Little Owls Nursery Hawksworth Wood

Baking for older children, free play and adult-led activities in small groups give Little Owls Nursery Hawksworth Wood its character. Set within the leafy grounds of Hawksworth Wood Primary School, this Broadway nursery accepts children from three months to five years and has 80 places in total. The school setting is a practical connection, but nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 3 December 2024 inspection, highlighting the curriculum, relationships with families and children's learning. The detail behind that judgement matters: children could choose their activities and whether to play inside or outside, while babies explored a cornflour-and-water mixture with fingers and spoons. Choice extended to the youngest children.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, developing communication, relationships and early mathematical understanding. Here, free play sits alongside adult-led activities in small groups, with baking among the experiences for older children. Lead practitioners support mathematics and communication, alongside curriculum support from qualified teachers. These arrangements give the day both child-directed exploration and planned teaching.

In December 2024, books featured repeatedly through the day, including individual reading with a member of staff. An outdoor reading area brought stories into the garden. Children joined familiar passages and anticipated what would happen next, making reading an activity they participated in rather than simply listened to.

Language also threaded through ordinary play that December. Staff described what younger children were doing, sang during the day and held more developed conversations with older children. For parents, the useful distinction is that communication was supported beyond a single planned language activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden supplied practical mathematics in December 2024: children searched for numbered snowmen and sorted baubles by their properties during a treasure hunt. Number recognition, counting and comparison therefore had a physical purpose. Children also collaborated on an obstacle course, combining movement with negotiation and shared construction.

The setting's position within Hawksworth Wood Primary School's grounds gives it a recognisable local base. The nursery's own learning provision remains the relevant offer here; proximity to classrooms should not be treated as an admissions advantage.

Each child has a Key Worker and a second familiar practitioner, called a significant other, who serve as the family's main contacts. That gives parents two people who know their child, rather than leaving communication dependent on one relationship. The free Tapestry app adds an online journal of photographs, daily moments and observations of learning, helping families follow what happens between conversations with staff.

In December 2024, settling arrangements were adapted to individual children, and staff built relationships with families from their first visit. Parents received ideas for supporting development at home. This connects nursery learning with family life and makes communication more useful than a simple account of activities completed.

At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and assessed the nursery's identification of developmental needs, targeted support and progress for children with SEND exceptionally positively. Individual support plans are also part of the current provision for children with specific needs, giving families a concrete mechanism for discussing support.

The colour monster board was another December 2024 example: children used their photographs to indicate feelings, which staff then explored in conversation. It gave emotions a visible starting point. Alongside this, adults demonstrated considerate behaviour, and children practised cooperation and helping one another during play.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year. The nursery is on Broadway, Leeds, LS5 3PS. Bank holidays are closure days; training-day closures also formed part of the arrangements in December 2024, making the annual calendar relevant to families planning care around work.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0113 2590173 or by emailing littleowlshawksworthwood@leeds.gov.uk. These are direct contacts for this branch.

Getting There

Kirkstall Forge Station is nearby, and bus routes connect the nursery's area with Leeds. Families using public transport have both rail and bus options to consider alongside the Broadway location.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 and 30-hour funded places. Eligibility and the arrangement of funded attendance need to be considered alongside a family's childcare requirements.

For Reception, attending this nursery does not guarantee admission to Hawksworth Wood Primary School. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Funded attendance and costs. With 15 and 30-hour funded places offered, how would the proposed attendance pattern work, and what would the written quotation require families to pay or provide for meals and consumables?
• Settling and communication. Each child has a Key Worker and a significant other, with Tapestry updates alongside direct contact. At a visit, discuss how those relationships and settling arrangements would work for your child.
• School-site expectations. The nursery shares Hawksworth Wood Primary School's grounds. Plan Reception applications separately: nursery attendance does not secure a school place.

Little Owls Nursery Hawksworth Wood suits families seeking year-round childcare with a substantial emphasis on communication, play and relationships with familiar adults. Its working-week opening window supports parents organising care around employment, while funded provision matters for eligible families. The December 2024 learning examples give the judgement substance: individual stories, garden mathematics and emotional conversations all had a clear purpose. The strongest reason to consider it is that combination of purposeful learning and close family contact.