The Learning Tree Nursery & Kids Club

A garden with bug hotels, stories supported by puppets and a parent-led committee give The Learning Tree Nursery & Kids Club a recognisable character. Behind Carlton Miniott Community School in Thirsk, it combines early-years care with a Kids Club for school-aged children. The emphasis is on children doing things for themselves, with families involved in both their learning and the setting’s management.

The nursery has capacity for 30 children, with early-years provision for children aged two to five and out-of-school care for ages five to eleven. At its 6 March 2026 inspection, Ofsted awarded Strong standard across achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership, with safeguarding standards met. Those are area judgements, rather than a single overall grade.

Nursery-day, before- and after-school care and school-aged holiday sessions support families organising childcare for younger children and older siblings.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the nursery day through play, conversation and practical experiences. Staff use observations to plan next steps, combining guided activities with children’s independent choices of materials.

A comfortable reading corner gives children somewhere to read or pause. Daily stories and puppets support shared storytelling, balancing group activity with quieter independent time.

In March 2026, story conversations explored authors, illustrators and challenging vocabulary. Mathematics also ran through everyday play, connecting new ideas with practical activity.

Practical independence was equally visible that month. Children poured drinks from a dispenser and cut snack fruit using a safety knife. Younger children used chunky chalks and paint rollers to develop the hand and arm strength needed for later mark-making; older children practised forming the letters in their names. These were different tasks for different developmental stages, rather than one expectation applied to everyone.

Outdoor and Community Life

A private garden gives growing and caring for plants a place in children’s play. Bug hotels add another reason to look closely at the living things around them. The outdoor kitchen, sand pit and soil areas provide materials for making mixtures and experimenting, so outdoor time includes investigation as well as movement.

During March 2026, outdoor playhouse stories and mud-kitchen mixtures combined conversation with imaginative play. Physical activities developed balance, coordination and larger movements.

Family participation reaches into learning, too. Open craft mornings and afternoons allow parents to join activities, while phonics evenings run in partnership with Carlton Miniott School. These are opportunities to understand the experiences children have during the day and connect them with conversations and activities at home.

Relationships and Communication

Each child aged two to five has a key person. Settling starts with taster sessions, and time away from a parent increases in response to the child’s readiness. Parents complete all-about-me booklets so staff can use the child’s preferences and needs when planning care. The starting point is the individual child, rather than a fixed timetable for separation.

When a key person is absent, families are told who will substitute. The child builds a relationship with that practitioner beforehand, supporting continuity of care.

Parents can access learning journeys, contribute observations from home through a star book, and talk with practitioners during everyday contact. Newsletters provide another channel. In March 2026, a parent communication board explained what children were learning, giving families a starting point for continuing that learning at home.

The volunteer management committee includes parents and carers and meets bi-monthly to discuss management, development and fundraising. It gives families a direct role in running the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager’s responsibilities include the safeguarding lead and SENDCo roles, supported by a deputy safeguarding lead. For additional needs, the SENCO works with the key person and parents, with advice from an Area SENCO when appropriate. An Individual Learning Provision Plan (ILPP) sets agreed learning targets and incorporates recommendations from other professionals. Parents contribute to those targets and their review.

At the March 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made strong progress, especially in communication and language, supported by individual plans, targeted staff training and tailored interventions. In March 2026, Makaton sign language was incorporated into routines to help children understand and communicate, while meetings with health visitors before children started helped staff identify developmental concerns early.

Accessible toilet and changing facilities, visual aids for routines and a quiet area for rest or sleep support individual care needs. Personal healthcare plans can also be used.

During March 2026, snack-time helpers laid the table and served their friends, while children learnt to handle china crockery carefully. Games practised taking turns, and stories and group discussions helped children recognise emotions. Everyday routines carried social learning as well as practical responsibility.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Behind Carlton Miniott Community School, Carlton Miniott, Thirsk, YO7 4NJ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01845 526478 or by email to 511409@nyey.co.uk.

Separate booking blocks run from 7.30am to 9am, 9am to 3.30pm, and 3.30pm to 6pm. School-aged children use the before- and after-school sessions during term time. For school holidays, their choices are Long day, 7.30am to 6pm; Short day, 9am to 3.30pm; or Half day, either 7.30am to 1pm or 12.30pm to 6pm.

Children must be booked in before attending. School holidays require a separate reservation, including for children with regular term-time days, and priority is given to those using stretched extended entitlement funding. Cancelling a place or changing regular attendance requires four weeks’ written notice. These arrangements make advance planning important even when a family already has an established weekly routine.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes two-year-old funded places and, for three- and four-year-olds, 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year. Stretched extended entitlement funding is also offered. A confirmation letter is required before a two-year-old funded place begins, and the setting requires attendance during headcount week for government funding. Private nursery hours are charged in half-hour units during both term time and school holidays; current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, with the fees page outlining the charge structure.

Breakfast is included in the morning session cost; term-time cooked lunches are prepared by Carlton Miniott Primary School and charged separately, while families can provide a packed lunch. Fruit and vegetable snacks with milk are provided twice daily, with fruit and water accessible throughout the day.

The nursery describes a close working relationship with Carlton Miniott Primary School, including planned time to help children settle into the school environment and sharing individual needs with parental permission. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Holiday bookings need their own plan. Regular term-time attendance does not reserve a holiday place, and stretched extended entitlement bookings receive priority. Build the separate holiday reservation into your childcare planning.
• Changes require notice. Cancelling or amending regular days and hours requires four weeks in writing. Consider how that fits with changes to work schedules or family arrangements.
• Settling and practical care. Taster sessions build separation gradually, and a quiet area supports rest. At a visit, discuss how the taster sessions and quiet area would work for your child.
• The next development priority. In March 2026, the next steps called for continued work towards greater impact for disadvantaged children, children with SEND and those facing other barriers. Families needing additional support can discuss how individual targets and support plans translate that aim into their child’s daily experience.

The Learning Tree suits families seeking a nursery-day pattern or before- and after-school care, as well as school-aged children using the holiday Long day, Short day or Half day sessions. Its garden, reading corner and practical activities give the early-years day substance, while key-person continuity and parent participation provide clear routes into children’s care and learning.

The March 2026 area judgements provide a positive inspection position, with further development directed towards children facing additional barriers. The main practical commitment is planning: holiday reservations are separate, and changes to regular attendance require written notice. For families comfortable with those arrangements, the combination of early-years provision and Kids Club has clear value.