Kids Planet Hartburn

A large garden and five rooms give Kids Planet Hartburn space for children at different stages of early childhood. This Hartburn nursery combines an outdoor setting with an emphasis on relationships, conversation and preparing children for their next stage. The practical appeal is clear. Its educational strengths need to be read alongside specific improvements to outdoor teaching and healthy routines.

At the 8 May 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership to be at the expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. These are area judgements, rather than an overall grade.

Children aged 2 to 60 months are accepted at the nursery on Darlington Road. Full days, mornings and afternoons provide different attendance options, with the detailed timings set out below.

Rooms and Ages

Five rooms organise the accommodation by developmental stage, while the large garden provides room for active play and exploration. This gives families a setting with separate spaces for different stages rather than one shared room for the whole early-years age range.

In May 2026, babies explored sensory materials while adults introduced animal vocabulary and sounds. Younger children also handled dough, with conversation extending the activity beyond its textures. Older children practised participating in groups and taking responsibility for everyday tasks. These examples show how play, language and independence were combined across the nursery.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the required framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play and routines support communication, movement, relationships and early understanding of numbers and stories. It is the foundation of the nursery day, rather than an additional programme.

In May 2026, counting language ran through practical activities. Children used acorns to respond to number questions, while older children encountered written numbers and games involving the language of time. Books could also go home with families, connecting stories at nursery with reading together at home. These are useful, concrete ways to make early learning part of ordinary conversation.

Group experiences also had a social purpose. In May 2026, younger children practised gentle play with one another, while older children contributed during shared stories and group discussions. Staff encouraged children to persevere when tasks became difficult, although this encouragement was less consistent outdoors.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is a substantial physical asset, but the quality of adults' involvement matters as much as its size. In May 2026, some adults outdoors concentrated on watching children rather than developing their ideas through conversation and teaching. Opportunities to take interested children's learning further were missed. Improving those interactions was a next step.

Community experiences added another dimension. In May 2026, children had participated in a bake sale and contributed to a local food bank; outings included parks, and older children walked to school to practise familiar family routines. These activities connected learning with helping others and experiencing the surrounding community. They did not establish an admissions advantage at a school.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2026, staff used information from parents to follow younger children's home routines, including how babies preferred to fall asleep. When children moved rooms, adults passed care information to the next key person, and parents could meet that person and discuss the change. The practical benefit is continuity: a room move need not mean starting again with a child's preferences and routines.

Famly, the parent app, provides updates in real time as part of the group-wide offer used at Hartburn. It gives families a connection with their child's nursery day between conversations with staff. The manager also holds the designated safeguarding lead role, giving child-protection concerns a clear point of responsibility.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its May 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that adaptations helped children with SEND participate in learning and that focused support enabled appropriate progress towards their individual goals. In May 2026, targeted plans were shared with parents and other settings, language screening informed support, and staff training included using specialist feeding equipment. These mechanisms matter for families whose child needs coordinated care across several adults or services.

Healthy routines were an improvement priority. In May 2026, children were sometimes given insufficient reminders to clean their hands before eating, including when handling shared cutlery. Oral-health routines were still being developed, and leaders were working on the babies' garden to support movement more effectively. Families should weigh these specific weaknesses alongside the relationship-based care.

Sessions and Attendance

Hartburn opens Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, for 51 weeks each year. The nursery closes on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas, so families needing care through those periods will need to plan around the closures.

A Full Day runs from 7am to 6pm. Morning bookings run from 7am to noon, while Afternoon bookings begin at 1pm and finish at 6pm. Full Time is also offered with the 7am to 6pm window, and an Adhoc Hourly Charge provides a further paid booking option. Morning and afternoon sessions have separate start and finish times; the afternoon begins after the morning has ended.

For older children, Before School Club runs from 7am to 9am and After School Club from 3pm to 6pm, for ages 4 to 11 years. Holiday Club bookings for ages 5 to 11 years cover a full day, morning or afternoon. These services sit alongside the early-years provision.

Getting There

The address is 68 Darlington Road, Hartburn, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 5ER. On-site parking supports families travelling by car.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and a nursery tour can be booked. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid care. Meals and snacks are included in private fees, as are formula, wipes, nappies and sun cream under the group-wide inclusive offer at Hartburn. Food and everyday supplies therefore form part of the private-care package.

On days when early-years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities carry separate charges. The charge structure distinguishes different lengths of funded attendance, so the cost of funded care needs to be considered alongside the chosen session. Funded hours and an inclusive private fee are different arrangements.

• Outdoor teaching. In May 2026, adults did not consistently extend children's learning in the garden. During a tour, ask how staff now build conversation and challenge into outdoor play.
• Healthy habits. May 2026 brought specific concerns about handwashing reminders and developing oral-health routines. Ask how these routines now work before meals and snacks.
• Funding and attendance. Hartburn sells full days, mornings and afternoons, with separate extras on days using early-years funding. Request a written quotation for your intended pattern that separates care, food, consumables and activities.

Kids Planet Hartburn suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with a large garden and spaces organised by developmental stage. The May 2026 picture combines practical language activities and continuity of care with concrete weaknesses in outdoor teaching and health routines. Those improvement points deserve attention when choosing, alongside the convenience of on-site parking and the inclusive private-care package.