Kozy Cottage Childcare

An outdoor classroom, a sensory room and spaces for music, dance and art give Kozy Cottage Childcare a recognisable creative character. This Cramlington nursery combines indoor exploration with a garden, while its approach to play leaves room for children’s own interests and for adults to extend what they discover. Children have creative areas, a sensory room, soft play areas and a garden with an outdoor classroom.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, although the compulsory childcare register requirements were not met, with actions required. The detail beneath that judgement matters. In June 2022, some staff needed a clearer understanding of the intended learning behind activities, teaching needed further professional development, and communication with other settings attended by the same children needed attention.

There are 55 places in total. The childcare service accepts children from 12 weeks to 10 years, with three nursery rooms organised around babies, toddlers and preschool children. Full-time, part-time and sessional attendance sit alongside an hourly booking system.

For parents, this is a setting to weigh through both its creative provision and its care arrangements. The spaces and activities give it personality; the key-person system, parent communication and transition tools explain how individual children are supported.

Rooms and Ages

Butterflies accommodates children from birth to two, Bumblebees covers ages two to three, and Dragonflies serves preschool children from three to school age. Those room bands describe the nursery’s organisation; the service’s starting age is 12 weeks. Families considering baby care should keep that distinction in mind.

Rooms are bright and spacious, and the wider nursery includes a sensory room, soft play areas and places for discovery and exploration. These give children different ways to engage: movement, investigating materials and quieter sensory experiences can all form part of their day. The garden’s outdoor classroom adds a place for learning outside.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care. Here, play is the means of putting learning into practice: children choose and explore, while adults support their interests and guide activities towards educational purposes. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than a separate branded curriculum.

Music, dance, yoga and creative classes add concrete activities to that foundation. The nursery has its own creative areas, so these experiences have space within the setting rather than depending entirely on occasional outings. Children also bake regularly and learn to prepare fruit themselves, bringing independence into an everyday task.

In June 2022, babies investigated oats, toddlers explored foam and older children experimented with mixing paint colours. Conversation accompanied play, and singing gave younger children opportunities to join words with actions. These examples help explain the intended balance between exploration, communication and adult support.

The limitation in June 2022 was consistency. Some practitioners were unclear about the purpose of particular activities, leaving planning and delivery insufficiently precise. The improvement work therefore concerned what children were meant to learn, as well as what they were given to do.

Outdoor and Community Life

A garden and outdoor classroom make outdoor activity part of the nursery’s physical provision. In June 2022, children climbed on a wooden ship and dug outside; stories were also shared in the garden. Outdoor learning extended beyond exercise to reading and exploration.

Local walks and park visits featured in June 2022, alongside activities introducing different cultures and celebrations. These were experiences of the surrounding community and wider world, rather than a promise of trips on a fixed schedule.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person whose responsibilities include settling, planning learning, tracking progress and agreeing ways to support learning at home. Settling-in sessions are part of the service. That gives parents a named role to work with and a structure for discussing their child’s needs, rather than relying solely on brief exchanges between sessions.

Famly App brings learning information into parents’ daily routines. Parents can view photographs, videos and written observations, see details about meals and naps, and send comments or messages to carers and management. Daily feedback, meetings with the key person and regular parents’ evenings provide additional opportunities for conversation. The app supplements those discussions.

In June 2022, parent stay-and-play sessions addressed topics including dental care and healthy eating. Staff also shared ideas for learning at home. These examples show how communication could extend beyond an account of the nursery day to practical support for family routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A dedicated SENCo works with the child’s key person, and other professionals can be involved by agreement with parents. At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff raised developmental concerns promptly and worked with portage and speech and language services on targeted support, but did not yet exchange information with other early-years settings children attended. For a child using more than one setting, that communication gap was material to continuity of care and learning.

The Northumberland School Readiness Passport gathers information from home and nursery assessments, then supports information-sharing when a child changes setting or moves to school. Parents also contribute to the learning journal. The two-year progress check is completed with parents and may be shared with the Health Visitor, giving another point at which development can be discussed together.

Menus change with the seasons and introduce different flavours and textures; the nursery offers to accommodate dietary requirements. Funded-session meals are charged separately.

Sessions and Attendance

Kozy Cottage Childcare is at 8 Enterprise Court, Crosland Park, Cramlington, NE23 1LZ. It opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 5.30pm, throughout the year, closing for Bank Holidays. Extended opening hours can be requested. Bank Holiday closures are not charged.

Full-time, part-time and sessional care are offered through an hourly system. There is also a weekly ad-hoc booking arrangement, including emergency hours. That general flexibility needs to be read alongside the more specific conditions for extra hours around funded attendance: regular additional bookings require four weeks’ notice for changes, while ad-hoc additional hours must be requested one month ahead.

For funded children aged nine months to three years, the 15-hour term-time pattern offers five morning sessions, 8.30am to 11.30am, or five afternoon sessions, 12.30pm to 3.30pm, across Monday to Friday. This gives families a shorter-session alternative to the nursery’s wider opening window.

Preschool funding patterns are also specified. The stretched, year-round 22-hour arrangement comprises four sessions between Monday and Friday, 9am to 2.30pm; the 30-hour term-time arrangement uses five sessions, 9am to 3pm. Additional hours before or after funded attendance are charged at the relevant hourly rate.

Enquiries, registration, bookings and learning journals use Famly software. Telephone and email contact are also provided. These routes allow families to start the joining process through the same system used for ongoing communication.

Getting There

Free parking is provided immediately outside. The nursery is close to bus and train routes, giving families alternatives to driving.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 and 30 hours of funded childcare for eligible children, with term-time and stretched arrangements. Private additional hours are a separate purchase. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their chosen attendance pattern and extras; the funding and charges information sets out the structure.

For funded sessions, breakfast, hot lunch with pudding and tea carry separate charges, or parents can bring packed meals. Non-food supplies are organised into separately charged care packages, covering items such as sun cream, wipes and, where applicable, nappies; parents can instead bring the complete appropriate package to every session. Packages cannot be split, storage is limited, and a missing item triggers the full session package charge.

Creative classes are included in nursery fees. Other activities can carry individual charges, including trips, celebration activities and some resources for science or cooking; parents receive advance notice through the app and can opt out. The distinction matters when comparing an ordinary booked session with an outing or special event.

• Learning intentions and staff development. In June 2022, activity planning was not consistently precise and further teaching development was needed. During a visit, ask staff to explain what a current activity is intended to help your child learn and how they adapt it for different children.
• Care across two settings. Communication with other early-years providers was an improvement point in June 2022. If your child attends elsewhere too, ask how the key person now exchanges care and learning information with that setting.
• Funded attendance and the total bill. Short morning or afternoon sessions and longer preschool funding patterns have different hours. Compare the written quotation with your working day, including additional hours, meals, care packages and any activities you choose.
• Food and supplies from home. Packed meals cannot be reheated, and a parent-supplied care package must be complete at each session. Discuss current dietary arrangements and the relevant package during the visit, especially if your child has an allergy or needs particular products.

Kozy Cottage suits families seeking either part-time and sessional attendance or full-time care, with funded morning and afternoon sessions offering a further choice. Its creative areas, sensory room and outdoor classroom provide tangible reasons to consider it, while Famly App and the Northumberland School Readiness Passport give parents ways to contribute to learning and transitions.

The balance is clear. There is substantial provision for play and communication, but the June 2022 improvement priorities make consistency of teaching and coordination between settings useful subjects for a visit. The strongest fit is a family whose chosen attendance pattern works alongside the funding hours and who values creative activity with regular parent involvement.