Orchard Trees Day Nursery

A shipwreck for imaginative play, plum trees for exploration and an adjoining working farm give Orchard Trees Day Nursery a clear countryside character. The Orchard Garden supplies much of its personality: children can grow produce, build with large loose parts and move between spaces for energetic and quieter play. Nature is part of the learning day here, rather than simply a backdrop.

Based in Thorganby near York, the nursery cares for children from 3 months to 5 years and has 88 places in total. Baby Owls, Little Owls and Wise Owls organise the progression from baby care to preschool. These are different environments for different stages, with sleep arrangements for younger children and direct garden access for preschool children.

At its 21 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children made good progress through a carefully ordered curriculum. The practical offer includes full days, half days and short days, alongside term-time and ad-hoc arrangements.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Owls caters for the under-twos, combining an emphasis on familiar relationships and early communication with space to explore and a sleep area inside the room. That arrangement keeps rest within the baby's usual care environment. Home routines help shape the day, rather than babies having to adopt a single nursery timetable.

For children aged 2 to 3, Little Owls supports growing independence and the expression of strong feelings, with adjoining play spaces and a separate sleep room. Toddlers therefore have a place to rest away from active play. Wise Owls, labelled for ages 3 to 4, develops preschool independence in a large playroom connected directly to the garden, allowing children to choose between indoor and outdoor play.

The Little Owls staffing ratio is one adult to four children, compared with the statutory minimum of one to five for two-year-olds. That is an additional staffing commitment for the toddler stage. It should be read separately from the nursery's overall capacity: 88 places describes the whole setting, not the number of children in any room.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the requirements for care and learning, which children experience through play, conversation, movement and developing everyday skills. Alongside it, The Orchard Trees Curriculum organises planning and observations through eight learning threads. These connect physical development and creativity with language, reading, early mathematics, personal identity and understanding the world.

Practitioners use those threads to decide what to add to the environment for individual children. Traditional toys sit alongside loose parts that children can use in different ways, while adult activities share the day with play that children direct themselves. Each room also has a curriculum document describing the learning used to judge readiness for the next stage. The curriculum approach gives this structure a practical purpose: observations inform what children encounter next.

In January 2025, language learning included introducing alternative words and helping babies sign for another repetition of a rhyme. Early mathematics appeared in pretend play, including numbered bicycle parking spaces and clocks used to decide when dolls should go to bed. Those examples make the approach tangible: talking and counting were woven into activities children already wanted to pursue.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Orchard Garden has plum trees, climbing equipment and spaces for gardening, cycling and imaginative play. Forest Kitchen, Fairy Corner and Pirates Cove give children recognisable settings for make-believe, with a shipwreck in the latter. The Orchard Trees Plant Nursery and Allotment involves children in tending fruit and vegetables and tasting what they grow. Caring for plants gives outdoor play an ongoing task as well as somewhere to expend energy.

Farm visits and exploration beyond the garden are regular parts of the offer. Daily planned movement sessions sit alongside weekly Rugby Tots sessions, adding a scheduled activity to the children's opportunities for physical play. Families interested in that session should establish what it involves rather than assuming a particular format from its name.

In January 2025, children made feeders for birds, explored nearby woodland and visited the monastery. Vegetables and herbs grown in the garden were used in lunches, while toddlers recognised tractors by their sound. These were concrete connections between play, food and the surrounding rural community.

Relationships and Communication

A home visit and two settling sessions, both free, precede a child's first day. For babies, the key person visits the family at home, creating an opportunity to discuss routines before care begins. This gives parents a specific starting point for sharing how their child eats, sleeps and communicates.

Famly brings messages, invoices, event invitations and the child's learning journey together in an app. Photographs and updates also help parents follow the day. The useful distinction is between administration and development: families can manage practical matters and keep track of learning through the same channel.

In January 2025, staff used family knowledge of children's interests to plan activities and combined observations with parents' priorities when deciding the next learning steps. Babies' routines were aligned with home life. Discussions about feelings and gentle prompts to listen to others also formed part of daily interactions, giving children practice in expressing themselves and making room for another person's voice.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support for additional needs has a defined mechanism. The SENco works with the family, outside agencies, the child's support team and key person to draw up targets and a plan; help with applications for extra funding is also offered. This is a practical route for coordinating support around an individual child.

