The Learning Tree Holmfirth

A sensory tent for babies, a giant sand pit for growing explorers and an Eco Lodge for preschool children give The Learning Tree Holmfirth a clear progression through early childhood. Outdoor space belongs to each room rather than being a single shared destination. For parents, that makes the physical setting as useful a starting point as the nursery's educational approach.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, finding highly effective teaching, sustained engagement in play and strong relationships between children and staff. That judgement belongs to a particular date. The current offer combines learning led by children's interests, separate outdoor areas and daily communication with families through the Famly App, which carries practical updates and photographs.

Based at 26 Broad Lane, Holmfirth, HD9 3JS, the nursery caters for children from birth to five years. Its four rooms are Acorns, Sproutlets, Seedlings and Oaks. Room moves are described approximately for the middle stages, so the progression should be read as a developmental journey rather than a set of fixed birthday deadlines.

Rooms and Ages

Acorns centres on babies' sensory exploration, with singing and movement in a sensory tent, daily outdoor play and a sensory wall that gives very young children textures and sounds to investigate.

Around 20 months, children move into Sproutlets, where sensory experiences broaden into language, movement and pretend play, while the outdoor mud kitchen, den building and bug searches give toddlers practical ways to explore.

Seedlings welcomes children at around 28 months, combining an open plan room that encourages independent choices with a morning welcome song and sign language, plus a giant sand pit for outdoor exploration.

Oaks Preschool occupies the Eco Lodge, an open plan building with morning number and literacy activities, spaces children can choose for themselves and free movement into its own outdoor area, supporting practice in independence before school.

The separate outdoor areas matter across these stages. Babies have space suited to crawling and sensory discovery; toddlers can climb and experiment; older children can extend their play outside. The arrangement gives outdoor learning a place within the room's day, rather than making it solely an occasional whole-nursery activity.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play and supporting children's development. Activities are planned around individual interests and the developmental needs of each age group, so the educational offer includes both adult support and opportunities for children to choose what to investigate. The learning and development page explains this arrangement across the rooms.

Oaks also uses Read, Write Inc. alongside its literacy provision. Morning literacy and numeracy activities sit beside opportunities for children to initiate their own play and decide how to approach a task. The practical balance is between a planned introduction to early skills and time to use ideas independently, rather than a day made entirely of adult-directed activities.

In September 2023, stories supplied starting points for imaginative investigations: a space book led to an outdoor spaceship made with foil, and children used magnifying glasses to explore possible clues. Books were also spread through the spaces children used. That example shows how a story could become something to discuss, examine and develop through play, rather than ending when the reading finished.

At that time, mathematical ideas were woven into familiar experiences, including counting butterflies and comparing eye colours using mirrors. These are concrete introductions to number, observation and comparison. They also show why everyday materials can be useful learning resources: children can connect an idea with something they can see and discuss.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2023, the enclosed garden included tunnels, steps and balance beams, while babies explored movement through activities with water and brushes. Children were encouraged to work out how to move carefully, including using railings and slowing down while balancing. Physical development and learning to judge a manageable risk were part of the same experience.

Community learning then included countryside walks and visits to a bookshop, theatre and market, as well as writing letters to post locally. Children bought ingredients for food activities and grew carrots and herbs in the garden. These experiences connected conversation and practical tasks with the world beyond nursery, giving children something real to remember, talk about and use in their play.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has both a key person and a secondary key person. The key person observes development during play and records achievements in the child's Learning Journey, giving conversations with parents a continuing account to draw on. A room move also brings a change of key person, an important part of the nursery's progression to understand alongside the change of space and activities.

The Famly App is used daily for photographs and updates about meals and nappy changes; Acorns also uses it to share sleep information. Baby-room practitioners work with parents to align feeding and sleep routines with home. For families of babies, those practical details make communication about care as important as communication about learning.

An annual parents' evening provides time to discuss development, and individual appointments can be arranged throughout the year. Stay & Play takes place each term, usually from 4pm to 4.45pm, allowing parents and grandparents to share activities and speak with the key person. Families can also contribute reading, experiences and hobbies, bringing something familiar from home into nursery life.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described staff experience supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including collaboration with education and health partners. These are dated findings about practice, rather than a promise about any individual child's support.

The current team includes a nursery SENCO, deputy safeguarding responsibilities, and a nursery cook. Team qualifications include paediatric first aid. These roles provide identifiable responsibilities within the setting; for a child needing additional support, the relevant detail is how that responsibility translates into their own care and learning arrangements.

In September 2023, children practised everyday independence through pouring drinks, fastening coats and putting on shoes, with adults helping them work through difficulties rather than immediately completing the task. Care and learning met in those ordinary moments. The aim was practical participation, with children having time to attempt something for themselves.

A nursery cook is employed, and the summer menu runs across three weeks, including dishes such as courgette lasagne and chickpea and apricot tagine. In September 2023, meals were home-made, and ingredient shopping and growing activities connected food with children's learning.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures at Christmas and on bank holidays. The day examples for 2026/2027 show a core day from 9am to 4.30pm, with wraparound care before and after it. Examples also illustrate different combinations of earlier starts and later finishes, making the core day and its extensions separate parts of the booking structure.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01484 686552 or by email. The nursery's address is 26 Broad Lane, Holmfirth, HD9 3JS. These contact routes provide a straightforward starting point for arranging attendance.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid attendance both feature in the 2026/2027 day examples. Food is charged separately within an optional core-day extras package; non-food consumables are also charged separately in that package, including nappies, wipes, creams and bedding. The package also covers nursery events and outings. Families who do not take particular extras can discuss alternatives, so the choice of extras belongs alongside the choice of attendance hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

The nursery describes a partnership with Upperthong J. & I. School. Attendance here does not guarantee a school place: families still use the local authority admissions process. Nursery preparation and a school relationship should therefore be considered separately from the decision on a Reception application.

• Room changes. Sproutlets and Seedlings moves are described at around 20 and 28 months, and each move changes the key person. During a visit, discuss how a move would be planned for your child and how information passes between practitioners.
• Preschool learning. Oaks combines Read, Write Inc., morning literacy and numeracy, and child-initiated play. Ask how the named programme is used and how those activities fit into a typical preschool day.
• Hours and extras. The core day can be combined with wraparound care, while food and consumables sit within optional extras. Discuss the funded entitlement relevant to your family and request a written quotation separating attendance from the extras you choose.

The Learning Tree suits families seeking the Core Day session or wraparound care before and after it, with room-based outdoor play and practical communication about their child's routines. Acorns' sensory provision and Oaks' Eco Lodge give the youngest and oldest stages clear identities. The September 2023 Outstanding judgement adds weight to that offer, while room transitions and the chosen extras deserve attention when deciding how it fits your family.