Jolly Giraffes Day Nursery

A Movement Den for balancing and stretching, a Construction Cabin for ambitious builds, and regular visits to older neighbours give Jolly Giraffes Day Nursery a character that reaches well beyond its playrooms. This independent, family-run nursery in Woodlesford combines children’s own interests with a substantial outdoor offer and connections across the village. There is plenty here for children who like to move, make and explore.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 19 July 2022. The current setting has 67 places in total and accepts children aged 0 to 60 months; that whole-nursery capacity should not be confused with the size of an individual room or group. Full-day attendance comes with a minimum booking of two days, an important practical consideration alongside the nursery’s appeal.

Community life is a strong part of the offer. Children visit residents at Midland House, while support for Woodlesford in Bloom includes singing during the annual judging visit. These are opportunities to meet people outside the nursery and take part in the place where they spend their days.

Rooms and Ages

The Fantastic Free Flow Zone gives older children connected spaces for different kinds of play, including a landing area and outdoor space. FreeFlow1 emphasises construction and imaginative problem-solving; Free flow 2 combines a home corner and role play with a maths area for sorting, matching and making patterns; Free flow 3 supports creative work through recycled materials, drawing, cutting and messy play. Different activities have room to develop rather than competing for one table.

Possums explore sensory materials, with a dinosaur activity using cereals to introduce contrasting textures and sounds. Terrific Twos have helped create the backdrop for their room’s display board. These examples show children contributing to their surroundings as well as using resources prepared for them, although they serve different purposes: sensory discovery for the younger group and creative participation for the older one.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care, with play and activities shaped around their interests. Jolly Curriculum is the nursery’s name for its approach to responding to individual starting points and learning needs. Its goals for 2025/2026 include vocabulary development, sharing knowledge with parents and combining children’s choices with activities supported or directed by adults. These are stated priorities rather than a separate inspection judgement.

Interest-led planning has concrete examples. Camp Jolly turned children’s conversations about camping into imaginative play inside their room. Elsewhere, children have practised choosing breakfast cereal and pouring it into their bowls, or persevered with fastening their coats. That links learning to familiar experiences and gives everyday independence a place alongside creative play.

In July 2022, babies and toddlers explored melting coloured ice in flour and water, while older children used water-tray ingredients to practise counting and explore how much containers could hold. Children also revisited earlier experiences through their memory books. The practical value is clear: objects, conversation and remembered experiences give children something meaningful to think and talk about.

Outdoor and Community Life

Movement Den contains balance beams, a trampoline, a tunnel and mats, giving children different ways to test movement at their own pace. Music Alley adds instruments and music panels to outdoor play, while the Construction Cabin provides space for building. The Book Nook offers a place to share stories. Children can move between physical challenges, imaginative projects and quieter activities.

The Jolly Garden brings another set of possibilities: a sandpit, mud kitchen, climbing wall and wooden scales, alongside growing tomatoes and courgettes. Scooping sand, weighing materials and watering plants make the outdoors useful for more than running around. These resources support practical exploration as children build, compare, pour and care for living things.

Trips follow children’s interests and include the canal, library, train station and Rothwell park. Woodlesford park offers other equipment to explore, and the Jolly Woody Litter Pickers have collected rubbish on the return from a park outing. That activity connects care for the environment with something children can actually do.

The 2026 school-leavers’ outing went to Swithens Farm, where children fed animals, explored play areas and travelled back by bus. Intergenerational experiences also include the Acorn and Oaks Story telling session with the MHA group at The Two Pointers, sharing stories and story sacks. These examples broaden the people, places and experiences children encounter, without suggesting that every outing follows a fixed timetable.

Relationships and Communication

Key people get to know children’s interests and use those observations to shape what comes next. The Camp Jolly example illustrates the connection: a conversation about life outside nursery becomes an activity children can recognise and develop. Settling also involves building familiarity with new play spaces and getting to know families, rather than treating a room move as simply a change of furniture.

