Jellytots Nursery

Play has a practical purpose at Jellytots Nursery: stories, movement and making things sit alongside learning to talk, share and manage everyday tasks. This Drighlington setting combines a play-based curriculum with food cooked on site and an emphasis on reusing materials and recycling. Its character comes from everyday experiences that give children opportunities to practise communication and creativity.

At its 3 October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Jellytots Good overall and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 53 places in total. Those are whole-nursery places, rather than the size of an individual group.

Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays. Funded childcare is offered, including support for qualifying working families and eligible two-year-olds.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play builds communication, movement, relationships and early understanding. Jellytots' play-based approach puts conversations, storytelling, imaginative play and creative activities into that day. The emphasis is on children exploring and expressing ideas at their own pace.

Literacy includes stories, phonics games and role play, while physical activities develop balance, coordination and control. Art, dance and music give children other ways to communicate. These are practical routes into learning: a child can explain an idea through a conversation, act it out or make something to represent it.

In October 2024, children experimented with a toy garage ramp and then demonstrated its movement to one another. Mathematical play involved sorting buttons and testing whether vehicles fitted through a cardboard tube. Those examples give a clearer picture of the teaching than a list of learning areas: staff used familiar objects to introduce comparison, problem-solving and mathematical vocabulary.

Story time also involved participation. During October 2024, children fetched a bear to accompany a familiar book and anticipated the next part of the story. Imaginative work included making a dragon to show their parents. Both experiences gave children something to contribute, rather than simply listening to an adult.

Outdoor and Community Life

Nature-based experiences, seasonal activities and educational outings form part of the curriculum. Sustainability also reaches into daily routines through recycling and material reuse, alongside paperless administration and reducing waste. Reusing resources makes this an everyday practice rather than a separate lesson about the environment.

In October 2024, outdoor play included searching for insects in compost and balancing along beams with guidance from staff. Children also took turns sending a toy tractor down a slide. Local walks and a train journey extended learning beyond the nursery, giving children experiences to connect with their play and conversations.

Relationships and Communication

Continuity between rooms was a useful part of settling in during October 2024: staff moved with children, keeping a familiar adult alongside them through the change. Parents and staff discussed children's development when they started. That makes the handover about the individual child, including what they already know and the experiences they bring from home.

In October 2024, everyday independence included washing hands, taking plates away and helping to clear up activities. Praise accompanied children's efforts, and children celebrated what they had achieved. These small tasks matter because care and learning overlap: taking part in a routine is also an opportunity to practise listening and doing something independently.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with parents and professionals on support plans for children with SEND, but asked for more consistent confidence in using those strategies and more consistent use of children's home languages. These are specific teaching improvements, not reasons to overlook the support mechanisms already in place.

During October 2024, books reflecting children's home languages were shared with families, and staff discussed useful words with parents. The weakness concerned putting that knowledge into conversations with children consistently. For a multilingual family, the practical question is how familiar words become part of the child's day.

Food is freshly cooked at the nursery, with a hot lunch, breakfast, snacks and tea provided. This brings meals into the nursery routine as well as covering eating throughout the day.

Sessions and Attendance

Jellytots is at 28 Wakefield Road, Drighlington, BD11 1DL. It opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6pm, throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. The Christmas closure is a planning point for families whose work continues through the holiday period.

An online enquiry route and a visit-booking form are available. The form accepts a preferred date and time, while the nursery also offers an email newsletter for updates.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, up to 30 hours for eligible working parents from the term after a child reaches nine months, and 15-hour funding for qualifying two-year-olds. Families can use fewer than their full entitlement; the nursery works with them on a suitable schedule.

The funding process requires a parent declaration, the child's details and birth certificate, and an eligibility code where applicable. Funded hours begin at the next term's start after verification, with settling visits arranged as part of that process. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Support in daily practice. The October 2024 improvement points concerned consistent use of SEND strategies and home-language words. Ask how these are now used in activities and everyday conversations for your child.
• Your child's attendance plan. The weekday opening window and Christmas closure provide the practical boundaries. At a visit, discuss the booking pattern you need and how funded hours, meal charges and consumables fit into the written quotation.

Jellytots suits families seeking year-round weekday childcare with play-led learning, meals cooked on site and everyday environmental habits. The October 2024 examples give substance to that offer: practical mathematics, participatory stories, outdoor exploration and familiar adults supporting room changes. Families needing SEND support or a multilingual approach have two precise areas to explore alongside those strengths.