Kids Planet Southridge

In June 2025, a take-home bear with a learning challenge, music on a stage and close working with school teachers gave Kids Planet Southridge a recognisable character. Based within Southridge First School in Whitley Bay, it combines early-years care with wraparound provision and a holiday club. The school setting matters, but nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

At its June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that personalised teaching helped children make strong developmental progress. The practical detail behind that judgement is useful: staff adapted the same activity to different children, rather than expecting everyone to learn the same thing at once.

The current age range is birth to five, with capacity for 54 children across the setting. That whole-setting figure is not a room size. Full days, morning and afternoon sessions, shorter days and wraparound bookings provide several ways to organise attendance.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, that means learning through play and routines, with communication, early literacy and mathematics alongside social and physical development.

In June 2025, a shared puzzle illustrated how teaching worked here. Some children practised taking turns and cooperating; others used the activity to develop mathematical understanding. The activity stayed communal, while the learning differed. For a parent, this is a more concrete account of individual attention than a general promise to follow children's interests.

Books and songs were woven into the day in June 2025. Children chose books independently, while singing helped signal changes between activities and reinforce expectations. Reading therefore had a place beyond a scheduled story session. Music also became a social activity, with older children entertaining their friends on the stage.

Everywhere Bear added a link between nursery and home in June 2025: children took the bear away with a challenge to complete before returning it. This gave families something specific to share, connecting home learning with the nursery day rather than leaving the two separate.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor exploration is part of Southridge's current approach, with children encouraged to try physical challenges in familiar surroundings. Indoors, creative activities give them opportunities to make and investigate. These are complementary experiences: making things and testing physical skills both allow children to take an active part in their day.

In June 2025, the outdoor space also supported quieter moments, including lying on the grass to relax. Peer massage sessions provided another example of planned relaxation. Physical activity was balanced with opportunities to slow down, an important distinction for children who need a pause during a busy day.

Relationships and Communication

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements, close relationships between children and their key person, and highly valued communication with parents. Those findings connect care with learning: familiar adults knew children's needs, while families could contribute from home.

In June 2025, staff helped children work through disagreements, including negotiating whose turn it was to use scissors. Adults modelled considerate behaviour and helped children understand feelings. The emphasis was on practising solutions within ordinary play, giving children opportunities to manage small difficulties with support.

Famly, the parent app, supplies updates as part of the group-wide offering used at Southridge. It gives families a way to keep in touch with the nursery day. The branch also has a Designated Safeguarding Lead role and secure access arrangements.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Individual learning needs shaped activities in June 2025, and staff worked with school teachers so that their learning plans complemented one another. That relationship can help connect children's experiences across the nursery and school setting, while leaving school admission decisions separate.

Freshly prepared food and snacks form part of the group-wide offer at Southridge, with provision for dietary needs. The branch's mealtime approach also includes balanced portions and a zero-waste ethos, making food habits part of daily care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Southridge First School, Cranleigh Place, Whitley Bay, NE25 9UD. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm on weekdays, with operation across 52 weeks of the year.

Nursery bookings include a Full Day from 7.45am to 6pm, a Morning from 8am to 1pm and an Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. A Short Day runs from 8.45am to 3.15pm. Full Time bookings use the full-day hours, and an Adhoc Hourly Charge supports hourly attendance. These patterns give families a choice between a complete working day and a shorter block of care.

Wrap Around AM runs from 8.45am to 11.45am, Wrap Around PM from 12.30pm to 3.30pm and Wrap Around Lunch from 11.30am to 12.30pm. Early Bird covers 7.45am to 8am. Before School care runs from 7.45am to 8.45am, and After School from 3pm to 6pm, for children aged three to eleven.

For children aged five to eleven, holiday bookings include a full day from 8am to 5.30pm or a short day from 9am to 3pm; the holiday Full Time pattern uses the full-day hours. This is a separate offer from the early-years nursery day.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0191 917 6665 or by email to southridge@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid sessions are offered. The group-wide fee inclusions used at Southridge cover meals and snacks, sun cream, formula, wipes and nappies, alongside sports activities and the parent app.

On days when early-years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities carry separate charges. The applicable charge category depends on the funded hours used that day. Families comparing funded and private attendance therefore need to distinguish childcare hours from these additional items. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• School-site care. Southridge combines nursery attendance with before-school, after-school and holiday patterns. At a visit, discuss how your child's chosen sessions connect with the school day and which children share their care space.
• Funded-day costs. Meals, consumables and activities are charged separately on days using early-years funding. Ask for a written breakdown for the particular pattern you are considering, rather than comparing only the childcare hours.
• A baby's day. The current age range starts at birth, while children attending in June 2025 were aged two to nine. If choosing care for a baby, use the visit to discuss sleeping arrangements, daily routines and the size of the youngest group.

Southridge suits families seeking morning or afternoon nursery sessions as well as full or shorter days, with wraparound and holiday provision useful to those coordinating care around school. The June 2025 judgement gives a strong inspection position, backed by concrete examples of personalised activities, home learning and supported relationships.

Everywhere Bear and the school-site working relationships give the review substance beyond the grade. The key practical decision is which attendance pattern fits the family, with a clear distinction between private fee inclusions and charges on funded days.