TeesActive Childcare

An adjoining sports hall gives this Thornaby nursery a different shape from a setting whose activities stay within its playrooms. TeesActive Childcare, known as TreeTops Nursery, combines two playrooms with access to soft play and an outdoor area at the local children’s centre. Movement has several settings here.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding across all assessed areas and judged safeguarding effective. Children aged two to four attend the provision inside Thornaby Pavilion, and the nursery has capacity for 38 children in total. That whole-setting figure is separate from the size of any activity group.

Communication support and a gradual start are substantial parts of the offer. Basic Makaton helps children communicate, while Stay & Play involves a familiar adult in their first week. A funded afternoon pattern runs on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children’s learning and care, covering communication, relationships, physical development and learning through play. Here, painting and crafts sit alongside exploring shapes, letters and numbers, experimenting with textures and enjoying stories. These give children different ways to express themselves, investigate materials and practise emerging skills.

Two playrooms provide the indoor base. Water and sand play, seed planting and messy art add practical experiences: children can manipulate materials and explore what happens, rather than encounter everything through conversation or pictures.

In September 2025, adults used books and songs to introduce vocabulary, then encouraged conversation during play and in smaller groups. Signs and visual prompts helped children at an earlier stage of communication join in. Counting was woven into activities, and adults demonstrated scissor use before encouraging children to attempt more demanding techniques. The useful thread is repetition across different experiences, with opportunities to practise language and hand control.

Outdoor and Community Life

Thornaby Pavilion supplies more than the nursery’s address. Children use its adjoining sports hall and soft play areas for physical activity, and visit the outdoor area at the local children’s centre. Those spaces extend the day beyond the two playrooms and give movement a practical place in the routine.

Weenie Gym adds movement and core-strength support. Its purpose is concrete, making it relevant alongside the nursery’s communication work rather than simply another activity name. Parents are also invited to Christmas parties and other special events, bringing family participation into nursery life.

Relationships and Communication

Stay & Play asks a parent, guardian or close family member to attend sessions during the child’s first week. Observe & Build is the accompanying process: staff watch how the child plays and responds while getting to know the family. Settling therefore begins with shared time, rather than expecting immediate separation.

Daily verbal updates keep parents in contact with the nursery day; newsletters arrive quarterly, and classroom notice boards carry photographs and notices. Planned meetings address learning goals, achievements and support. Termly progress checkpoints sit alongside individual action plans updated weekly or monthly, giving families a more structured account of next steps as well as everyday conversation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that teaching was adjusted to individual learning needs and that children with SEND received support through adapted activities and routines, with professionals involved where needed. The current support arrangements include SENCO roles, individual adjustments, one-to-one help when required and referrals made with parents’ knowledge and agreement.

Blast and early talk boost are speech, language and communication programmes; basic Makaton is taught to children to help communication. Occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and specialists in visual or hearing impairment are among the professionals involved. The practical value lies in linking nursery activities with specialist recommendations and sharing plans with families.

Children do not need to be toilet trained before joining. Staff work with parents when a child is ready, and families bring nappies and wipes where needed. Drinking water is accessible throughout the day, with milk and healthy snacks also offered.

Operation Encompass provides an early-support arrangement for children affected by domestic abuse, involving information sharing between police and education settings. For moving on, staff prepare a document with parents for the next setting, encourage its representatives to visit and can accompany the child on planned visits. This is continuity of care and information, rather than a named school pathway.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is based at Thornaby Pavilion, Wrightson House, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9EW. In September 2025, opening hours were 9am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Those are the nursery’s dated opening hours, separate from the leisure centre’s longer operating day.

The funded afternoon arrangement provides six hours over three days: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 12.45pm to 2.45pm. Its fixed days matter as much as the afternoon timing when fitting childcare around family commitments. Nursery enquiries can be made through its enquiry form or by telephone on 01642 760971.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare was offered in September 2025, and the six-hour afternoon arrangement is part of the current offer. Paid childcare also operates, with normal fees applying to holidays taken during term time. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Parents provide nappies and wipes when applicable, together with spare clothing; a familiar comfort item can also come from home. Essential medicine can be administered by a designated staff member once a parent has given written consent.

Getting There

Thornaby town centre has a public car park with a limited period of free parking; the posted restrictions determine how long that lasts. The Pavilion has wheelchair access and an elevator, useful physical features for families using the building.

• A shared first week. Stay & Play involves a familiar adult attending sessions initially. Plan who can make that commitment and discuss how separation will progress for your child.
• Fixed funded afternoons. The six-hour arrangement uses Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 12.45pm to 2.45pm. At a visit, establish how that pattern fits the attendance you need.
• Communication support. Blast, early talk boost and basic Makaton sit alongside individual plans and specialist referrals. Discuss which support would be relevant to your child and how progress would be shared.
• Food arrangements. Milk and healthy snacks are offered. What food should your child bring, how are food costs handled, and how would any allergies be managed?

TreeTops has a recognisable combination: physical activity in Pavilion spaces, structured communication support and a first week shared with someone the child knows. The September 2025 Outstanding judgement gives that practical offer a strong inspection position.

It suits families of two- to four-year-olds who value movement, family involvement and individual support, especially those whose needs fit the fixed funded afternoons. Families planning a broader term-time routine should weigh those afternoons alongside the dated daytime opening window. The settling commitment deserves equal attention: a good fit here includes time for the accompanying adult as well as the child.