Kids Planet Wetherby

A large garden for active play and a sensory room for quieter moments give Kids Planet Wetherby two useful sides to its purpose-built setting. Within the grounds of Crossley Street Primary School, the nursery combines space to explore with a separate place to pause. That balance matters for children who enjoy movement but sometimes need a calmer activity.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), while identifying a need to involve quieter children more consistently in language activities. The improvement point deserves attention alongside the positive judgement.

There are 64 places in total, with a current age range of 3 to 59 months. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings give families different ways to arrange attendance.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: here, its practical expression includes play, conversation, stories and opportunities to become more independent. These everyday experiences matter as much as a planned activity. The useful question is what children get to practise, and how adults help them take the next step.

In February 2024, books were within children's reach, and toddlers enthusiastically explored a story sack. A search for a missing toy became an opportunity to learn words describing position. This was language teaching through a shared game, giving the vocabulary an immediate purpose rather than treating it as something to repeat in isolation.

Communication also took different forms across the age groups that February. Adults gave babies time to make sounds and talked through their actions; toddlers received help combining words; older children practised listening during conversations. However, quieter children sometimes received fewer exchanges with adults and were not consistently drawn into group stories or discussions. A busy conversation can leave a less vocal child on the edge.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden supports climbing, digging and looking for wildlife. These are concrete opportunities for movement and investigation, with children using the outdoor space for more than a break between indoor activities.

In February 2024, children had regular forest school sessions, exploring nature, and searched the garden for insects. Visits to places in the surrounding community and activities supporting local charities also formed part of their experience. These broadened the day beyond the nursery's rooms, although the garden itself supplied opportunities to investigate living things close by.

Independence was visible in small tasks during that February visit. Toddlers persisted with removing outdoor clothing, while preschool children helped themselves to food and poured drinks. Such tasks give children a real role in their own care. They also provide repeated opportunities to practise skills during an ordinary day.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2024, a key-person arrangement gave children a familiar adult, and staff exchanged information when children moved between rooms. This connected emotional support with practical continuity: a room change involved sharing what a child needed, rather than simply moving them into an older group.

Experience bags were another useful detail that February. Staff offered families experience bags to help children manage events such as a dentist appointment or a new baby. The connection between home life and nursery care was concrete, extending beyond a general conversation about how the day had gone.

Famly, the group's parent app used at Wetherby, provides updates as activities happen. It offers parents a connection with their child's day while they are elsewhere.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The sensory room has soft lighting, textures to explore and sensory activities. It can be used for a quiet pause or interaction in a small group, giving children an alternative to more active play. Its value lies in that choice of setting, rather than in a promise that one room will meet every child's needs.

In February 2024, staff identified children who needed additional help, adjusted interactions through their key person and referred to other professionals where appropriate. These are the mechanisms behind the dated SEND finding: noticing a need, changing support and involving others.

Freshly prepared snacks and meals cater for dietary needs. Food is part of the care offer, as well as part of the charging structure families need to understand.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Kids Planet, Barleyfields Road, Wetherby, LS22 6PN. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, across 52 weeks of the year.

Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm, Morning from 7.30am to 1pm and Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. A Full Time booking is also offered with the same daily clock times as Full Day. The morning and afternoon options are useful for families whose care needs fit part of the day; the full-day pattern covers the longer opening window.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01937 584 000 or by email at wetherby@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk. The nursery is within Crossley Street Primary School's grounds. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid sessions are offered. For privately paid care, the group's inclusive package at this branch covers meals and snacks, formula, nappies, wipes and sun cream. Sports activities and the parent app also form part of that package.

On days when early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately. The rate card distinguishes half-day, short-day and full-day charges on days when funding is applied. Families comparing attendance patterns therefore need to distinguish the privately paid package from the charges attached to funded days. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Quieter children's participation. In February 2024, less confident children were not consistently encouraged into language activities. During a tour, ask how staff now include children who watch and listen before speaking, especially during shared stories and group conversations.
• Funded-day costs. Meals, consumables and activities attract separate charges on days using early years funding. Compare a written quotation for the actual morning, afternoon or full-day pattern you intend to book.
• Starting and changing rooms. The February 2024 key-person arrangement and staff handovers supported continuity. Use the tour to discuss settling sessions and how your child's familiar routines would be shared between adults.
• School-site expectations. The Crossley Street Primary School location may appeal to families thinking ahead to Reception. Nursery attendance does not guarantee admission, so keep childcare choice and the local authority application as separate decisions.

Kids Planet Wetherby suits families considering either morning or afternoon care as well as full-day attendance, with a large garden and sensory room providing contrasting spaces for activity and quieter play. The February 2024 examples of story-led language work, practical independence and key-person continuity give substance to the account of nursery life. For a quieter child, consistent inclusion in conversation is the central point to explore; for a funded booking, the separate charges need equal attention.