Horbury Day Nursery

A crawl-in sandpit for babies, an indoor Soft Play Room and separate gardens give Horbury Day Nursery a decidedly physical, hands-on character. Movement runs through the offer, from practising on a ramp to playing outside in wet weather. For families whose children learn by touching, moving and experimenting, those are useful details rather than decorative extras.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found effective safeguarding and productive support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. That judgement belongs to that visit. The practical strengths today include individual baby routines, a substantial choice of play spaces and daily communication through an app.

The nursery has capacity for 73 children, with a current age range of three months to five years. Morning and afternoon funded sessions sit alongside a full-day funded pattern, giving families more than one way to organise attendance.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room combines sensory exploration with stairs, a ramp and an open sandpit that babies can crawl into, so early movement and investigating materials have dedicated space rather than depending solely on activities brought to a table.

Toddlers gives two-year-olds opportunities to develop language and independence through a home corner, construction area, small-world play and sandpit, with child-led choices allowing them to pursue an idea rather than all doing the same activity.

In Pre-School, sound games, playdough recipes and mark-making sit alongside a daily circle time, bringing listening, counting, hand skills and taking turns into familiar activities as children prepare for school.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning and care: here, play, conversation, movement and practical activities carry that learning through the day. It is the shared early-years foundation; the useful distinction is how the nursery turns it into experiences children can join in with.

Letters & Sounds Phase One introduces preschool children to listening activities, including sound walks and games involving drums and matching sounds. The emphasis is on noticing and distinguishing what they hear. This gives parents a concrete picture of early literacy rather than an unexplained promise of school preparation.

Playdough provides another practical connection between play and learning. Following a recipe brings measuring and counting into making something, while working the dough exercises the hand movements needed for later writing. Creative activities also give children different ways to make marks, rather than restricting this to a pencil task.

Circle time begins at 9am. Songs use makaton actions, and discussion draws on a weekly shape, story and sign; music and movement, outdoor play and a science experiment also feature daily. These recurring experiences give the day recognisable reference points, while free play and planned activities allow staff to respond to the children attending.

In September 2023, teaching drew on children's developing interests and their next learning steps. Younger children encountered new vocabulary through body parts, animals and stories supported by props; older children talked readily about their drawings and home lives. The detail matters: communication was practised through things children were already doing and interested in.

Outdoor and Community Life

Each room has access to its own garden. Outdoor play continues in different weather conditions, with sheltered areas and a play house adding options alongside running, jumping and climbing. Families should expect outdoor clothing to be part of the everyday kit, rather than reserved for an occasional special outing.

The Soft Play Room is an indoor space shared across the nursery, where children can crawl, climb and bounce at their own pace. It adds a separate setting for active play alongside the gardens. For a child still learning to move confidently, that variety means physical exploration is woven into the facilities as well as the activity timetable.

Relationships and Communication

Baby sleep and feeding routines are agreed with parents and adjusted as those routines change. This is a practical strength for families managing the transition from home care: the nursery day can reflect the baby's existing pattern, rather than requiring every baby to follow a single timetable.

Famly, the group's parent communication app, provides daily updates, photographs, meal plans, collection notifications and direct messages. Babies also have a daily diary, while a monthly newsletter covers topics and forthcoming events. Together, these give parents both the small details of an individual day and the wider picture of nursery life.

In September 2023, key persons assessed children when they joined and used what they knew about them to maintain individual routines and support moves between stages and on to school. Communication with parents included an online system, information boards and books and resources borrowed from a lending library. Sharing those materials offered families a practical way to continue activities at home.

The same visit identified a qualification to that picture: supervision-heavy sensory activities sometimes drew key persons away from new children's free play. Children were content, but opportunities to extend their ideas were missed. Settling therefore deserves attention beyond whether a child is happy to stay; access to their familiar adult during play matters too.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used advice from outside professionals to support children with additional needs and English as an additional language, while safeguarding knowledge included recognising concerns and understanding referral procedures. Those findings provide a dated account of support in practice, rather than a general assurance about every child's experience today.

Every practitioner has access to Noodle Now, a group-wide training resource with more than 110 courses, and the nursery closes for two half-days each year for training with visiting professionals. This gives staff continuing opportunities to develop their practice; families also need to factor the closures into care arrangements.

An on-site chef cooks fresh meals daily, catering for vegetarian and vegan diets as well as allergies and intolerances. The nursery's allergy policy acknowledges that it cannot guarantee food will be free of relevant allergens or cross-contact, an important distinction for families managing food allergy.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 47a Manorfield Drive, Horbury, Wakefield, WF4 6JY. Standard opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with separately priced early starts at 7.15am and 7.30am.

Private full-day and half-day bookings are offered. Funded attendance has specific windows: mornings run from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, and the full-day pattern runs from 8am to 6pm. The morning and afternoon options each accommodate five funded hours; the full day accommodates ten.

Families can contact the nursery on 01924 275690 or email info@horburychildcare.co.uk. These are also the contact routes for arranging a visit. A current written quotation should set out the price of the chosen attendance pattern and any extras.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 hours of government-funded childcare. Hours can run over 38 term-time weeks or be stretched across 51 weeks, including school holidays. The choice concerns how the entitlement is distributed through the year, so the pattern should fit the family's calendar as well as its daily collection arrangements.

Meals and snacks are charged separately, and consumables form part of a separate meals-and-consumables charge; these charges also apply to funded attendance. Healthy packed meals may be brought instead. Funding therefore needs to be considered alongside the food and consumables arrangement, rather than treated as an all-inclusive package.

Stretched funding carries a specific restriction: changes to the hours taken, including transferring hours to another setting, cannot be made during a term. Requests must be made at term-end and take effect in the following term. Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare support are also accepted. The sessions and fees information sets out the attendance and charging structure.

• Settling and adult availability. In September 2023, busy sensory activities sometimes reduced new children's access to their key person during free play. During a visit, ask how that familiar adult remains available while other activities need supervision.
• Healthy habits beyond routines. The September 2023 improvement priorities included richer discussion of healthy choices during play and everyday routines. Ask how staff now build those conversations into the day, alongside the practical independence children practise.
• Food allergy arrangements. The allergy policy recognises the possibility of allergens and cross-contact. Families affected by allergy should confirm current kitchen practice and their child's individual arrangements before joining.
• Attendance across the year. Stretched funding changes take effect at the following term, and two half-day training closures interrupt the nursery calendar each year. Consider both when matching care to work commitments.

Horbury suits families choosing between morning, afternoon and full-day funded attendance who value sensory play, daily movement and detailed communication about their child. The Baby Room's physical features and the shared Soft Play Room make that character concrete. Flexible baby routines are another useful attraction.

The September 2023 judgement supplies a positive, dated quality benchmark, with clear improvement priorities around key-person availability and conversations about healthy lifestyles. Those are sensible subjects for a visit. For families whose calendar fits the funding terms and training closures, the combination of practical play spaces and varied attendance patterns offers a clear basis for choosing.