In July 2022, children had close bonds with familiar staff, and parents received detailed information about learning that they could use at home. Current opportunities for sharing include the Summer Celebration, an evening centred on children’s achievements and learning journeys, and the Lending Library, which sends books home for families to enjoy together. Both give parents a practical way to join in.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified purposeful use of additional funding, including access to therapy for children with speech and language delay. That is a dated assessment, with a concrete example of support rather than a general promise about every child’s needs.

Current arrangements include working with speech therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, educational psychologists and the complex needs team. The nursery identifies needs early and works with external agencies. For families whose child needs additional help, the useful detail is that support can involve professionals beyond the nursery team, alongside knowledge gathered by the child’s key people.

The staff structure includes managers, deputy managers, room leaders and a cook, with early years teachers among the team. Paediatric first aid training is also recorded for staff. These roles help parents understand how care, leadership and food preparation are organised; they do not establish the number of adults working with a particular group on a particular day.

Food is made from fresh ingredients by the nursery’s cook, with dishes prepared from scratch each day and a menu that changes weekly. Menus are shared in rooms, in the entrance hall and through the closed parent Facebook group, helping families plan food at home around nursery meals.

Preparation for school includes detailed transition reports and visits from children’s future class teachers. Meetings with local schools for Easter Parades and teddy bears’ picnics add familiarity with school life. The emphasis is on sharing information and preparing children for the change.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The minimum booking is two full days, intended to help children settle into a regular pattern. For a family needing just one day of care, that requirement is a significant consideration before pursuing a place.

Attendance runs across the year rather than only during school terms. The nursery closes on Bank Holidays and between Christmas and New Year, and those closure days are not charged. Fees are calculated across the year and paid as a regular monthly amount in advance at the start of the month, which makes the payment pattern different from paying separately for each attended day.

A registration form records the requested start date, days or sessions and the child’s age, and is then added to the waiting list against those requirements. Families can update the details as their plans become clearer. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 0113 205 9449.

Getting There

The address is 16 Station Lane, Woodlesford, Leeds, LS26 8RA. Woodlesford train Station is a short distance along the road, giving rail users a recognisable nearby landmark when planning their journey.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, alongside paid hours. The extended entitlement requires a parent or carer code, renewed quarterly; unfunded time and school-holiday care are paid for within the nursery’s year-round arrangement. Current prices and fee structures are obtained by enquiring with the nursery, so the useful comparison is the complete attendance package for the family’s intended days.

Funded places carry a separate consumables charge. Funding is deducted in calculating the regular monthly payment, with unfunded hours and days included in that calculation. A deposit is required before the child starts and is returned when the child leaves, provided one month’s notice has been given and fees have been settled in full.

• Two-day commitment. The minimum booking is two full days. Consider whether that regular pattern matches both your child’s routine and your childcare requirements.
• Teaching priorities. In July 2022, vocabulary teaching needed greater consistency, and children needed more explanation of healthy choices and hygiene. Ask for examples of how these are now built into everyday conversations and activities.
• The complete funded package. Funded attendance includes a consumables charge and paid unfunded time. Ask for one written breakdown covering your intended days, meals, consumables and holiday attendance so the total arrangement is clear.
• Seeing the nursery. Tours can be arranged through the enquiry form; informal visits depend on someone being free to show families around. Telephone shortly before travelling, and use the visit to discuss your child’s settling routine and room arrangements.

Jolly Giraffes suits families who want year-round full-day attendance, can meet the two-day minimum and value active play with regular contact beyond the nursery. Movement Den, Music Alley and the Construction Cabin give the physical offer substance, while village visits and shared stories with older generations add experiences that cannot be reproduced by toys alone.

The balance is practical as well as educational. The Good judgement dates to July 2022, and its vocabulary and healthy-living priorities deserve a current conversation. For families comfortable with the attendance commitment and funded-charge structure, the combination of interest-led play, outdoor resources and detailed school-transition work makes this a compelling Woodlesford option.