Horseshoe Day Nursery

Horses, growing spaces and a storytelling cabin give Horseshoe Day Nursery an outdoor character that runs through its play. The garden includes a mud kitchen and space for growing fruit and vegetables, while the younger children's play area overlooks fields with horses. These are useful ingredients for children who enjoy getting their hands busy and discovering how things grow.

At its 5 May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement sits alongside a clear improvement agenda: staff deployment during group activities and changes of routine needed attention, as did helping children understand how their behaviour affects others.

On Follonsby Terrace in East Boldon, the nursery has capacity for 52 children, accepting ages from two months to five years. Foal Room, Yearling Room and Pony Room provide an age-based progression. Families can book full days or morning and afternoon sessions, with a minimum weekly attendance requirement.

Rooms and Ages

Foal Room caters for children aged birth to two and has a stated maximum of twelve, with painting, water activities, spaghetti play and local walks giving babies different ways to explore. That room cap is a useful starting point for parents weighing the scale of their baby's care; it is separate from the nursery's total capacity. Monthly development records are accessible to parents, and a diary records each baby's day.

Yearling Room serves two- to three-year-olds, combining threading and colour matching with sand and water activities, freely accessible toys and an outdoor play area overlooking the horses' fields. Choosing their own toys gives children practice in making decisions, while the room's planned routine prepares them for Pony Room.

For children aged three to five, Pony Room uses activities planned around individual development and gives children choices, with planning displayed for parents to see. The progression is therefore about both age and increasing independence. Each child has a key worker, giving families an individual point of contact.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets out children's learning, development and care. Here, learning through play and observations of children's interests shape activities; the materials and experiences give that common framework its practical character.

Gardening tools and brushes bring everyday objects into imaginative play. Building blocks offer opportunities to solve construction problems and practise hand movements, while tricycles, tunnels and balancing beams provide different physical challenges.

In May 2022, favourite stories supplied starting points for practical activities: The Very Hungry Caterpillar led to food tasting, and Jack and the Beanstalk to planting beans. Counting jumps during movement activities and discussing measurements in the garden brought mathematical ideas into play. These examples show how stories, movement and outdoor exploration were connected, rather than treated as isolated activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

The growing garden, mud kitchen and storytelling cabin make outdoor space useful for more than running around. Children can combine physical play with sensory exploration and imaginative activity. Fields to explore add another setting for discovery beyond the playrooms.

In May 2022, children planted bulbs, grew potatoes and sunflowers, and watched caterpillars develop into butterflies. They also investigated insects with magnifying glasses and visited horses and ponies in the neighbouring field. Rolling tyres on garden slopes offered a different physical challenge from climbing and balancing.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key worker within their room who shares daily updates with parents. A Learning Journal records developmental progress and moments such as trying a food or showing kindness. For parents, that combines immediate information about the day with a longer account of how their child is changing.

Foal Room adds a daily diary and monthly development recording. Yearling Room staff discuss the day with parents at collection, while Pony Room displays its planning. Communication therefore has different forms across the age groups: a baby diary, a conversation and visible plans each answer a different parental need.

In May 2022, children practised independence by getting their coats and aprons themselves, and teachers from local schools visited to support the move towards school. The latter was transition work, giving children contact with teachers before leaving nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including staff following health professionals' advice and using signs and visual prompts to aid communication.

The same month's findings also identified uneven support for listening during group activities and transitions, and inconsistent explanations of the effect of unwanted behaviour on other children. Families should weigh those points alongside the positive findings. They concern how adults support children through shared routines and social situations.

Food is cooked on the premises, with menus changing on a three-week cycle; vegetarian choices are offered, and the nursery's policy is to cater for allergies and intolerances. Parents supply bottles or formula and food for babies until they can eat nursery meals, as well as nappies, wipes and creams.

Collection by someone outside the admission arrangements requires advance agreement and a password. The sickness policy requires children to stay home for 48 hours after their last episode of sickness or diarrhoea. Those rules have practical consequences for alternative collectors and parents' work arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Full sessions run from 8am to 6pm, mornings from 8am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. The minimum booking is two half-day sessions or one full-day session each week. That makes both a shorter-session pattern and a single full day part of the booking model, rather than assuming every family needs the same schedule.

The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks each year. Bank holidays and a week over Christmas are closure periods. Families planning regular care need to build those closures into their arrangements, even when their usual attendance continues through other school holidays.

The address is Follonsby Terrace, East Boldon, NE36 0BZ. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 0191 4698333.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes 15 hours for two-year-olds and 30 hours for three- and four-year-olds. The age-specific information also describes 15 hours for three-year-olds, with the 15-hour offers for two- and three-year-olds running over 38 weeks. For two-year-olds, the offer is conditional on qualifying; a child's age alone should not be treated as confirmation of entitlement.

The baby-room arrangements put bottles or formula, early food, nappies, wipes and creams with parents. Once babies can eat the nursery's food, that food is prepared by its cook. Families should obtain their current prices in a written quotation, keeping the funded entitlement separate from the rest of their childcare bill.

• Group routines and behaviour. In May 2022, staff deployment did not consistently support listening during group activities and transitions, and children needed clearer explanations of how their behaviour affected others. During a look-around appointment, ask how these routines are supported now.
• The youngest room. Foal Room has a maximum of twelve children aged birth to two. Ask how the space and daily routine accommodate babies at different stages, including their rest needs.
• Baby supplies and allergies. Parents provide baby food until their child can eat nursery meals, plus bottles or formula, nappies, wipes and creams. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food arrangements and how individual requirements are communicated to the cook.
• Weekly attendance and closures. A minimum of two half days or one full day applies each week, with bank-holiday closures and a week closed over Christmas. Compare those terms with the pattern of care your family needs.

Horseshoe suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, especially those who value outdoor exploration and a clear progression through age-based rooms. The growing garden, storytelling cabin and play area beside horses' fields give that choice a recognisable character.

Daily key-worker conversations and the Learning Journal offer useful continuity between home and nursery. The dated Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, but the May 2022 concerns about group routines and behaviour explanations deserve a direct discussion. For parents of babies, Foal Room's twelve-child cap and parent-supplied essentials are equally practical parts of the decision.