Butterfly's Day Nursery, Selby

Growing herbs, balancing on an obstacle course and mixing paint into flour and water gave Butterfly's Selby a hands-on character in September 2022. These were experiences that connected conversation, movement and exploration. The current setting is purpose-built, on Selby Business Park, and takes children from three months to school age, with 84 places in total.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its September 2022 inspection. That judgement sits alongside two clear improvement priorities: gathering children's starting information more consistently and planning more precisely around what each child should learn next. For parents, the useful distinction is between activities children enjoy and activities that give each child the right next challenge.

Both private sessions and funded childcare are offered. The nursery opens from 7.30am to 6pm across 51 weeks of the year.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, this brings communication, physical development and other areas of learning into children's play and activities, rather than treating care and learning as separate parts of the day.

In September 2022, conversations between adults and children drew on children's knowledge and interests. Stories and familiar songs gave older children opportunities to listen and join in; younger children copied movements and responded to music. These examples show how language could be practised through shared enjoyment rather than through a separate lesson.

Sensory exploration also featured that September. Older babies handled water and sand, while another activity combined coloured paint with flour and water. Children made patterns with their hands and talked about texture and changing colours. The materials gave them something concrete to discuss, bringing physical exploration and vocabulary together.

The limitation concerned individual planning. In September 2022, activities were not consistently matched closely enough to each child's developmental needs. Enjoyment was evident, but the next learning step needed greater precision. Individual planning therefore mattered as much as the choice of activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

September 2022's outdoor play area included opportunities to grow food, flowers and herbs. An obstacle course gave children practice in jumping and balancing, alongside taking turns and deciding how to move safely. Outdoor activity therefore involved both physical skills and practical choices.

Community experiences that September included a visit to a local pet shop and charity fundraising walks. Children also explored national and international celebrations. These examples widened the subject matter beyond nursery activities, giving children opportunities to talk about animals, their community and different celebrations.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language good, with targeted strategies and advice from external agencies.

Relationships mattered in September 2022: new children received extra help while they became confident enough to explore independently. Daily conversations with parents and meetings about progress supported communication between home and nursery. However, information about what children could already do at home was not always gathered consistently when they started. A friendly relationship and a clear starting picture serve different purposes; both matter.

Health and independence were practical parts of the day that September. Adults explained handwashing, and older children served lunch and managed their coats and shoes. Toothbrushing and oral health also appeared in activities. These were opportunities to practise everyday tasks rather than have adults do everything for them.

School preparation in September 2022 included inviting teachers into the nursery and requesting visits to schools. Alongside children's growing independence, these contacts supported familiarity with the next stage. They were transition activities, rather than an admissions arrangement.

Sessions and Attendance

Butterfly's is based at Selby Business Park, Oakney Wood Road, Selby, YO8 8LZ. Its current opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, and it operates for 51 weeks each year. Those opening hours establish the span of the nursery day, distinct from a family's booked attendance arrangement.

Private sessions and funded childcare are both accepted. Funding participation is useful for families considering how entitlement and privately paid attendance fit together, but it does not itself establish a child's eligibility or promise a funded place. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

For Selby enquiries, the nursery can be contacted on 01757 701791 or at selby@butterflysnurseries.co.uk.

• Starting information. September 2022's improvement priority concerned inconsistent collection of children's existing skills and abilities. At a visit, ask how information from home is gathered and used before activities are planned.
• Individual challenge. Activities in September 2022 were not always tailored precisely enough to individual developmental needs. Ask for an example of how staff choose a child's next learning step and adjust an activity around it.
• Attendance and funded costs. The nursery accepts private sessions and funded childcare within its 7.30am to 6pm opening window. Request a written quotation for your intended attendance, including how funded hours, meals and non-food consumables are treated.

Butterfly's Selby suits families seeking a purpose-built nursery for children from three months to school age, with either private sessions or funded childcare. Its September 2022 account offers concrete examples of conversation, sensory exploration, outdoor activity and growing independence. The balancing consideration is equally concrete: starting information and individual learning challenges needed greater consistency. Those two points deserve attention when assessing whether the nursery's approach fits your child.