Makaton signing is used daily to support communication, alongside visual signs and timetables. Nursery Rhyme Ambassador recognition adds an emphasis on rhyme experiences linked to rhythm, speech, memory and social skills. Neither replaces individual planning, but both broaden the ways children can participate in the day.

The current team includes a designated safeguarding lead, a SENDCO and a cook with a food hygiene and allergy management role. Paediatric first aid and Makaton training feature in the team's training, while a Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies is among its qualifications. These describe roles and expertise, rather than promising a particular outcome for every child.

Healthy Lifestyles links movement, emotional wellbeing and food learning. Its Sense of Me thread helps children identify feelings and build an understanding of themselves, with predictable routines, shared stories and individual conversations supporting that work. An indoor movement area and soft mats also make physical play and rest possible across the day.

There were two important improvement points in January 2025. Children needed more consistent encouragement to use cutlery independently at lunch, and staff supervision needed to check that training was understood and applied effectively. Both matter beyond the immediate task: everyday independence contributes to preparation for school, while training needs to translate into the learning children receive.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The standard Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm; Half Day choices are 7.30am to 12.30pm or 1pm to 6pm; and Short Day runs from 9am to 3pm. A Full Time Place follows the Full Day hours from Monday to Friday.

Early Start covers 7am to 7.30am and Late Finish covers 6pm to 6.30pm, each as an optional extra. These extensions are separate from the standard session. Term-time and ad-hoc bookings carry surcharges, and the minimum booking is one day each week. Families comparing attendance patterns therefore need to compare the whole arrangement, including any extensions they intend to use.

The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week between Christmas and New Year. Planned closure days are excluded from charges. Registration involves returning forms with a deposit, and the contact form provides an enquiry route with a response within two working days.

Getting There

The address is The Old Woodyard, Main Street, Thorganby, York, YO19 6DE. The setting is just off the A19 between York and Selby, making its rural position relevant to families already travelling along that route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including up to 30 hours for eligible families from the point their child turns 9 months. Two packages have different trade-offs. The Enhanced Service Package permits flexible booking patterns and funding use, with a charge for each funded hour and ordinary session charges for additional private hours. The Fully Funded Package applies to specified days and session times during term time, with no additional package charges for those sessions.

A cook prepares lunch fresh at the nursery each day and a lighter tea is offered; the dietary policy provides for allergy and dietary adaptations, with babies' weaning discussed with families. Breakfast, snacks and drinks are included in prices, while lunch and tea are optional and charged separately across bookings, including funded bookings; families may instead supply their own meals.

Nappies, wipes and creams are included for younger children, together with sleep bedding. Families supply any formula or breast milk their child needs. That division makes the everyday packing requirements clear while keeping milk arrangements specific to the child.

Current prices come in the nursery's personalised written quotation. The fees and funding arrangements also include sibling and full-time discounts, additional-hour charges, and charges for late collection or payment. Under the Happiness Guarantee, families withdrawing during their child's first month can leave with no notice period, receive a registration-fee refund and recover payment for unused sessions.

• Funding and the working week. The Fully Funded Package uses fixed term-time days and session times, while the Enhanced Service Package adds a funded-hour charge for flexibility. Compare the package against the exact attendance pattern your family needs.
• Independence and staff supervision. January 2025 brought improvement points about cutlery use and putting staff training into practice. During a tour, ask how both are now handled, including how preschool children practise independence at meals.
• Sleep and communication. Baby Owls has an in-room sleep area, while Little Owls has a separate sleep room. Use a visit to discuss your child's sleep routine and how their key person will share updates through Famly; allergy-affected families should also confirm current meal arrangements.
• Weekly Rugby Tots. This adds a recurring movement session to outdoor play. Ask what the session involves and how participation works for your child's stage.

Orchard Trees suits families who value outdoor exploration, a rural setting and children having room to direct their play. The garden's imaginative spaces, growing activities and farm connections give that preference substance. Home visits, settling sessions and app communication make the care arrangements equally concrete.

Its attendance choices suit families seeking full days, half days or the shorter 9am-to-3pm pattern, as well as those considering term-time or ad-hoc care. The funding packages need a careful comparison against those requirements. The January 2025 improvement points also deserve attention: a strong emphasis on independence is most useful when it carries through consistently into everyday routines.