Penny Pot Pre-School and Under 5s Creche

An indoor gym, baby outdoor space and preschool outings to the Army Foundation College give Penny Pot a character that goes well beyond its barracks address. Military and civilian families are both welcome. Based at the Jubilee Centre in Harrogate, the nursery has capacity for 65 children, from three months to five years old.

At its October 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, highlighting carefully adapted teaching, children's independence and strong relationships with families. The useful detail behind that judgement is practical: learning grew from children's interests, conversations gave children time to respond, and everyday responsibilities helped them practise doing things for themselves.

The current offer combines age-specific spaces, a staged settling programme and an online portal for sharing children's learning. Attendance can follow the full year, North Yorkshire school terms or Army Foundation College terms. Those calendar choices matter as much as the physical setting for families whose working year follows a particular timetable.

Rooms and Ages

Bright Buttons caters for babies aged three to 16 months, with Moon Beams covering 16 to 24 months; the baby provision uses separate areas for younger and older children, sensory resources and a partly covered outdoor space. That separation gives the youngest children a different setting from babies preparing for their next stage. Access between indoor and outdoor play adds another choice to the day.

Roaring Rockets is the group for two- to three-year-olds, with a spacious room and resources children can return to during play. Super Stars, for three- to five-year-olds, combines a large room organised around children's choices with access to a hall and two outdoor play spaces, supporting movement, independence and preparation for school. The hall gives older children somewhere to practise larger movements alongside their room-based activities.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) supplies the framework for learning and care: children's play develops communication, physical skills and relationships, alongside literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. It is the shared foundation for early-years provision. Penny Pot's planning then draws on what children are interested in and what staff observe they are ready to learn next.

For younger children, communication, relationships and physical development receive the main emphasis; older children work across the full set of learning areas. Activities are planned from observations and assessments rather than simply following a fixed topic for everyone. This gives a child's current enthusiasm a route into the next learning opportunity.

PLOD, short for Possible Line of Development, captures interests noticed in children's conversations and play, which staff then use in planning. Parents can contribute achievements from home through the WOW Board, and these can also be added to learning journals. Together, these mechanisms connect home experiences with nursery activities rather than treating the two as separate accounts of the child.

In October 2023, a counting activity used dice and toy pumpkins, with tweezers adding a handling challenge alongside the number work. Another activity moved from exploring a pumpkin's contents to making soup with its seeds. These examples show how one material could support counting, sensory exploration and practical skills, rather than producing an isolated craft task.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden includes a mud kitchen, a water station and a construction area using natural materials. Children also plant vegetables and other plants. These give outdoor play several purposes: building, investigating how water moves and caring for something that grows. The baby outdoor area includes sensory resources suited to younger children's exploration.

Super Stars children take local walks and attend Army Foundation College events, including the Graduation Parade. That gives the college connection a place in children's experiences as well as in the attendance calendar. In October 2023, children used the outdoor spaces in different weather conditions; football was a weekly activity, alongside yoga classes.

A further outdoor project followed a grant awarded in October 2025, with plans for an allotment, a trim trail and quiet spaces. The project also includes large musical instruments and an outdoor classroom environment. These are development plans, so families considering the outdoor offer should distinguish the established garden resources from the next stage of work.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is organised into four visits of one and a half hours: two are accompanied by parents and two are unaccompanied. These visits give families time to get to know staff and children opportunities to practise being apart from their parents. During these visits, staff gather information about the child and family life, helping the transition start with familiar habits and preferences.

Each child has a key person who supports settling, plans around their interests and keeps track of development. The online portal shares photographs, observations and assessments; end-of-term assessments explain progress and identify interests or areas needing additional support. Parents can also raise developmental concerns directly with the nursery. Communication therefore has both an ongoing route and a more structured review point.

In October 2023, staff helped babies feel secure through affectionate responses and reassurance. With older children, they modelled language, asked questions that invited more than a short answer and left time for children to reply. The distinction matters: support was adapted to children's stage, from early emotional security to more confident conversation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In October 2023, safeguarding arrangements were assessed as effective, and SEND support included a sensory room and targeted communication work coordinated with other professionals. A SENDCo role remains part of the team structure. This is a concrete route for organising additional support, while the inspection judgement belongs to that dated assessment.

In October 2023, a feelings and emotions area helped children explore self-regulation following staff training. Everyday routines also built self-care: younger children used mirrors when wiping their noses, while older children helped prepare tables and practised serving food and pouring drinks. School preparation here included managing ordinary tasks, as well as participating in planned learning.

Food is prepared and cooked on site, with a four-week menu rotation adjusted for children's preferences and seasonal ingredients; dietary requirements are accommodated wherever possible. Suitable weaning food can be blended or puréed, and parents supply formula milk and bottles, while breast milk can be stored frozen.

Sessions and Attendance

Penny Pot operates from the Jubilee Centre, Hildebrand Barracks, Penny Pot Lane, Harrogate, HG3 2SB. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm, and the minimum booking is two sessions of four hours. The distinction between the full-day window and the minimum booking matters for parents arranging shorter attendance.

Three contracts cover different calendars: all-year attendance over 51 weeks, North Yorkshire Term Time over 38 weeks, and Army Foundation College Term Time over 43 weeks. Bank holidays and a week at Christmas are closures, including Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday. A term-based contract changes the attendance year; it should be matched to the family's own work and holiday arrangements.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01423 501460, by email at info@pennypotnursery.org.uk or through the contact form. Reserving a place involves completing an application, followed by a confirmation letter and registration pack, with a deposit and registration charge required at that stage. Advance bookings are restricted to baby places; other places follow a first-come, first-served rule, subject to availability.

Changes to regular attendance should be requested in writing as well as discussed with the manager. Reducing a booking requires four weeks' notice. An increase depends on availability, so a contract change should not be treated as automatic.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible two-year-olds and for three- and four-year-olds. The offer includes 15 hours and, where eligible, 30 hours, with term-time delivery and a stretched arrangement for three- and four-year-old funding over 51 weeks. Funding uses set attendance hours, so the funded pattern and the wider opening window are separate considerations.

Private childcare is also offered. Meals and snacks are charged separately, including when attendance uses funded hours; a meal charge applies when a child attends across a mealtime. Formula milk and bottles come from parents. Additional activities, trips and art or craft consumables may involve extra costs on funded attendance. Families should obtain a current written quotation showing their own attendance pattern, funding and extras, with the fees page providing the contract structure.

• The right calendar. The 38-week North Yorkshire and 43-week Army Foundation College contracts cover different attendance years. At a tour, work through which dates fit your family and how the set funded hours fit your intended sessions.
• The baby transition. Bright Buttons and Moon Beams divide the youngest provision by age, and settling includes accompanied and unaccompanied visits. Ask how a child's move between those areas is planned alongside their settling needs.
• Outdoor development. The October 2025 project includes an allotment, trim trail and quiet spaces. On a visit, establish which elements children are using and how they fit around the existing garden activities.
• Changing commitments. Reducing regular attendance needs four weeks' notice, while meals are charged when attendance crosses a mealtime. Compare the complete written quotation with your likely working pattern before choosing a contract.

Penny Pot suits families seeking full days or term-time places aligned with North Yorkshire or Army Foundation College terms, with all-year childcare also offered. The indoor gym, baby outdoor provision and college event visits give its practical offer a recognisable shape. Staged settling and termly assessments add useful structure for parents who want an active part in their child's nursery life.

In October 2023, activities were adapted to children's learning, staff gave children time to answer questions, and everyday routines helped them practise independence. The decision now rests on matching the calendar and booking commitment to family life, while separating established facilities from the outdoor development plans.