Twinkle Twinkle Day Nursery

A separate sleep room for babies, a garden shared between age groups and minibus outings give Twinkle Twinkle Day Nursery a clear character: play extends beyond the main rooms, while younger children have somewhere set aside for rest. This Easingwold nursery has capacity for 30 children, with its early-years age range running from birth to five.

At its 15 August 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with teaching adapted to children's needs and staff attentive to their comfort. That is a dated assessment. The practical strengths today are the different spaces for babies and older children, daily diaries in Little Stars, and outdoor play in all weather.

Funded attendance includes morning, afternoon and daytime patterns, with a choice between paying for optional extras and supplying food and care items from home.

Rooms and Ages

Little Stars serves children aged from birth to two upstairs, combining a messy area for food and creative play, a carpeted space for books, music and role play, and a separate sleep room with two cots, subdued lighting and white noise. These spaces give different parts of a baby's day their own setting. Rest has a room of its own.

Downstairs, Shooting Stars takes children aged two to five, with spaces for construction, small-world play, music and making marks, alongside messy play and a separate dining room. Water and fruit are accessible there during the day. The layout gives older children several ways to become absorbed in play rather than relying on one shared activity.

Both rooms use the front outdoor area. Older children can move freely into the garden when babies are not using it, so outdoor access is organised around the needs of the two age groups. The shared space is worth understanding as part of the daily routine, especially for families comparing separate gardens with an arrangement like this.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the foundation for learning and care: here, children learn through play, with activities shaped around their interests and development. The nursery's child-led curriculum makes those interests the starting point for planning. In Little Stars, activities cover seven areas of learning; painting, sand and baking sit alongside music, books and role play.

In August 2022, sensory play included scented dough for babies and chalk marks on dark paper for other children. Staff introduced vocabulary during these activities, linking language to things children could handle and explore. Outdoors, children experimented with funnels, watering cans and a water tray. These were practical experiences of texture, movement and how materials behave.

Independence also featured in August 2022: younger children located their footwear for outdoor play, while older children removed theirs before paddling. Small tasks gave children a part in managing their own day. However, adults sometimes offered answers before older children had enough thinking time during organised activities. Leaving room for a child's own explanation was an improvement point, rather than simply adding more activities.

Optional enrichment can include gardening, baking, seasonal celebrations and themed days, as well as Scienctots sessions and visiting guests. These sit beyond the core EYFS provision. Children whose families opt out receive alternative activities and continue with the full EYFS curriculum; choosing extras is therefore a decision about additional experiences, rather than access to the foundation of the nursery day.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large outdoor area is used whatever the weather, and the garden grows some fruit and vegetables. Beyond the nursery, children explore Easingwold's library and Friday market, where they look at stalls and buy produce, and the woods at Millfield. These outings connect play with recognisable parts of the town: books, shopping and outdoor exploration become experiences children can discuss afterwards.

A nursery minibus supports trips further afield. Previous destinations include Grand Opera House in York, monk park farm and the sea life centre at Scarborough; moorlands nature reserve is another outing destination. These are examples of places visited, rather than a fixed calendar of trips. The breadth comes from combining town walks with journeys beyond Easingwold.

Relationships and Communication

Little Stars uses an individual daily diary covering meals, bottles, nappy changes, sleep and activities. Parents can add changes to home routines, making the diary a two-way connection rather than just a summary at collection. For a baby whose eating or sleeping pattern changes, that gives families a practical way to share information that matters during the day.

In August 2022, staff recognised tired babies and brought familiar comfort items promptly. Communication with families at that time included diaries, online contact and parents' evenings. Together, these examples show how everyday care and parent contact worked at the inspection date; the current baby-room diary remains a concrete mechanism for exchanging routine information.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

All staff have paediatric first-aid training. Collection arrangements also use a password: an unfamiliar adult must give the correct password before a child can leave with them. This is a specific collection procedure families need to follow when someone different collects their child.

In August 2022, children practised sharing, taking turns and following game rules, while staff used encouragement to help them persist with tasks. There were opportunities for exercise, fresh air and rest, but teaching about hygiene and healthy food choices was inconsistent. Handwashing and understanding food choices therefore belong alongside the positive account of daily care, rather than being overlooked because meals and outdoor activity were provided.

Food is home-cooked by the nursery cook, with ingredients sourced locally where possible, and includes snacks, meals and puddings. Depending on attendance, the optional food package can cover breakfast, lunch and tea; families who fully opt out supply the food their child needs.

School preparation included teachers coming into the nursery to meet older children in August 2022. That helped children become familiar with adults involved in their next stage. It is transition work, with no school admissions advantage implied.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Raskelf Road, Easingwold, York, North Yorkshire, YO61 3LA. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one or two weeks at Christmas, depending on the calendar.

For funded hours, the morning option starts at 7.30am or 8am and ends at 1pm; an afternoon runs from 1pm to 6pm, and a daytime option runs from 9am to 3pm. The morning wording includes an earlier start than the general opening hours, so that particular arrangement needs clarifying before booking. These are attendance choices, not just the limits of the nursery's working day.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01347 823463. Ending a child's contract requires one month's written notice. Fees are paid monthly in advance, so the payment timetable and notice period are practical parts of planning a change in childcare.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded early education and childcare is offered to eligible children from nine months. Funding covers the core education and care, while food, non-food consumables and enrichment are separately charged optional extras. The sessions and fees information sets out the choice between opting into the whole extras package and opting out of it altogether.

For funded attendance, families who fully opt out bring meals and snacks plus nappies, wipes, nappy sacks, barrier cream, seasonal suncream and other required care items. They retain access to funded hours and the full EYFS curriculum. Families can change their choice, and invoices distinguish funded provision from extras. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Morning start. The funded morning pattern gives a 7.30am or 8am start, while general opening hours begin at 8am. Ask which start applies to the booking you are considering.
• Extras as a package. Families choose to opt into all extras or opt out of all of them. Weigh the convenience of nursery food and care supplies against bringing everything your child needs and choosing alternative activities during enrichment.
• Thinking time and healthy habits. The August 2022 improvement points concerned older children's opportunities to develop their own ideas and teaching about hygiene and food choices. During a visit, ask how these are now built into activities and routines.
• Shared garden. Shooting Stars uses free-flow garden access when babies are not using it. Ask how that arrangement works across a typical day, alongside the upstairs baby room and its separate rest space.

Twinkle Twinkle suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance as well as a 9am to 3pm daytime pattern, with care across the year. Little Stars' separate rest space and parent diary offer useful practical detail for baby families; Shooting Stars brings varied play spaces, shared garden access and outings into town and further afield.

The Good judgement dates to August 2022, and its two improvement points remain useful questions for a visit. The funding choice is equally consequential: optional extras add convenience and experiences, while opting out keeps the core provision accessible but requires families to supply food and care items.