Partou Magic Garden Day Nursery & Pre-school

A garden with campfire spots, growing patches and obstacle courses gives Magic Garden its strongest character. At this Moortown nursery, outdoor exploration sits alongside Spanish, Yoga and Makaton, adding different ways for children to move, communicate and try something new. The garden earns its place in the name.

Partou Magic Garden Day Nursery & Pre-school accepts children aged 3 to 60 months at 437 Street Lane, Leeds. At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of care today.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside full days, with an early start option for families needing care before the main day begins.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday language, play supports communication, movement, relationships and growing independence. Magic Garden adds regular Spanish and Yoga lessons, while Makaton uses visual cues to support communication, listening and concentration. Spanish introduces another language; Yoga gives children a different movement activity. Neither needs to dominate the day to broaden it.

Natural materials fill the playrooms, and a lending library allows books to travel between nursery and home. Those are useful resources for children who enjoy investigating objects or returning to a favourite story. They also give families something concrete to share beyond a conversation about the day.

In September 2022, pretend medical play involved dolls and a stethoscope, while painting allowed children to choose colours and use either brushes or their hands. Staff joined children's play and brought in books connected to their interests. The practical point is the connection between an interest and an activity: a child could develop an idea through conversation, materials and a story, rather than simply move between unrelated tasks.

Outdoor and Community Life

Sensory zones, veggie patches and campfire spots give the garden several different purposes. An obstacle course offers movement challenges; growing areas introduce children to plants; sensory spaces provide things to investigate. This is an outdoor offer with more to it than room to run.

In September 2022, children negotiated outdoor obstacles and used equipment for climbing and balancing. Indoors, dough, painting and marks made in sand supplied different opportunities to use hands and fingers. For families whose children enjoy active exploration, that combination of larger movements and close-up handling is a useful part of the nursery's character.

Seasonal fayres, coffee mornings, parties and stay and play sessions bring families into nursery life. These offer different ways to take part, from joining children's play to spending time with other parents. They make parent involvement more tangible than a general invitation to keep in touch.

An online learning journal gives parents a way to follow their child's progress from home. The lending library adds a practical connection: families can share books, as well as receive updates. Communication matters most when it helps a parent understand what a child is doing and how to continue an interest outside nursery.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress through adapted activities and work with other professionals, but asked for stronger staff performance monitoring and fuller sharing of learning information with parents. Those improvement points deserve attention alongside the Good judgement. An online journal is a communication mechanism; the useful test for families is what it tells them about their own child.

In September 2022, babies and younger children settled into play and chose activities independently. Newsletters and a lending library were part of parent communication then, although parents wanted more information to help them support learning at home. The issue was the usefulness of the information, rather than simply whether contact took place.

Meals come from a seasonal menu and are cooked on the premises. In September 2022, the nursery cook catered for allergies and dietary needs with alternative meals.

Sessions and Attendance

The full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Families can instead book a morning from 8am to 1pm or an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm; the early start session runs from 7.30am to 8am. A weekly rate also covers the 8am to 6pm daily pattern. This gives parents a meaningful choice between shorter attendance and a complete nursery day.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery closes on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year, with a 4pm finish on Christmas Eve. Charges cover 51 weeks, including bank holidays, so the charging calendar needs to be considered alongside the days when care takes place.

Getting There

The address is 437 Street Lane, Moortown, Leeds, LS17 6HQ. Visits can be booked, and the nursery can be contacted on 0113 268 8221.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Leeds Local Authority for eligible families, typically covering 15 or 30 hours a week across 38 term weeks, with a maximum of 10 funded hours a day. Term-time attendance uses those weekly hours; for year-round attendance, funding is stretched across 51 weeks, giving 11.17 or 22.35 funded hours a week. These are different ways of delivering the entitlement, so the attendance pattern affects the weekly balance between funded care and paid hours.

Care, food and consumables have separate charges. Meals and snacks are charged separately, as are consumables such as sun cream, nappies and wet wipes; both categories remain chargeable during funded sessions. Funding applies to care rather than those extras. Families should use the nursery's current written quotation to understand their complete bill.

Joining involves either a non-refundable registration charge or a registration deposit to reserve a place, with eligibility governed by the terms and conditions. The distinction matters: families need to know which arrangement applies to their booking before paying.

• Learning updates. In September 2022, parents wanted more help understanding their children's learning, and stronger communication was an improvement point. During a visit, ask to see how the online journal explains a child's next steps and ideas for home.
• The charging calendar. Fees cover 51 weeks and include bank holidays, while Christmas closures and an earlier Christmas Eve finish affect attendance. Compare the written quotation with the care days your family needs.
• Funded-session extras. Food and consumables are charged separately even when care is funded. Keep these categories alongside any additional paid hours when assessing the overall cost.

Magic Garden suits families seeking either morning or afternoon sessions as well as full days, with outdoor exploration carrying much of its appeal. Spanish, Yoga, Makaton and the lending library give that offer recognisable detail. The September 2022 Good judgement provides a dated assessment of quality; the accompanying priorities around staff monitoring and useful parent communication remain sensible points for a visit. For parents drawn to a garden-centred nursery day, the strongest attraction is the variety of things children can actually do there.