The Wooden Horse at St Hildas

A beach hut around the sand pit, animals to care for and a specialist space called The Nurtury give The Wooden Horse at St Hildas a recognisable character. This Whitby nursery combines practical outdoor play with a separate, integrated provision for children with additional needs. Its capacity is 45 children, with a current age range from birth to eight years; the early-years offer centres on babies and preschool children.

The January 2026 Ofsted inspection gave inclusion a Strong standard, behaviour and routines and welfare and wellbeing an Expected standard, and achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance Needs attention, identifying inconsistent understanding of children's next learning steps and insufficiently targeted staff supervision and development. Leaders did not consistently evaluate teaching or securely understand its quality, and new training arrangements were not yet embedded at that January inspection. That distinction matters. The specialist provision is a substantial part of the offer, but families also need to weigh the weaknesses in everyday teaching identified that January.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside full-day attendance. There is room here for different weekly routines, rather than a single attendance pattern.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for children aged zero to two, combines sensory play, stories and movement with early sorting and counting, while low tables and low high chairs bring babies together for meals. Tummy time, responsive toys and messy play accommodate different developmental stages.

The Nurtury supports children aged two to five with additional needs through individual learning plans and interventions in a quiet, sensory environment that remains connected to the rest of the nursery. Children can move into the wider setting; support covers communication, sensory needs, self-care, physical disabilities and emotional regulation.

Pre School emphasises independence through child-sized everyday tools and tasks such as pouring and laying tables, with outdoor resources including a mud kitchen, water play and construction materials. These are useful rehearsal opportunities for managing practical tasks, alongside play and preparation for the move to school.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: children learn through play, movement and exploration, with communication, physical development and relationships forming foundations for later learning. It is the shared early-years requirement. Here, termly individual plans and written reports at room changes give parents additional ways to follow their child's development.

A Learning Journey brings together observations and photographs, and stays with a child as they move through the nursery. In the Baby Room, daily care sheets cover sleep, food, nappy changes and activities. The two records serve different purposes: one follows development over time, while the other helps parents understand the day just finished.

In January 2026, mathematical activities included extending brick towers, counting and connecting quantities with numbers. Language work involved visual prompts, vocabulary practice, songs and stories. The January actions required staff to identify individual learning priorities more precisely so activities could build on each child's understanding.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor area extends indoor play into role play, construction and movement. A vegetable patch and rabbits and guinea pigs provide things to tend, while the beach-hut sand pit adds a defined place for digging and exploration. For preschool children, the outdoor area is accessible through free-flow play, allowing them to choose between indoors and outdoors.

Excursions generally involve preschool children rather than babies or younger children. Frequent nature walks follow The Cinder Track, sometimes with hot chocolate and marshmallows prepared using a Kelly Kettle. Park visits take place once or twice a week; library trips bring books back to share at nursery. These outings give preschool children experiences beyond the nursery's own resources.

Summer beach outings use the Whitby Yellow Bus and include sandcastle building and rock-pool exploration.

Relationships and Communication

Each child and family has a key person who leads the relationship with the nursery. Settling begins with three planned visits before full attendance: the first is around half an hour with a parent present, and the second usually lasts an hour with the child encouraged to spend time independently. Further visits can be agreed where needed. This gives separation a sequence rather than treating the first full day as the starting point.

Home routines inform baby care. Staff discuss progress with parents and coordinate developmental records for health-visitor checks; written reports also accompany departure from the nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding standards met and effective early identification and individual support for SEND, including work with occupational therapists, deaf advisers and the local SEND team; it also described familiar key-person relationships and sleep, feeding and weaning arrangements adapted to individual children. These findings give the specialist provision substance beyond its room name.

The Nurtury uses individual plans and works with speech and language therapists and physiotherapy services. A designated SENCO helps coordinate support for families.

Fresh meals are cooked daily, using a rotation of five menus, and dietary requests can be accommodated where possible. Formula is included in fees; breastfeeding families bring expressed milk in bottles, which the nursery stores and feeds as required.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The morning booking slot runs from 9am to noon and the afternoon slot from 1pm to 4pm; full-day attendance is also offered. A three-hour slot is the minimum booking length. More than one weekly session is encouraged for continuity, but the choice remains with parents.

The nursery operates across the year, closing on public bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Christmas closure carries no charge. For bank-holiday sessions, a swap can be offered at no extra cost subject to availability; full-time fees already account for those closures.

Getting There

The nursery occupies the St Hilda’s School site in Whitby. Its January 2026 inspection address was St Hildas RC Primary School, Airy Hill, YO21 1PZ; the current contact address is St. Hilda's Hub, Waterstead Lane, YO21 1PF. Telephone and email enquiries are accepted. Attendance here does not guarantee a Reception place; families still use the local authority admissions process. Links with local schools support transition rather than conferring an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Private and funded childcare are offered. The funding arrangements cover 15 hours for children from the term after their third birthday, extended funded hours of 30 hours for eligible families, and income-related 15-hour funding from the term after a child's second birthday. A parent declaration agrees the hours and attendance pattern for the term. Entitlement can be split between providers, with declarations at both.

The funded pattern forms a termly contract: changes during that term require exceptional circumstances and local authority agreement. Private childcare is invoiced in advance, and fees reserve the booked place even when a child is absent through illness or holiday.

Extra hours require advance booking and are subject to availability. Late payment, failed payments and late collection carry charges, while leaving the setting requires a month's notice. These terms matter when comparing the cost of a regular booking with the flexibility a family needs.

• Teaching consistency. The January 2026 actions required better staff supervision, training and support, alongside more precise identification of children's next learning steps, with a completion date of 23 February 2026. During a visit, ask how those changes now shape planning and staff feedback.
• The Nurtury's fit. This provision serves children aged two to five with additional needs and uses individual plans within an integrated nursery setting. Discuss how a child's support would be shared between this space and the wider nursery day.
• Site details. The current contact address is St. Hilda's Hub, Waterstead Lane, YO21 1PF; the January 2026 inspection gives St Hildas RC Primary School, Airy Hill, YO21 1PZ. Confirm the current site and entrance when arranging a viewing.
• Charges around a fixed booking. Absence does not remove the fee for a reserved session, and departure requires a month's notice. Ask for a written breakdown covering funded hours, meals and everyday supplies before agreeing a pattern.

The Wooden Horse suits families considering morning sessions, afternoon sessions or full-day attendance, with outdoor play and preschool excursions contributing much of its character. The Nurtury makes it especially relevant to families seeking an integrated setting with individual support for additional needs. The balance requires care: January 2026 brought substantial recognition for inclusion alongside clear concerns about teaching consistency and staff development.