Gilderdale Nursery

A working farm, private woodland and a converted barn give Gilderdale Nursery its character. Children can investigate streams and fields, build woodland dens and use a yurt when the weather calls for shelter. This is a setting for families who want outdoor experience to shape the nursery day, rather than sit around its edges.

Gilderdale, on Wanwood Hill in Alston, has capacity for 32 children, with an age range of 6 months to 5 years. At its April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The strongest practical attractions are its separate baby space, indoor-outdoor access for older children and hands-on experiences with growing, animals and cooking.

The outdoor emphasis is deliberate: the nursery aims for children to spend at least 60% of their day outside. That is an ambition for the day, rather than a promise that each child spends a fixed amount of time outdoors.

Rooms and Ages

Baby room takes children from 6 months until they are ready for the larger space, combining daily exploration with a separate sleeping area and outdoor space intended for babies. This gives the youngest children a base apart from the busier barn. Movement into the barn typically happens around age 2, with readiness also shaping the transition.

Toddler space brings more demanding imaginative play, activities supporting self-care and opportunities to spend time alongside preschool children. The larger outdoor environment also introduces children to managing risk through forest school sessions. The change is about what children can attempt, as well as where they spend their day.

Pre-school centres on outdoor learning, with children tending the allotment, caring for animals, cooking over a fire and using the wood work shed, art zone, mud kitchen and wildlife area. A yurt provides shelter, while the indoor space remains an option. These are practical resources for making, experimenting and taking responsibility.

Learning and Activities

EYFS is the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play and practical experiences support communication, physical skills and learning. Gilderdale adds an outdoor-led approach. Its forest school sessions involve tools, den building and exploration of nature, giving children real tasks to attempt rather than only activities to watch.

Reggio Emilia influences the teaching through attention to the learning environment and the opportunities it creates for exploration. The nursery also draws on hygge to create a comfortable, homely atmosphere. These influences sit alongside the EYFS; they shape how experiences are arranged rather than replace the framework.

In-the-moment planning starts with observing children's interests and using those discoveries to develop learning. That approach can make an ordinary investigation the starting point for something more demanding. In April 2023, children used dominoes for counting, compared the size of muddy footprints and investigated how much containers could hold by filling and emptying them. Mathematics had a practical purpose.

Outdoor and Community Life

Private woodland is separate from the nursery garden, and regular walks and farm visits extend the day beyond those spaces. Free-flow access connects indoor and outdoor play. For children who like movement, mud and making things, the setting offers several ways to pursue the same interest in different surroundings.

The farm also gives everyday skills a context. In April 2023, children grew vegetables and used eggs they had collected in cake-making. Stories became physical experiences in muddy puddles, while drawing plans for a construction linked early writing with something children wanted to build. These examples show how the outdoor setting supported learning at that time.

Relationships matter within such an active day. In April 2023, staff responded to children needing comfort and helped them settle their emotions; children also involved adults in their play and shared ideas with them. Older children checked on younger children after a stumble outdoors. The examples connect emotional support with participation, rather than treating care as separate from learning.

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that work with speech and language therapists and emotion-coaching training supported progress, including for children with SEND, but identified uneven attention during group conversations and insufficiently embedded guidance for learning at home. More confident children sometimes drew much of the adult attention. Families should weigh that specific limitation alongside the positive account of individual interactions.

Current support roles include a SENCO, a safeguarding officer and a forest school lead, with paediatric first aid training also represented in the team. These describe the arrangements in place, rather than establish how effectively each operates. A key-person role spans children of different ages.

Food is prepared on site, with homemade lunches, tea and snacks; meals and snacks are included in the price according to attendance hours, and lunch can sometimes be cooked over the campfire. For babies, key persons discuss dietary needs and the pace of weaning with families, while the nursery accommodates breastfeeding and expressed milk and describes routines for managing allergens.

Sessions and Attendance

Gilderdale opens from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, for 49 weeks of the year. It closes on bank holidays, for two weeks at Christmas and for a summer maintenance week. Those planned closures matter for families arranging childcare across the working year.

The nursery offers a choice of sessions and invites discussion where its session arrangements do not fit a family's needs. Opening hours define the operating window; the attendance agreement is the practical detail to settle before committing. A look around can be arranged through the nursery, and enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Getting There

The address is Well House, Wanwood Hill, Alston, CA9 3BE. Its farm setting is integral to the experience: fields, woodland and streams are part of the children's surroundings, rather than destinations reached only on occasional outings.

Funding and Paid Extras

Gilderdale accepts government-funded hours and tax-free childcare. Its funding information describes up to 15 hours per week for eligible children aged 9 months and over, with the choice of term-time use or spreading hours across the year. Eligibility remains a condition, so this is not a promise of funded hours for every child.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The attendance hours also determine which meals are included, making the quotation and agreed schedule useful documents to consider together.

• An outdoor-led day. The aim is at least 60% of the day outside, with woodland experiences and preschool activities such as animal care and fire cooking. During a visit, discuss how that approach fits your child's comfort, interests and readiness.
• Attention in group conversations. In April 2023, confident speakers sometimes attracted more adult attention, and guidance for supporting learning at home needed further development. Ask how quieter children now contribute and how next steps are shared with parents.
• The attendance agreement. The operating year includes Christmas and summer closures, and meals depend on attendance hours. Before joining, which session pattern would your written quotation cover?
• Dietary needs. Key persons discuss weaning and individual requirements, and the nursery describes allergen routines. Families managing an allergy should confirm current practice for their child's particular needs.

Gilderdale suits families seeking a farm-based nursery day, where woodland exploration, practical making and care for animals have a substantial place. Babies have a separate base, while older children gain more freedom across the barn and outdoor spaces. Families using funded hours either in term time or spread across the year have both arrangements to consider.

The April 2023 picture combines engaging practical learning with specific weaknesses in group language work and guidance for home learning. That balance matters. The strongest reason to choose Gilderdale is the fit between its outdoor-led approach and the experiences a family wants for its child.