Skylark Day Nursery

A converted church, a seaside chalet and a garden with an orchard give Skylark Day Nursery a character firmly rooted in Scarborough. Beach School takes preschool children beyond the nursery for rock-pool exploration and learning about coastal safety; back indoors, an open-plan layout lets different ages mix, including siblings. Active play has substantial space behind it.

Skylark has capacity for 44 children, with a current age range of three months to five years. Its named areas begin at six months: Sunbeams, Rainbows and Little Stars. At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, including its education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.

Full-day, morning and afternoon care sit alongside term-time and year-round attendance.

Rooms and Ages

Sunbeams, for six months to two years, combines carpeted play space and a wet area with a sensory room containing sound and light displays, plus a separate sleep room with cots. That separation matters for babies whose need for rest runs alongside other children's play. Bedding is laundered between children, and a changing room sits beside the area.

Rainbows, for two to three years, has low tables, space for imaginative and water play, a quieter sleeping area beneath the mezzanine, and access upstairs for larger movements. Little Stars, for three to five years, brings together construction, creative materials, a listening space and outdoor access, with children choosing tools and resources for themselves. Its bathroom has washbasins and toilets at differing heights, while named pegs and pigeon-holes help children manage their belongings.

These are connected areas rather than a collection of enclosed rooms. The mezzanine adds space for large construction projects, role-play and physical activity, giving older children another way to spread out indoors. For families, the important distinction is between the open main layout and the separate spaces for sleep or quieter activity.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support communication, movement and growing independence. Skylark adds baby signing, natural materials and loose parts, with planning shaped by children's interests. Staff have training in Every Child a Talker resources and methods to support communication.

Mini-gyminis combines dance, yoga or large-movement activities for children aged two to five, often with music. Singing, creative work, investigation and baking or cooking also feature, with activities varying by day.

In April 2022, babies explored footprints and vocabulary; older children cut grass and compared lengths. A take-home Tooth Fairy book bag linked reading with conversations about teeth. Adults sometimes allowed too little response time and misunderstood learning targets, limiting opportunities to explain ideas and consolidate learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Beach School uses a South Bay chalet for rock-pool exploration, sandcastle building and paddling, with coastal safety and conservation learning. Preschool children visit regularly; all ages visit for Scarborough's Skipping Day on Shrove Tuesday and during the school summer holidays.

A climbing boat, sandpit and role-play hut occupy the front play space. Pipes, tyres and crates support construction; Sunbeams has rear outdoor access.

All ages regularly visit Skylark garden, with its orchard, vegetable plot and willow tunnel for sharing books. Growing food adds practical learning to outdoor play.

Relationships and Communication

Key Teams provide each child's key-person support. A pre-start transition visit brings families and staff together to discuss individual needs and routines, helping connect care at home and nursery.

Toilet-training support follows the child's pace. The key person discusses home routines and can offer strategies, helping families avoid different expectations between carers. Food intake is recorded in a link book and/or concerns are discussed at collection. That makes everyday care part of communication rather than a separate administrative task.

In April 2022, children had affectionate key-person relationships, with verbal and app updates for parents. Following instructions and tidying toys helped prepare children for school.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support good, with the special educational needs coordinator reviewing children's individual goals. The inclusion policy assigns the SENCO responsibility for coordinating support, maintaining records and liaising with outside agencies, including health visitors and portage. It also provides for parental involvement and regular review as children's needs change.

Physical access controls include coded inner doors and a keypad at the rear gate. Families must notify staff when someone else will collect their child, and a collection password can be used. These arrangements govern access and collection.

Food is prepared daily and can be adapted in texture, including purées, while the allergy procedure records reactions and provides dietary alternatives. Staff are informed about allergies, and families should confirm the current arrangements for their child's particular needs before starting.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Murray Street, Falsgrave, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO12 5AB. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form.

Day bookings run 8am to 6pm, 8am to 5pm or 9am to 6pm; mornings run 8am to 1pm and afternoons 1pm to 6pm. Attendance can be term-time for 38 weeks or full-time for 50 weeks.

Closures cover bank holidays, the week before the August Bank Holiday, and 24 December to New Year’s Day inclusive. Nursery-chosen closures and bank holidays are not charged, but fees remain payable when a child is absent or the family takes a holiday. Families comparing annual costs need to distinguish those two situations.

Sibling priority and application date inform admissions; full-time applications usually take precedence over part-time ones. A waiting list applies when a place cannot be offered immediately.

A deposit reserves a place and is credited against the first month's fees; it is non-refundable if the family changes its mind after the place has been confirmed. For funded attendance, permanent session changes take effect at a term boundary. Changes to attendance days may be possible with at least three weeks' notice.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible working and disadvantaged families, including children aged nine months, two, three and four. The funding terms include 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday, eligible two-year-old funding and extended 30-hour funding. Entitlement depends on the applicable criteria; additional private hours are charged separately.

Funding covers 38 weeks and can be stretched across 50 weeks of attendance. Unused term-time hours may not cover every holiday week, making annual costs more useful than a term-time comparison.

Breakfast is free, while other meals, including their snack and drink, are charged separately; funded hours also carry separate meal charges. Parents supply nappies, wipes and nappy cream. Funding does not cover food, nappies or trips, and additional charges may apply where trips or visitors require them.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fees and funding terms explain the charging structure and the arrangements for funded attendance.

Getting There

A small pram store in the front outdoor play space accommodates folded pushchairs.

• Starting before six months. The current age range begins at three months, while Sunbeams starts at six months. If your child will be younger, ask which area and daily arrangements would apply.
• Open-plan play and separate rest. Connected areas allow contact between ages and siblings, while Sunbeams has a separate sleep room and Rainbows has a quieter napping space. During a visit, ask how your child's rest routine fits alongside the activity around them.
• Time to think. In April 2022, children sometimes received too little time to answer questions, and staff needed a clearer understanding of how learning becomes embedded. Ask how practitioners now use questions and revisit children's ideas during play.
• Funded patterns and holiday costs. Hours can be stretched, but holiday attendance may still exceed the entitlement, and meals are charged separately. Obtain a written annual quotation for your chosen pattern, including the effect of termly session-change rules.

Skylark suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with both term-time and 50-week options. Its strongest character comes from the combination of Beach School, the garden and adaptable indoor play spaces. Those features give children different settings in which to move, investigate and practise independence.

For babies, the separate sleep and sensory spaces add useful detail to the choice. The April 2022 Good judgement is balanced by specific teaching improvements, while the funding and attendance terms reward careful planning. Families comfortable with connected age areas and an active outdoor programme have clear reasons to consider it.