Dalesplay

Cuddles and Kidzone give Dalesplay a clear shape: a younger room, an older room and outdoor space for exploration, all within a light, open-plan building in Hawes. The strongest practical thread is continuity between home and nursery, with individual routines, a key worker and written feedback about each child's day.

At its 24 May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Dalesplay Good and found its safeguarding arrangements effective. That is a dated judgement. The detail behind it included babies practising movement outdoors, older children collaborating on an obstacle course and children learning to care for growing plants.

The nursery accepts children from three months, alongside provision for older children through breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs. For parents choosing early-years care, the combination of separate age-based rooms and shared information about home routines is more useful than a general promise of friendliness.

Rooms and Ages

Cuddles serves children aged 0–2, while Kidzone is for children over two; both have age-appropriate resources for play and learning, plus space to take a quieter break. The building's open-plan layout and access to outdoor provision give children opportunities to investigate their surroundings as well as use indoor resources.

The age split matters when considering the day a child will have. Babies have a room intended for their developmental stage, while older children use a separate room with resources selected for theirs. These are room arrangements, rather than a claim about the number of children attending together.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the shared standards for children's learning, development and care; here, staff plan around individual interests and use play to help children develop skills. Observations and assessments inform that planning, so the starting point is what a child needs and enjoys rather than an identical activity for everyone.

In May 2022, children helped design an obstacle course, choosing equipment and changing the arrangement as their ideas developed. Babies practised walking over different surfaces and negotiating slopes, with small steps and a slide adding a physical challenge. These examples connect outdoor play with both movement and decision-making.

Radishes and strawberries supplied another concrete learning opportunity in May 2022. Children talked about watering plants and the effects of sunshine and rain. Preparing scones also brought shape language into an activity with a practical purpose.

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified inconsistent opportunities to introduce new vocabulary and develop understanding of numbers and counting. Those are useful priorities for a parent to keep in mind: enjoyable play still needs adults to extend children's language and mathematical thinking.

Relationships and Communication

Every child below school age has a key worker, who shares a personal book with the child and family. Free stay-and-play sessions help children become familiar with staff and the setting, either alongside a parent or independently. Care plans and personal-information booklets give those relationships a practical starting point.

Home routines inform care wherever possible. The home-to-nursery diary lets families explain their child's needs, while daily written feedback covers progress and experiences. Learning journeys also go home for parents to read and contribute to. This gives communication more substance than a brief account of whether the day went well.

In May 2022, staff responded to tired or unsettled babies with close cuddles and quiet reassurance. Older children helped prepare snack tables and assisted younger children with drinks. The examples show care and growing independence working together, rather than treating personal routines as interruptions to learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Additional support has a defined process. With parental permission, an individual Learning and Provision Plan (ILPP) sets out targets and the extra provision a child needs. The SENCO works with families, key workers and outside professionals, with advice from the Area SENCO or Early Years Advisory Teacher sought with parental consent.

Visual timetables, picture cards and sensory play equipment support communication and participation. Physical arrangements include disabled access, an accessible toilet and washing facilities, plus built-in steps to the changing unit so older children can use it. These are concrete mechanisms for adapting care to a child's needs.

Staff receive regular paediatric first-aid, safeguarding and early-years training. Breakfast, snacks in the morning and afternoon, and an evening meal are provided according to the hours a child attends.

In May 2022, transition work included sharing developmental information with primary schools and, where possible, visits by children to their next school and by teachers to nursery. That supports familiarity with the next stage; it does not confer an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Dalesplay is at Town Head, Hawes, DL8 3RQ. Opening hours are 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures on bank holidays and from Christmas Eve to New Year. Nursery childcare sits alongside breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs, allowing the service to cover different stages of family life.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone. Visits operate with advance notice or an appointment where necessary. A non-refundable registration charge applies on enrolment, followed by an annual charge in November.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible children under the nursery's 2, 3 and 4 year old funding provision. Dalesplay also collects children from Hawes Primary school so they can continue funded provision at the nursery. Collection is a childcare arrangement: nursery attendance does not guarantee a school place, and families use the local authority admissions process for a state-school application.

For paid childcare, current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The registration and annual charges should be considered alongside the attendance pattern a family chooses, rather than treating attendance charges as the whole commitment.

• Language and early maths. The May 2022 improvement priorities concerned new vocabulary and counting during play and routines. At a visit, ask how staff now extend both within activities children choose.
• The move between rooms. Cuddles covers ages 0–2 and Kidzone children over two. Discuss how the change of room is handled alongside your child's routines and relationships with staff.
• The complete childcare cost. Registration carries a non-refundable charge, with an annual charge in November. Ask for one written breakdown covering your intended hours, funded attendance arrangements, food and non-food consumables.

Dalesplay suits families seeking nursery childcare with a clear age-based room arrangement, close communication about home routines and a route into breakfast or after-school care as children grow. Cuddles, Kidzone and the individual support-planning process give parents concrete arrangements to weigh.

The Good judgement belongs to May 2022, and its vocabulary and counting priorities deserve attention alongside the positive examples of outdoor play and responsive baby care. For families who value written daily feedback and gradual familiarisation through stay-and-play sessions, there is a clear basis for a focused visit.