Kidz Day Nursery Catterick

Weekly English-and-Spanish music sessions and seasonal gardening give Kidz Day Nursery Catterick a recognisable character. EnCantada introduces both languages through singing, play and adventure, while toddlers and preschool children help create container and raised-bed gardens. These are concrete additions to a day organised around play and growing independence.

At its 18 March 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. There were two clear priorities for improvement: staff needed to use accurate vocabulary more consistently, and the outdoor area needed further development for children who prefer learning outside. Those priorities matter alongside the positive judgement.

The nursery has capacity for 79 children and accepts children from three months to five years. Its address is 20-22 Richmond Road, Catterick Garrison, DL9 3JD. Age-banded rooms support children from babyhood through to preparation for school, with term-time and full-time attendance patterns offered.

Rooms and Ages

Little Treasures covers 0-24 months, with admission from three months, routines adapted to individual babies, songs and sensory play, plus low feeding chairs and coracles.

Explorers, for children aged 24-36 months, combines books, singing and sensory play with shared meals at tables, an open-plan playroom and outdoor access through the garden room.

Adventurers serves children aged 36-60 months, emphasising communication, early writing and self-help through play, with activities shaped around children's interests and opportunities to choose independently.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop communication, early writing and independence through play. Activities are planned around their developmental needs and interests, with opportunities to make choices. That means adult planning and children's own decisions both have a place in the day.

EnCantada is a weekly addition to that framework. Its combination of English and Spanish with music, singing, adventure and play gives language learning a practical setting rather than presenting it as a separate desk-based lesson. Books and interactive resources also support a daily programme of speech, language and literacy, while preschool mathematics includes games and other interactive activities.

In March 2025, younger children persisted with tower-building, toddlers worked together to make a balancing beam from wooden blocks, and preschool children listened closely to different instrument sounds. Staff adjusted questions to individual children, bringing counting or mark-making into the activity. These examples show how ordinary play can contain several kinds of learning at once: physical coordination, conversation, concentration and early number work.

The language improvement point is relevant to this otherwise active programme. In March 2025, stories and songs supported speaking and listening, but adults' vocabulary was not consistently accurate. A language-rich day depends on the words adults model as well as the resources they provide.

Outdoor and Community Life

Toddlers and preschool children take part in seasonal gardening using containers and raised beds. This gives them something to help create and tend, rather than an outdoor area used only for running and riding. Trips into the local community and experiences in surrounding parks and woods also extend the day beyond the playrooms.

In March 2025, children used the garden daily, riding tricycles on a slope, digging in sand, playing hopscotch and mixing potions in the mud kitchen. There was plenty to do, but the outdoor environment offered less stimulation than the indoor rooms. The distinction matters for a child who learns most readily through outdoor exploration: access outside and the quality of learning opportunities there are separate considerations.

Relationships and Communication

Individual routines help shape the start of nursery life. In March 2025, staff gathered information about children's interests and preferred sleeping arrangements before they began attending. Activities helped newcomers learn other children's names, and adults offered comfort and encouragement when tasks were difficult. Settling involved both practical knowledge about the child and help becoming familiar with the group.

Regular assessments of key children informed conversations with parents in March 2025. Families received information about development alongside ideas for supporting learning at home. That links the nursery day with home life: parents can understand what their child is working towards and continue a familiar activity beyond the setting.

The team comprised 11 childcare staff in March 2025, with coaching, mentoring and training available to support their work. This is a dated staffing snapshot, rather than a measure of today's room groups. The useful operational detail is the attention given to developing staff practice, especially where the language improvement point calls for greater consistency.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified SEND support as a strength, describing staff training, work with specialists and individual development plans. These are specific mechanisms for supporting children who need additional help. Current partnership working also includes speech-and-language professionals and health visitors, giving families a concrete starting point for discussing coordinated support.

Everyday independence featured strongly in March 2025. Babies practised using cutlery, toddlers poured drinks, and preschool children prepared toast and cut fruit. Adults helped children learn to put on coats and use the toilet independently. These small tasks have a practical purpose: children gain experience managing parts of their own day before moving on to school.

Food is cooked freshly on the premises by the nursery cook, and children eat family-style and serve themselves. This makes mealtimes part of the independence programme as well as a break for food.

Information-sharing with other childcare providers and schools supported transitions in March 2025. Alongside self-care practice, that helped connect children's next steps with what staff already knew about their development and needs.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Both full-time and term-time places are offered, alongside stretched funded places. These attendance patterns serve different family calendars, while the opening window provides the practical boundaries of the nursery day.

For parents comparing options, the distinction between term-time attendance and full-time attendance is more useful than opening hours alone. One concerns the weeks a child attends; the other provides a different pattern across the nursery year. The right choice depends on the family's working arrangements and the consistency of routine they want for their child.

Getting There

Kidz Day Nursery Catterick is at 20-22 Richmond Road, Catterick Garrison, DL9 3JD. Families can contact the Catterick team by telephone on 01748 883609 or through the contact form, selecting Catterick as the nursery.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered on a stretched basis. Current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation, so the funding arrangement and any privately paid attendance can be considered together. A quotation is also the useful place to distinguish childcare hours from food, non-food supplies and any additional activities.

• Outdoor learning. In March 2025, the outdoor space offered less stimulation than the indoor rooms. During a visit, look at how outdoor activities now support children who prefer learning outside, beyond simply having access to the garden.
• Language modelling. Accurate adult vocabulary was an improvement priority in March 2025, alongside a programme that includes daily literacy work and weekly EnCantada sessions. Ask how staff now maintain consistency in the language they use with children.
• Attendance and the written quotation. Term-time, full-time and stretched funded arrangements give families different options. Request a written quotation for your intended attendance pattern.

Kidz Day Nursery Catterick suits families considering either term-time or full-time attendance who value play-led learning with practical additions such as weekly EnCantada sessions and seasonal gardening. Its room age bands extend from Little Treasures to Adventurers, covering babyhood through to preschool.

The March 2025 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with SEND support receiving specific recognition. Accurate language modelling and the development of outdoor learning remain the two decision points to carry into a visit. The strongest appeal is the combination of concrete learning experiences, everyday self-care and support shaped around individual children.