Sticky Fingers Day Nursery

Growing vegetables for the cook and using Makaton signs give Sticky Fingers Day Nursery a character rooted in practical experiences and communication. Children help with food preparation where possible, while signing and symbols form part of everyday interaction. These are useful additions for families who want learning to connect with things children can do, taste and communicate.

At its 6 August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), were making good progress. That positive judgement comes with specific reservations about story time and resources used when different ages share activities. Both matter when choosing care for a younger child.

Based at School House on Learning Lane in Whitley, Goole, the nursery has capacity for 33 children aged 6 to 60 months. Its attendance choices include full days, mornings, afternoons and a shorter School timing pattern. The combination gives families more than one way to organise childcare around their day.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby room and Pre school room provide separate spaces for different stages of childhood. A sensory room also offers somewhere to rest or sleep, with tactile and sensory experiences for children with additional needs. For a child who needs a quieter break, that space is an important part of the care arrangements rather than another activity to complete.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care, with children exploring through play and activities shaped around their development and interests. Here, observations of individual children help staff choose and adapt activities. This connects planning to what a child is ready to attempt, rather than expecting everyone to work through the same task in the same way.

Makaton, used here through signing and symbols, adds another way to communicate alongside speech. Staff use it routinely with all children. That makes the communication method part of ordinary nursery life, rather than reserving it for a separate support session.

In August 2024, counting songs introduced babies to numbers, while older children used dough shapes to explore comparison and order. Number and measurement were worked into play. The examples show how the same area of learning can take different forms as children develop, from hearing number sequences to handling and comparing objects.

Story time was less well matched to the youngest children in August 2024: some lost interest and moved away when they were not involved in the story. Resources also needed closer attention when ages were combined during quieter periods. These are specific limitations, with a direct bearing on whether a shared activity gives younger children enough opportunity to participate.

Outdoor and Community Life

An outdoor growing area links food with hands-on experience. Children grow vegetables and fruit that the cook then uses in meals, giving them a connection between cultivation and eating. Helping prepare food adds a further practical step. The activity has a clear purpose beyond producing something to display.

In August 2024, the garden supported movement through cycling, climbing and running. Sand play involved digging and sieving, while dough offered practice in rolling and manipulation. Together, these experiences brought larger movements and hand control into the nursery day, with different materials giving children different things to try.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is assigned before a child starts. Settling arrangements are agreed with parents, who can stay during introductory sessions; home visits form part of the transition for many children. The approach gives the family a named relationship to build before ordinary attendance begins, and allows the introduction to nursery to develop with the child.

Parents can telephone during the day to speak with staff about how their child is doing. Key people also exchange information with families at the start and finish of sessions. These conversations make room for immediate concerns and small achievements, alongside the more formal assessment arrangements.

Learning Journeys bring together observations, photographs and assessments of development. Summaries are completed termly and around transitions, and families can contribute what their child enjoys or does at home. The On Track system is used to discuss development, giving those exchanges a structure rather than relying solely on informal impressions.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Two SENCOs coordinate support and attend termly networks. The nursery can draw on an area coordinator and services including Portage and Educational Psychologists. This gives staff routes for seeking specialist input when a child's needs require more than adjustments within an ordinary activity.

Support planning involves parents, with consent sought before bringing in external agencies. Activities are adapted using observations of children's interests, development and needs. For children with complex needs, a daily day board travels home with information about their experiences; half-termly newsletters provide another communication route for families.

The Progress Check at Age 2 gives parents a written account of communication, physical development and personal, social and emotional development. It identifies strengths and areas needing support, with information that families can share with their health visitor. This is a useful point for bringing home and nursery observations together.

Staff have paediatric first aid training, and recruitment includes DBS checks and followed-up references. These are care arrangements, while the dated safeguarding judgement belongs to the inspection. In August 2024, children also practised toothbrushing after eating and used resources to learn about dental care, making health routines part of their activities.

Moving between rooms and on to school involves sharing information about the child, including Individual Learning and Provision plans. An early years teacher helps plan school transition. The practical value lies in continuity: the next adult receives information about the child's support and development, rather than starting from scratch.

Sessions and Attendance

The full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm; School timing covers 9am to 3pm. The nursery may accommodate additional timing requirements. These are different attendance choices, so the shorter pattern should be considered separately from a full day.

Opening is Monday to Friday, with 51 weeks of operation and a Christmas closure lasting one week. The nursery's address is School House, Learning Lane, Whitley, Goole, DN14 0WE. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded places are accepted for children from 9 months to 4 years old. On funded places, meals and snacks are charged separately and are optional; families can instead supply packed food that follows the nursery's healthy eating policy. There is no consumable fee. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the food arrangements explained on its food and meal charges page.

A cook prepares food on site each day, and children have access to snacks, fruit, milk and water. The sample menu includes vegetable curry, chicken casserole and jacket potatoes, while children and adults eat together and children help clear away, making meals part of their social and practical learning.

• Activities across ages. In August 2024, younger children disengaged from some stories, and shared resources were not always suited to everyone taking part. Ask how story sessions and quieter-time activities now accommodate the youngest children.
• The first weeks. Settling can include parents staying and, for many children, a home visit. Discuss how that introduction would work for your child alongside the session pattern you need.
• Food on funded places. Meals and snacks are optional extras, with packed food an alternative under the healthy eating policy. Families managing allergies should confirm current food preparation and serving practice before agreeing arrangements.

Sticky Fingers suits families choosing between morning or afternoon sessions, a 9am to 3pm pattern and full-day attendance. Its strongest practical features are communication through Makaton, parent involvement in development records and a sensory room for rest and sensory experiences. Growing food for nursery meals gives everyday learning another concrete connection.

The August 2024 concerns about stories and mixed-age resources deserve attention, especially for younger children.