York House Day Nursery Salisbury

Books shared with babies, garden storytelling for toddlers and wooden beams for balancing give York House Day Nursery Salisbury a recognisable character in its December 2023 account of daily life. Language and physical play ran through ordinary activities, rather than sitting apart from them. The setting has capacity for 46 children and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months.

At its 11 December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, highlighted the strength of its key-person relationships and found effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Those are useful strengths for families weighing how their child will settle and how learning will be adapted. Supervision incidents and a later safeguarding action also deserve attention, alongside the learning and care.

Full-time childcare, morning attendance and afternoon attendance are offered.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in parent language, the day combines play, communication, movement and growing independence. In December 2023, staff planned activities around children's interests and what they could already do, then chose opportunities to develop their next skills. That made the starting point the individual child, rather than an identical task for everyone.

For babies and toddlers, books, colour and shape vocabulary during creative play, and signing helped make language accessible. Older children practised speaking and listening through conversation, including while shaping dough. These examples show how an everyday activity can become a chance to explain an idea, hear a new word or respond to another child.

In December 2023, babies selected books to share with staff and toddlers enjoyed garden storytelling. Older children explored familiar phrases, rhyme and initial sounds, taking their enjoyment of stories into early language skills.

The weakness was the consistency of adult interaction. In December 2023, less experienced staff sometimes missed opportunities to develop children's learning through their conversations and responses. The improvement priority was to help those practitioners become more effective at engaging children. For parents, the distinction matters: having an activity ready is only part of teaching; the adult's response can take it further.

Outdoor and Community Life

In December 2023, outdoor movement included balancing on wooden beams, riding tricycles and climbing the steps to a slide. These resources gave children different physical challenges, with staff offering guidance and encouragement. Garden storytelling also linked outdoor time with language, so the garden's role extended beyond energetic play.

Regular community outings formed part of the December 2023 experience, alongside activities exploring different cultures, beliefs and languages. Staff learnt words from the home languages of children learning English as an additional language and used signing to support understanding. Familiar language gave those children another way to connect with nursery life.

Relationships were a clear theme in December 2023. Key people understood the importance of close bonds and knew children's routines and learning needs. Staff also gave parents detailed updates and responded to specific care requests. The practical value is continuity between home and nursery, especially when a child's routine needs careful handling.

Emotional development was taught through small social situations. In December 2023, toddlers practised sharing and taking turns, while preschool children received help to identify feelings and work through disagreements themselves. These were opportunities to become more independent in managing relationships, rather than simply relying on an adult to settle every dispute.

Food also supported independence in December 2023: a resident chef prepared meals from scratch, and children practised using cutlery and cutting their food. Handwashing and conversations about vegetables linked lunch with learning about health.

Supervision requires a fuller account. In December 2023, children had recently been left unsupervised for brief periods, prompting changes to risk assessments and procedures for moving between indoor areas and the garden. A further incident relating to staff:child ratio requirements was notified on 11 February 2025. By the May 2025 regulatory visit, movement procedures had been updated to include recording and regularly checking child numbers in each area.

Following its May 2025 regulatory visit, Ofsted required additional training in allegation management for the designated safeguarding lead and subsequently confirmed that the safeguarding and welfare actions had been met after the provider's 11 June 2025 response. The changes included further training, safeguarding discussions during staff supervision and leadership oversight of decisions following concerns. Because supervision issues recur across the dated accounts, understanding how these procedures work now is a meaningful part of choosing this nursery.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 31 New Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2PH. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round operation and bank holiday closures. Families therefore need a separate arrangement for those closure days.

Attendance choices include full-time childcare and morning or afternoon attendance on weekdays. Enquiries can be made through the nursery's contact form or its central enrolments team on 0330 333 8133.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, subject to eligibility. The options include 30 Hours working families funding, 15 Hours universal funding for children aged 3 and 4, and 15 hours for 2-year-olds receiving support. Eligibility should be considered separately from the attendance pattern a family wants to book.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Use that quotation to assess the whole booking, rather than treating the funded entitlement alone as the total childcare arrangement.

• Supervision between areas. In December 2023, movement procedures had changed following recent supervision incidents; further changes were recorded in May 2025. At a visit, ask staff to explain how they count children and maintain supervision when groups move between rooms and the garden.
• Adult interaction. In December 2023, less experienced practitioners needed help to extend learning through better engagement. Ask how staff receive coaching and how leaders assess everyday conversations with children.
• Your funded booking. Morning, afternoon and full-time attendance are offered alongside eligible funded childcare. Ask for a written booking proposal showing how your entitlement applies and who supplies or pays for meals and non-food consumables.

York House suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance as well as full-time childcare in Salisbury. Its December 2023 strengths were personal relationships, books and language, and practical opportunities to build independence. Those are tangible reasons to consider it.

The decision also needs to take account of repeated supervision concerns, even though the later safeguarding actions were met. A visit that explains the current movement procedures and staff coaching would address the most significant questions raised by this nursery's history.