Hey Days Nursery

A Nature Garden for exploration, woodland outings and wooden coracles for baby sleep give Hey Days Nursery a clear character: outdoor discovery alongside practical attention to the youngest children’s routines. Within the grounds of Holmfirth High School in Thongsbridge, it has capacity for 68 children aged three months to five years. Separate rooms organise the progression from babies to preschool.

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with Outstanding behaviour and attitudes, while identifying priorities around clearer learning intentions and more targeted staff development. That combination matters: children’s enthusiasm and cooperation were strengths, but the teaching needed greater precision. The judgement belongs to that visit.

Full-day care and conditional ad hoc morning or afternoon sessions serve different attendance needs, with fixed slots for families declining optional funded-place charges.

Rooms and Ages

Discoverers Room, for children aged zero to two, combines sensory play, songs and books with a separate sleeping area containing wooden coracles and mats, plus its own outdoor space used throughout the seasons.

Explorers Room, for two- to three-year-olds, encourages investigation, conversation and social learning through water, sand, construction and imaginative play, with free movement into a large outdoor area and space for an afternoon nap.

Adventurers Room, for ages three to five, adds more structure for school preparation, emphasising language, relationships and creative experimentation in a bright room with outdoor space shared with toddlers.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the learning framework: play supports communication, physical development and relationships alongside early mathematics, literacy, creativity and understanding the world. At Hey Days, children’s interests help shape that learning. It is the foundation of the nursery day, with Forest School adding guided exploration, shared activities and reflection outdoors.

In July 2022, children built obstacle routes, balanced on wooden planks and experimented with weighing boxes on a large scale. Such experiences gave physical play a thinking element: deciding how to arrange equipment, testing balance and comparing weight. Early writing also extended outdoors, using chalk and sticks rather than relying entirely on indoor paper activities.

Books and conversation had a practical role at that visit. In July 2022, children selected books to enjoy together, while staff introduced unfamiliar vocabulary during play and used songs and rhymes across the day. Older children practised recognising and forming the letters in their names. These examples show how everyday interaction contributed to preparation for the next stage of learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

A trained Forest School Leader supports regular Nature Garden exploration, woodland and open-space outings, with time for children to reflect on their experiences.

In July 2022, toddlers investigated mud and water and searched for small creatures, while older children tended fruit and vegetables. The garden therefore supported more than exercise: it offered opportunities to notice living things and practise caring for them. Alongside the room-specific outdoor spaces, this gives families several concrete ways to understand the nursery’s emphasis on outdoor learning.

Relationships and Communication

An allocated key person links the child’s learning with family knowledge. Settling sessions allow parents to discuss routines, interests, development and dietary needs with that practitioner, making the starting point personal rather than simply a room placement. Feeding and sleeping routines receive specific attention in Discoverers Room.

ParentZone, the online learning journal, carries updates about development and allows families to contribute achievements from home. Parents’ evenings provide another opportunity for discussion. Together, these arrangements give parents both ongoing information and a chance to add context that staff might otherwise miss, such as a new interest or milestone outside nursery.

Daily baby sheets record meals, sleep and nappy changes, helping parents plan the evening at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SENCOs coordinate personalised support with parents and practitioners, drawing on specialist services when needed. Named partners include Kirklees Council’s Childcare Inclusion Team, Portage Workers and Teachers of the Deaf, alongside speech and language and autism specialists. The practical value is the route between a concern raised in the room and a coordinated plan of support.

The staged process begins with a discussion between parents and the key person, followed by SENCO assessment, strategies and specialist referrals with parental involvement. Support is reviewed and adjusted. Individual Education Plans and Education Health Care Plans form part of these arrangements where relevant; this describes the mechanisms available rather than guaranteeing a particular outcome for a child.

At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, with staff understanding signs of harm, reporting procedures and the action required when concerns involved another staff member. Current arrangements include staff trained in paediatric first aid and safeguarding. The nursery team also includes practitioners with early-years degrees and other early-years qualifications, plus apprentices working towards a qualification.

A chef prepares meals on site, and the nursery’s dietary policy provides for allergies and special requirements. Meals and snacks attract a separate optional consumable charge, with non-food consumables covered by that charge and sun cream charged separately under the funded terms.

Sessions and Attendance

Hey Days Nursery is at Holmfirth High School, Heys Road, Thongsbridge, Holmfirth, HD9 7SE. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year; bank holidays and a Christmas week are closures. Families need another arrangement for those breaks even when choosing attendance across the year.

The full-day pattern lasts 10.5 hours. Morning and afternoon sessions are conditional ad hoc arrangements, offered only when the nursery can accommodate them, rather than a routine alternative to full days. That distinction is important for anyone whose work requires a regular shorter session.

For families opting out of the optional funded-place charges, the attendance choice is a fixed 10-hour slot: 7.30am to 5.30pm or 8am to 6pm. The nursery must be informed of the chosen slot, and these times are not flexible; funding applies to 10 hours per day. The optional consumable payment also supports an additional 30 minutes of childcare.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form, which collects the intended start date and preferred attendance days. School preparation includes greater structure in Adventurers Room and links to support transition. Being within Holmfirth High School’s grounds does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered as 15 or 30 hours a week for eligible children from nine months up to four-year-olds, over 38 weeks. This is a term-time funding arrangement within a nursery that opens across most of the year. Private childcare is also offered, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

The charge structure separates funded childcare from additional hours, services and consumables. Meals, snacks and non-food consumables sit within an optional separate charge; funded terms also include an optional annual sun cream charge whose attendance band depends on the number of days attended. Opting out requires notifying the nursery and using one of the fixed funded slots above.

The optional consumable payment also supports additional activities named Mini Boffins and Musica, Spanish, and resources for play and craft.

• Funded hours and the working day. Opting out of the optional charges means choosing one of two fixed 10-hour slots. Compare those times with your working day and ask for a written quotation showing your chosen attendance and extras.
• Teaching purpose. The July 2022 priorities concerned linking activities to individual learning and targeting staff development. During a visit, ask how a practitioner turns your child’s next learning step into an activity and reviews the result.
• Baby routines and dietary care. Discoverers Room has separate sleeping provision and daily care sheets, while the dietary policy covers allergies. Use a visit to discuss your child’s sleep routine and confirm the current handling of any allergy.
• Shorter attendance. Morning and afternoon sessions depend on ad hoc need and the nursery’s ability to accommodate them. Families requiring a regular shorter day should establish whether that arrangement fits before committing.

Hey Days suits families who want outdoor exploration to have a clear place in the nursery week, supported by age-specific rooms and a practical communication system. Forest School, the Nature Garden and separate baby sleeping provision give that proposition substance.

It serves families seeking full days or conditional ad hoc mornings and afternoons, with fixed funded-day options for those declining optional charges. The July 2022 teaching priorities temper an appealing combination of outdoor learning, key-person communication and organised support.