Tiddlywinks Easingwold

A covered outdoor classroom, meals cooked outside and a pirate ship give Tiddlywinks Easingwold a clear identity: this is a nursery where outdoor exploration shapes much of the day. Its Georgian building in Easingwold town centre houses the indoor provision, while the grounds accommodate play, practical learning and eating. Outdoor time extends through the seasons, rather than being reserved for fine afternoons.

At its October 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Outstanding, found safeguarding effective and praised the way staff identified developmental needs and supported children’s progress. That judgement belongs to an earlier period of leadership: a new nursery manager joined in April 2026. The current attraction is more concrete than the grade alone: babies have their own outdoor space, toddlers spend much of their day outside, and preschool children have water play, growing and climbing built into their surroundings.

There are 48 places in total. Little Saplings, Little Acorns and Mighty Oaks provide the progression from baby care to preschool, with opening hours of 8am to 6pm on weekdays.

Rooms and Ages

Little Saplings serves babies aged 3 to 18 months, combining sensory exploration, stories and music with an outdoor area reserved for the youngest children. Floor painting, water and sand give babies different materials to investigate, while books and songs support their earliest attempts to communicate.

Little Acorns takes children from 18 months to 3 years, with small-group communication, sensory play and practical independence alongside extensive outdoor activity. Its forest school approach means learning through outdoor exploration and natural materials; toddlers also sleep outside when the weather is fair. Toothbrushing activities introduce the texture of bristles and the smell of toothpaste, while staff work with parents on toilet training.

Mighty Oaks, for children aged 3 to 5 years, combines outdoor exploration, balancing and climbing with opportunities to discuss ideas and help shape activities. A pirate ship gives imaginative play a physical setting, and water activities introduce floating, sinking and pouring. The emphasis is on doing things, then talking about them.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: play supports communication, physical skills, relationships and understanding of the world. At Easingwold, that takes a practical form. Children experiment with water, handle natural materials and use outdoor spaces for science and mathematics, alongside activities that follow their interests.

Purple Pig Farm is among the visitors to Little Acorns, alongside emergency services, hairdressers and local farmers bringing tractors. These encounters connect nursery play with people and work children can recognise beyond the setting. They also give children something concrete to talk about, rather than relying entirely on pictures or adult explanations.

In October 2022, children’s interest in instruments prompted a listening activity, while a treasure hunt involved making maps, hiding treasure and using mathematical vocabulary. Staff adjusted activities as children’s interests changed. These examples show what responsive planning looked like at that time: an interest became an opportunity to listen, communicate or solve a problem.

Outdoor and Community Life

The covered outdoor classroom is an important practical feature. Alongside it are a mud kitchen, construction area, climbing frame and outdoor kitchen and dining space, giving outdoor activity several different purposes. Children can build, investigate materials, climb and eat outside. The nursery also makes fires and cooks tea outdoors, and uses its grounds in darkness and across different weather conditions.

Mighty Oaks has a vegetable patch and a fire pit used for toasting marshmallows. Growing food connects the preschool day with something children can watch change over time; the water area offers a different kind of experimentation. These are substantial parts of the environment, rather than occasional additions to an otherwise indoor routine.

Community activity reaches beyond the grounds. Children buy produce at the local market and create artwork for shops to display, linking their own work with familiar places in town. Preschool occasions include a nativity play at the local church, an Easter show, harvest festival and summer graduation. Celebrations also respond to the faiths and cultures important to individual children.

Relationships and Communication

Relationships between rooms have a practical role in transition. A toddler room leader also works with babies, building familiarity before they move into the next room. For a child changing routines and surroundings, recognising an adult can provide continuity alongside the new experiences.

Mighty Oaks uses a home learning observation board where children share experiences from home. This gives family life a place in nursery conversations and offers children a reason to explain something meaningful to their friends. It is a simple communication feature with a clear purpose: children’s experiences outside nursery become material for discussion inside it.

In October 2022, staff used news from home, including learning to ride a bicycle, in conversations and shared children’s achievements during meals. They also varied how they spoke, using quieter conversations with quieter children and more expressive storytelling during play. The detail is useful: communication involved adjusting to the child, rather than expecting every child to respond to the same style.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The current team includes an accredited SENCO, with work alongside outside agencies to arrange support for children. This provides a defined mechanism for discussing additional needs. The team also includes a Forest Schools co-ordinator working in Mighty Oaks, connecting the outdoor approach with a specific staff responsibility.

Daily care in Little Acorns includes support with toileting and oral health, while fair-weather outdoor sleep is part of its routine. These arrangements deserve attention alongside the learning activities: sleep preferences and the transition towards independent toileting can strongly affect a toddler’s experience of nursery.

An employed nursery chef prepares fresh meals each day and works with the catering manager on seasonal menus. Baking with children and food associated with festivals also connect cooking with nursery activity.

Sessions and Attendance

Tiddlywinks Easingwold’s opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It operates for 51 weeks each year, closing for Christmas week, statutory bank holidays and an annual training day. Families need to account for that training closure as well as the more predictable holiday breaks when arranging care.

Getting There

The address is Bradgate House, Chapel St, Easingwold, York, YO61 3AE. Its town-centre setting also supports the nursery’s connections with the market and local shops.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01347 824 123 or by email to easingwold@tiddlywinks-childcare.co.uk. The same contact route supports enrolment and arranging a viewing.

Building work began in October 2025 to incorporate downstairs space formerly occupied by Barclays Bank. The renovation announcement describes open-plan classrooms with direct outdoor access, followed by plans to remodel the upstairs baby provision into a dedicated suite with space for 21 babies. That figure is a planned baby-suite capacity, separate from the nursery’s total of 48 places.

School preparation includes links with local schools and services. In October 2022, nursery staff had taken part in joint training with schools to understand the learning children would encounter in Reception. This helped staff prepare children for the learning they would encounter in Reception.

• Outdoor routines. Little Acorns spends much of the day outside and includes outdoor sleep in fair weather. During a viewing, discuss how those routines fit your child’s sleeping habits and comfort outdoors.
• Baby-space renovation. The building project includes plans for an upstairs baby suite accommodating 21 babies. Ask which stage is in use and how the youngest children’s daily spaces and outdoor access are organised during the work.
• Attendance planning. The nursery opens for 51 weeks, with Christmas, bank-holiday and training-day closures. Ask which booking pattern fits your required days and how the annual training closure is communicated.

Tiddlywinks Easingwold suits families who want outdoor exploration to be a substantial part of nursery life, from babies’ separate outdoor space to the practical activities in Mighty Oaks. The covered classroom, cooking outdoors, market visits and vegetable growing give that approach tangible substance.

Its October 2022 Outstanding judgement provides a dated assessment of quality; the room environments and current staff roles explain the offer more directly. For parents comfortable with extensive outdoor routines and year-round weekday care, this is a setting with a recognisable character. The baby-space renovation is the main practical detail to explore on a viewing.