Stanley's Daycare at Bede Children's Centre

Making play dough, choosing crackers by shape and reaching up to draw: everyday activities gave learning a practical purpose here in May 2022. Stanley's Daycare at Bede Children's Centre, in Jarrow, has capacity for 28 children aged 24 to 36 months.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding on 23 May 2022. The detail behind that judgement matters: children took responsibility for mixing ingredients, staff developed conversations during play, and resources were adapted to help children participate.

In May 2022, children regularly made play dough, measuring ingredients themselves and discussing how to adjust a mixture that was too wet. Cleaning up spilled water was part of the activity too. Learning involved making decisions and taking responsibility, rather than simply following an adult's instructions.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care; here, its practical meaning was evident in play that combined conversation, mathematical ideas and independence. During May 2022 snack times, children selected food and used shape vocabulary to distinguish crackers. Story sessions encouraged them to join familiar phrases, while staff explained unfamiliar vocabulary and used signing to support listening and speech.

Physical resources also widened participation in May 2022. Soft-play climbing equipment supported children with mobility difficulties, while steps beside paper fixed to a wall encouraged children to reach upwards and experiment with drawing. These were concrete ways to make an activity accessible and appealing.

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities highly effective and safeguarding arrangements effective, with staff acting promptly on welfare concerns and using advice from other professionals to support development.

In May 2022, staff discussed the development of their key-person children during supervision, and training included visual aids following the identification of communication delays. Information shared with parents from the outset helped connect care at home and nursery.

Kindness had a practical place in the day that May. Children comforted upset friends, and adults joined play to help them think through choices, including whether reading a book and preparing a snack could sensibly happen together.

The address is Perth Green CA, Inverness Road, Jarrow, NE32 4AQ. Opening hours are 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time, with closure in school holidays. Families needing holiday childcare will need another arrangement for those weeks.

In May 2022, session times were 9am to midday and 1pm to 4pm, with alternatives running from 9am to 3pm or 10am to 4pm. Funded early education then covered children aged two, three and four.

• Term-time calendar. School-holiday closure makes the annual childcare calendar a significant part of the decision, especially for parents working throughout the year.
• Age range. The current offer covers 24 to 36 months. That makes this a choice for a specific stage of early childhood, rather than care extending from babyhood onwards.
• Putting the day together. On a visit, ask how the May 2022 session arrangements translate into today's bookings, settling routine and funded-hours costs, including food and consumables.

Stanley's merits consideration for families seeking term-time care for children aged 24 to 36 months. Its May 2022 strengths lay in purposeful play, communication and adaptations that helped children join in. The attendance arrangements at that time accommodated morning, afternoon and longer daytime sessions, giving families several ways to fit nursery into their week.