 2025, children could use it when they felt overwhelmed or needed help managing their emotions. Its purpose was a pause from activity, rather than another busy play area.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences are used to build skills. In January 2025, communication and literacy were central to the nursery's activities, with photographs and books connecting learning to things children recognised.

Babies used family pictures to practise naming familiar people. Toddlers supplied words from stories they knew, while older children recalled phrases after listening to books. These were different ways into the same skill: finding words and using them with increasing confidence.

Listening activities also drew on everyday life. In January 2025, children identified recorded sounds, took turns giving answers and encountered new vocabulary linked to what they heard. Recognising a toilet sound, for example, became an opportunity to learn the word flushing. Familiar experiences supplied the teaching material.

Independence extended to eating. During January 2025, children served themselves food with spoons and tongs and used cutlery suited to their age. These small tasks gave them practical opportunities to do things for themselves, alongside the language work.

Relationships and Communication

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found affectionate, trusting relationships between children and staff, and support involving parents and other professionals for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Those findings give substance to the care judgement: relationships and cooperation were visible in children's daily experience.

Before children started, staff gathered information about their interests, preferences and existing skills. In January 2025, that information informed settling and activity planning, connecting a new child's nursery experience with what was already familiar at home.

Regular stay-and-play opportunities also featured in January 2025. Parents contributed ideas about what they wanted their children to learn, received progress updates and were given activities to try at home. This made communication more than a handover at the end of the day: families could contribute to the learning itself.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The sensory room gives the building a quieter option alongside its age-group rooms. In January 2025, its use formed part of support for children who needed time to manage their feelings. For a family whose child finds group activity overwhelming, that physical provision is a relevant detail to explore alongside the child's individual needs.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7am to 6pm on weekdays, with attendance across the year. The address is John Havelot House, Grange Road, Hull, HU9 4LQ. Families can contact the Grange Road nursery on 01482 703310 or use its enquiry form, choosing telephone or email contact.

The opening window is useful for parents coordinating work and care. It establishes when the nursery operates; the individual attendance arrangement remains a separate joining decision.

Funding and Paid Extras

In January 2025, the nursery offered government-funded childcare and received additional funding for disadvantaged children. Families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation so the cost of their chosen attendance arrangement can be considered as a whole.

• Staff routines. In January 2025, the organisation of some everyday duties reduced the attention staff could give to children's learning. During a visit, ask how those duties now fit around direct support for children.
• Group participation. In January 2025, some children lost interest and left group activities, disrupting others and missing part of the learning. Families whose children find shared activities difficult will want to discuss how staff sustain their involvement.
• Baby outdoor play. Babies have a separate outdoor space, while toddlers and preschool children share a garden. A visit is an opportunity to discuss how outdoor exploration fits into a baby's day.

Westside Day Nursery at Grange Road suits families seeking care across the year, with separate spaces for different developmental stages and an additional sensory room. Its January 2025 picture combines affectionate relationships, practical independence and language activities rooted in familiar books, photographs and sounds.

The balance matters. Staff organisation and participation in group learning were explicit improvement priorities, so those deserve attention alongside the strengths. For parents, the most useful comparison is between this physical arrangement, the child's needs and the nursery's approach to those daily routines.