Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Hipswell

A separate sleep room for babies, garden access for toddlers and weekly dancing for preschool children give Hipswell a clear character: care changes with the child's stage. Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Hipswell serves children from six months to five years at The Old School in Catterick Garrison. The youngest children have space for rest; older children have opportunities to move, explore and become more independent.

At its August 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children made good progress through carefully adapted learning activities. Two improvements mattered: clearer instructions when children changed activities, and staff development that better supported vocabulary and thinking. Those are practical points for families to weigh alongside the nursery's strengths.

Rooms and Ages

Babies, for six to 18 months, has resources suited to differing stages of development and a separate sleep room, giving rest its own space away from the main activity room. That separation is a useful consideration for families whose baby still needs daytime sleep.

Rising 2s, for 18 to 24 months, combines resources suited to this age with opportunities to explore other nursery spaces and practise larger movements in the garden. The room bridges early exploration and a more active toddler day.

Toddlers, for two to three years, uses the main room with free movement into the garden and activities designed to let children develop at their own pace. Indoor and outdoor play are connected rather than treated as entirely separate parts of the day.

Pre-school, for three to five years, emphasises independence and more demanding activities as children prepare for school. A weekly dance session adds a regular opportunity for active participation.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play builds skills such as communication, movement and independence. Ashbourne's group-wide activity description for Hipswell includes sensory areas, mud kitchens and stories, giving children different ways to explore materials and ideas alongside that framework.

In August 2025, dough play helped children strengthen their hands for later writing, while building with bricks introduced number and measurement. Learning had a purpose beyond keeping children occupied. Staff observed what children could do and used those observations to decide what to introduce next.

Home experiences also shaped activities in August 2025. Children brought photographs of pets and a grandparent's farm, creating opportunities to share interests with others. Staff allowed an activity to change direction when children developed their own ideas, including choosing to paint their bodies instead of the paper. That made room for children's curiosity within planned learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

An enclosed outdoor space gives children room to explore, and the garden is part of the experience for both Rising 2s and Toddlers. For parents comparing rooms, the way outdoor access changes with age is more useful than a general promise of outdoor play.

In August 2025, children had daily opportunities to exercise outdoors, with yoga also included among physical activities. Parents visited to prepare traditional food from their cultures, bringing family experiences into nursery life. These experiences connected physical activity and learning about other people to ordinary nursery routines.

Relationships and Communication

Settling arrangements are tailored to the individual child. In August 2025, children were given time to build trust in staff, and parents and practitioners worked closely together around individual needs. The practical strength was flexibility: settling followed the child rather than expecting every child to adjust in the same way.

An app provides updates about children's activities and toileting, alongside their educational plan. This communication system is used across the Ashbourne group and described for Hipswell. It gives parents a way to follow both everyday care and planned learning, rather than relying only on a brief conversation after nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities participated fully in activities, including group exercise adapted around particular physical needs. In August 2025, staff also learnt words from children's home languages, helping familiar language become part of nursery life.

Seasonal lunches and snacks are served daily, with dietary needs and babies' weaning supported; the group-wide menu approach used here has Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer menus. A dining area provides a shared space for lunches.

In August 2025, toothbrushing and handwashing formed part of children's routines. These everyday habits gave health and self-care a practical place in the day. Leaders were also planning further opportunities for babies to explore outdoors, a useful point to consider alongside the garden access described for older rooms.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Hipswell opens for 51 weeks of the year, with closures at Christmas and on bank holidays. That calendar supports families who need childcare through the year, while the closures need to fit their own working arrangements.

Getting There

The address is The Old School, Hipswell, Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, DL9 4BB, opposite the village hall. New-parent enquiries can be made through the Hipswell enquiry form or by calling 0800 699 00 44.

Funding and Paid Extras

In August 2025, the nursery provided government-funded places and received additional funding for disadvantaged children. This establishes its experience of funded childcare at that time.

• Babies' day. Babies has a separate sleep room, while the August 2025 plans included expanding babies' outdoor experiences. During a visit, look at how rest, indoor exploration and outdoor time fit together for the youngest children.
• Changes between activities. In August 2025, unclear instructions sometimes unsettled children moving indoors or preparing for lunch. Discuss how practitioners now make these changes understandable, especially if your child finds stopping an activity difficult.
• Language development. In August 2025, staff development needed more precision around extending vocabulary and thinking. Listen for how practitioners build on children's answers and interests during a visit; this matters beyond simply keeping a conversation going.
• Funded attendance and costs. Hipswell provided funded places in August 2025.

Hipswell suits families seeking childcare across the year, with separate stages for babies, mobile toddlers and preschool children. Its separate sleep room, connected garden play and weekly preschool dancing offer concrete reasons to consider it. The August 2025 picture also gives parents useful points to examine: how smoothly children change activities, and how effectively staff extend their language. For younger children, the organisation of rest and outdoor time deserves equal attention.