Kinder Place

Caterpillars, Butterflies and a close connection with hospital working life give Kinder Place its character. Near the grounds of Scarborough Hospital, this nursery combines separate age-group rooms with indoor and outdoor play, while its partnership with York Foundation NHS Trust gives NHS staff priority on its waiting list. That connection has a practical consequence for families choosing childcare around work.

Kinder Place has capacity for 40 children from birth to five years. At its 10 November 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall, with Outstanding behaviour and attitudes. The strongest examples from that visit were small but telling: older children helped younger ones with bicycles, children encouraged each other during activities, and outdoor exploration prompted questions about worms.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings sit alongside term-time and non-term-time care.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars serves children under two, with an open-plan space for eating, resting and play, outdoor exploration, and activities involving movement, pretend play and creative materials.

Butterflies takes children aged two to five, combining an open-plan indoor room with free-flow indoor and outdoor play, planned activities and independent choices that encourage problem-solving and growing independence. The age span makes this a room to consider carefully for both a newly two-year-old and a child approaching school.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage is the shared early-years framework, guiding learning through play across communication, physical development and relationships alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world.

Staff use observations to plan learning in Butterflies. Families also contribute to a Learning Journal, updated monthly with photographs and a detailed observation.

In November 2021, learning often began with something children could investigate directly. Coloured plastic helped them explore how colours change when combined; making bird feeders followed learning about birds and their food. These examples linked discussion with hands-on activity, giving children something concrete to test and revisit.

Outdoor and Community Life

Both rooms offer outdoor exploration and physical play in an enclosed area with high fencing and lockable gates.

In November 2021, children dug for worms and compared their sizes, while after cycling around a road track, children noticed that their hearts beat faster. Outdoor activity therefore supported both curiosity and an understanding of their bodies. These are examples from that period, rather than a timetable of today's activities.

Relationships and Communication

A key person provides the relationship around which each child's care is organised. Settling starts with welcome sheets about the child's family, preferences and needs, followed by visits arranged around the child and parents. Outings wait until the child has settled fully.

For the youngest children, staff work with parents on weaning and sleep routines. The Caterpillars routine can change as those needs develop, making the relationship with home relevant to everyday care as well as the initial settling period.

Daily discussions sit alongside termly reports and progress reports for two-year-olds, with other professionals involved where required. Longer conversations can be arranged separately, and an annual parents evening takes place in July.

The nursery library lends books, games and story sacks for use at home. It offers a practical way to continue shared reading and play beyond the nursery day. An open-door policy also allows parents to spend time with their child during a break or join a session; telephone contact is welcomed when visiting does not fit their working day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, children making good progress, and staff recognising special educational needs and disabilities promptly and providing support. Those judgements belong to that inspection date. Current arrangements include gathering information about additional needs at enrolment and working with outside agencies and other professionals.

In November 2021, independence was encouraged through ordinary tasks: babies practised feeding themselves, while preschool children spread butter on toast and poured drinks. Adults also helped children understand toothbrushing and healthy food choices. The value was in practising manageable tasks, with independence built into the day rather than reserved for a separate activity.

Meals and snacks are developed with the Trust dietician and catering team, with children's nutrition considered in their preparation. Families supply formula, nappies, wipes and creams, and staff prepare formula according to the child's feeding routine.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Hospital Staff Social Club, Woodlands Drive, Scarborough, YO12 6QN. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Care is offered both during term time and outside it, with closures for bank holidays, two staff training days and the week between Christmas and New Year.

Morning sessions run from 7am to midday or from 8am to 1pm; the afternoon session runs from 1pm to 6pm. A full day is nine hours, and an extended day covers attendance beyond nine hours.

Recurring weekly bookings require one month's written notice for changes; changes affecting funding may have to wait until the next term. Remaining flexible contracts require weekly advance booking as that option is phased out. Funded morning and afternoon sessions use five-hour blocks and cannot be extended beyond that model.

The waiting list gives priority to NHS staff through the York Foundation NHS Trust partnership, to existing children seeking an attendance change, and to siblings of children already attending. Applications go to the nursery manager. Placement enquiries can also be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01723 342425 or by email at info@kinderplace.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Kinder Place offers universal funding of 15 hours and extended funding of 30 hours, with entitlement and the required documentation determining access. Term-time funding is organised around 38 weeks; hours beyond those funded weeks are invoiced separately. Funded bookings can use five-hour morning or afternoon blocks or nine-hour full-day blocks, with additional private hours charged separately.

The Enhanced Provision package covers meals, snacks and enrichment activities, charged according to attendance. On funded hours, meals and snacks are charged separately; the private full-day rate includes meals. Parents can opt out of meals and supply a packed lunch by emailing the manager, subject to the Packed Lunch Policy. Formula, nappies, wipes and creams remain parents' responsibility, including for funded attendance.

Enhanced Provision charges also cover examples such as outings, yoga, music and the learning journey app. Opting out can restrict access to aspects of that provision. A written quotation should therefore distinguish the childcare booking, funded hours and extras so that families can compare the complete arrangement.

Fees are calculated for each term and divided across its months, with payment monthly in advance. Scheduled closures are excluded from charges. An enrolment fee is payable when a place is confirmed in writing; it is non-refundable unless the nursery cannot provide the required start date. Ending the agreement requires one calendar month's written notice, with fees payable in lieu if that notice is not given.

• Shift patterns and recurring bookings. Flexible contracts are being phased out, while changes to regular sessions require written notice. Before joining, discuss how the proposed weekly pattern will accommodate your rota, especially where funded sessions are involved.
• Waiting-list priorities. NHS staff, siblings and existing children changing attendance receive priority. Arrange a visit by telephone and discuss how those rules apply to your application, rather than treating the hospital connection as a guarantee of a place.
• The rhythm of group activities. In November 2021, some children spent too long waiting for group activities and routines after rooms had been merged. During a visit, ask how the Butterflies day is organised across its two-to-five age span and how unnecessary waiting is avoided.
• The complete cost of attendance. Funded meals and enrichment carry separate charges, while parents supply care consumables. Obtain a written quotation showing your chosen sessions, meal arrangements and Enhanced Provision choices, including what opting out would mean for your child.

Kinder Place suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day care, with either term-time or non-term-time attendance. Its NHS partnership, parent reporting and resources to borrow for home give it a recognisable character. The November 2021 findings provide a positive, dated account of children's relationships and learning, balanced by the concern about waiting during routines. For shift-working families, the decisive practical consideration is how a recurring booking will fit work as flexible contracts are phased out.