Incy Wincy's

A kitchen garden that supplies children's cooking and weekly adventures at Thorpe Perrow give Incy Wincy's a clear identity: food, movement and the natural world are woven into nursery life. Its Grade II listed home in Bedale adds character, but the useful detail lies in what children do there. They grow ingredients, explore outdoors and take part in everyday tasks. Learning has something concrete to attach to.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with a curriculum adapted to children's development and interests that supported secure progress. Two improvements mattered: more consistent organisation of transitions and group activities, and regular, structured supervision and feedback for staff across the rooms. Those are practical points to weigh alongside the outdoor provision.

Incy Wincy's has capacity for 42 children, with a current age range of 6 to 59 months. Caterpillars, Bumble Bees and Dragonflies provide different spaces for babies, toddlers and preschool children. Full-day and half-day bookings operate within a Monday-to-Thursday week, making the attendance pattern an important part of the choice.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars offers a very small number of places for babies up to 15 months, emphasising communication, relationships and physical development through floor-level play, with underfloor heating, low mirrors and French doors opening onto decking.

Bumble Bee Room serves children from 15 to around 30 months, with a cap of 11 children, separate from whole-nursery capacity; its kitchen space hosts water, sand and gloop, while the sitting room provides baskets of objects to investigate alongside support for early communication.

Dragonfly pre-school room occupies Amen House's first floor, welcomes up to 24 children aged two and a half to four, and promotes independence through construction, domestic play, books and creative resources that children can combine around their interests.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the shared framework for children's learning and care. Here, learning takes shape through play, conversation, books, cooking and exploration, with the garden and community outings adding a recognisable local expression.

Makaton signs give children another way to communicate alongside speech. Bumble Bee staff demonstrate them to families, connecting communication at home and nursery.

Dragonflies make regular visits to the community library in Bedale Town Hall and share books at home, connecting reading with family life. Their learning journals accompany them when they leave for school.

Outdoor and Community Life

Woodpecker Wednesdays are weekly outdoor learning visits to Thorpe Perrow, where the arboretum provides space for activity and exploration across the areas of learning. It is a recurring part of the week rather than an occasional special trip. In July 2025, children explored with maps and magnifying glasses, noticed seasonal changes and encountered new vocabulary through what they saw.

Back at the nursery, walled gardens surround the building, with an activity garden, kitchen garden and decked area. Wooden play equipment offers climbing and balancing challenges; Outlast sand and water tables invite investigation. There is also space for children to build dens and create their own imaginary settings, leaving room for play to develop beyond a prescribed activity.

The Kitchen Garden makes the journey from growing to cooking tangible. Children sow seasonal fruit and vegetables, harvest them and use the produce with staff; jams and chutneys are among the cooking activities. A greenhouse extends the growing space, while a mud kitchen made from reused materials supplies pots and utensils for imaginative play. Bedale Park, shopping outings and visits to the local bakery bring the wider town into nursery experience too.

Relationships and Communication

Home visits and settling sessions prepare for a child's start. Baby-room staff learn about individual needs from parents beforehand, giving families time to explain routines and preferences.

A key person continues that connection through personal handovers, an electronic daily diary and an online learning journal. Bumble Bee families can add their own observations to the journal, so a child's development is seen across home and nursery. The Parent Communicator also lets families send information such as changing food preferences or family news.

The Parent Forum meets every six weeks, giving nursery families a collective voice on policies and proposed decisions, alongside social and fundraising activities. Individual concerns go directly to the nursery office.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In July 2025, babies received responsive comfort and gentle music, while toddlers practised everyday independence, including putting on slippers and helping to tidy. At meals, children fetched plates, served food and poured drinks. These small tasks give children repeated opportunities to do something for themselves, with adult support close by.

Rest has its own provision. Caterpillars has a sleep area with lullabies, and a quiet feeding space with a comfortable chair supports parents continuing to breastfeed. Bumble Bee children use sleep mats when they need a nap. For families balancing feeding, sleep and nursery attendance, these arrangements deserve attention alongside the play spaces.

The resident chef prepares food freshly at the nursery, with seasonal Yummy Food menus drawing on local suppliers and garden produce. The nursery's allergy approach includes adapting recipes where possible, with individual requirements discussed with families; this is an arrangement to explore carefully rather than a guarantee that every dietary need can be met.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Amen House, North End, Bedale, North Yorkshire DL8 1XA. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Thursday, across the year apart from the Christmas and New Year break. Off-street parking is provided. A four-day operating week needs to fit the family's working pattern from the outset.

Full days run from 8am to 6pm, with half days from 8am to 1pm or 1pm to 6pm. Both shorter sessions and full days sit within a minimum booking pattern of two days per week.

Applications include preferred sessions and a start date, followed by a nursery show-around. Places are confirmed in writing three months before the preferred start; after acceptance, a monthly holding charge applies for a maximum of three months, during which a home visit and settling sessions are arranged. There is also a refundable application charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the charge structure outlined on its fees page.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding is stretched across the year, including up to 30 hours per week for three- and four-year-olds and 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds. Additional private childcare is also offered.

Meals are included in private fees, while meals during government-funded hours carry an additional charge for children aged three to five. Kendamil formula, nappies, wipes, wellies and waterproofs are included in fees. Those inclusions reduce the daily packing list, although families still supply spare clothing, indoor shoes and comfort items; preschool children bring a named water bottle each day.

• The four-day week. Attendance runs Monday to Thursday, with a two-day minimum booking pattern. Compare both half-day windows and the full day with your working commitments before choosing sessions.
• Organisation and staff support. In July 2025, some transitions lacked clear organisation, and staff supervision and feedback were inconsistent across rooms. During a visit, ask how group activities are now led and how regular coaching reaches each room.
• Food and funded hours. Private fees include meals, but funded hours for children aged three to five carry a meal charge. Allergy-affected families should confirm current recipe adaptations and food-handling arrangements for their child.
• Preparing to start. Written confirmation comes three months before the preferred start, followed by holding charges, a home visit and settling sessions. Use the show-around to discuss how settling will accommodate your child's sleep, feeding and comfort routines.

Incy Wincy's suits families who want either full-day attendance or shorter morning or afternoon half days, can work with a Monday-to-Thursday week, and value regular outdoor learning and practical food experiences. Thorpe Perrow, the Kitchen Garden and community library visits give children specific places and activities through which to explore.

The room environments offer different opportunities as children grow, from floor-level baby play to toddler investigation and preschool independence. The July 2025 priorities around group organisation and staff feedback remain useful questions for a visit. Families should weigh those alongside the nursery's concrete offer, its attendance requirements and the charges associated with funded hours.