Clever Clogs at Yarm

Herbs ground with a pestle and mortar, garden bug hunts and children serving their own meals give Clever Clogs at Yarm a practical, hands-on character. These were features of its May 2025 nursery day, with everyday tasks giving children opportunities to practise coordination, make decisions and take responsibility. Small experiences carry much of the learning here.

At its 28 May 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, while identifying improvements needed in mathematical learning and the organisation of group activities. Those teaching points deserve attention alongside the positive picture of children's relationships and behaviour.

At 29 High Street in Yarm, the setting has capacity for 48 children aged from birth to eight. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings sit alongside flexible childcare and wraparound arrangements, giving families several attendance patterns to consider.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, children learn through play, exploration and interaction with adults. It is the foundation of the early-years offer rather than an extra programme.

In the moment planning adds a specific way of responding to children's interests. Practitioners observe and listen as children explore, then support learning while that interest is active. The practical implication is immediate: an absorbing activity can become the opportunity for a next step, rather than waiting for a later planned lesson.

In May 2025, adults encouraged babies to practise walking by working with them at floor level. Toddlers searched the garden for insects, while older children worked dough, cut herbs with scissors and crushed them using a pestle and mortar. These examples connect physical development with real materials and purposeful actions.

Imaginative play also drew on children's experience. In May 2025, children arranged a pretend birthday celebration, using buttons and hair rollers as cakes. Choosing objects and giving them new meanings allowed children to direct their own games, rather than simply follow an adult's instructions.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden and playrooms supported different kinds of activity in May 2025. Outdoors, insect hunting gave toddlers something concrete to investigate; tools and dough offered older children opportunities to handle materials with increasing control. The useful distinction is between spaces and experiences, rather than a single activity presented as suitable for every age.

Books were another important part of that nursery day. Children enjoyed stories, but some older children disengaged from group story time because teaching was not adjusted to sustain their attention. Counting and recognising colours featured in play, while shape, volume and weight received less attention. These are specific teaching weaknesses, rather than reasons to dismiss the whole learning offer.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Person System gives each child an identified practitioner responsible for their individual care and development. For parents, that creates a clear person with whom to share a child's needs, interests and changes at home.

Daily app updates cover development and food diaries, with a news feed showing children's activities. Parents and staff can also exchange messages. This makes communication part of the ordinary nursery day, rather than something reserved for a formal meeting, and gives families concrete information to discuss with their child.

In May 2025, children received comfort and support from adults when upset. Staff encouraged sharing and turn-taking, and children played cooperatively and used polite language without reminders. The strength was in everyday interactions: reassurance when needed, alongside expectations children could understand.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Independence was practised through manageable tasks in May 2025. Older children chose activities, helped put toys away and served their meals; children also practised toileting and washed their hands before eating. These routines gave them opportunities to do things for themselves with adult support.

At mealtimes in May 2025, children ate freshly cooked food in small groups, with adults supervising and helping them learn to handle cutlery. Eating therefore provided both a care routine and a chance to practise useful skills.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, throughout the year except Bank Holidays. The full-time session follows that window; morning bookings run from 7.30am to 12.30pm, and afternoon bookings from 1pm to 6pm. The gap between morning and afternoon sessions matters when planning the length of a booked day.

Part-time places, half days, flexible childcare and wraparound care are also offered, along with out-of-school provision. Flexible arrangements are discussed with staff. Families can therefore consider a fixed morning or afternoon alongside a full day, rather than treating the opening window as the only booking choice.

Getting There

The address is 29 High Street, Yarm, TS15 9BW. Enquiries can be made through the customer enquiry form, by telephone on 01642 780586 or by email at cleverclogsYarm@outlook.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 2-year-old funded places (15 hours) and 3&4 Year old funded places (30 hours). Private childcare is offered too; the distinction between funded hours and additional paid attendance matters when comparing booking patterns.

Breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks carry separate charges, and childcare fees exclude nappies and wipes. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their chosen attendance and food arrangements; the fees page sets out the charging categories.

• Teaching beyond counting. In May 2025, shape, weight and volume needed more attention, and group teaching did not consistently hold older children's interest. At a visit, ask how these two teaching points have been addressed.
• The right length of day. Morning sessions finish at 12.30pm, while afternoons begin at 1pm. Compare those boundaries with a full-day booking when considering work and collection arrangements.
• The full cost of a booking. Food carries separate charges and nappies and wipes are excluded from childcare fees. Ask how those exclusions and food charges apply to the funded or private pattern you are considering.

Clever Clogs at Yarm suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day childcare, with flexible and wraparound arrangements adding further choices. Its key-person approach and daily app communication give parents clear ways to stay involved. The May 2025 picture combines practical independence and considerate behaviour with two precise teaching improvements to examine. That balance makes the organisation of learning, alongside the chosen attendance pattern and extras, central to a family's decision.