Agility Tots

Movement gives Agility Tots its character: children can use Agility's leisure facilities, while Tatty Bumpkin yoga combines physical activity with communication, breathing games and mindfulness. This family-run nursery in Nether Poppleton puts an active day alongside the quieter work of learning to communicate and manage feelings.

At its 17 October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Agility Tots Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The account of daily life included singing, practical play and children learning to do things for themselves, alongside two clear priorities: sustaining concentration and extending children's understanding of people, places and cultures.

Agility Tots accepts children from birth to five and has capacity for 39 children in total. Full-day, short-day and half-day patterns give families different ways to organise attendance, with an additional breakfast club for an earlier start.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, that means planning activities around individual learning needs, with parents contributing to the planning and receiving ideas for learning at home. The useful distinction is between the framework itself and the experiences that bring it into a child's day.

Tatty Bumpkin yoga adds movement, sensory experiences and playful breathing activities. Sessions introduce mindfulness while children practise balance and coordination, linking the nursery's emphasis on physical activity with opportunities to communicate and respond to others. This is a concrete addition to everyday play, rather than simply an approach with a memorable name.

In October 2024, practical activities included fishing with small rods, making marks with farm vehicles in a sand tray, and filling and emptying containers with pipettes. These gave children different ways to practise hand movements and explore quantity. Staff brought mathematical vocabulary into the play, so handling objects also became an opportunity to hear and use language.

Stories and songs were another part of the day in October 2024. Children selected objects from a song box and sang to the group, while adults talked through what children were doing during play. There was room for children to choose activities, alongside resources prepared by staff.

Outdoor and Community Life

Access to Agility's facilities is a useful part of the setting's offer: physical activity can draw on the wider leisure provision as well as nursery activities. The emphasis is on children exploring and moving, with physical, social and cognitive development linked through play.

In October 2024, children had daily opportunities for physical activity and went on walks beyond the nursery. Those outings needed a clearer educational purpose: they had yet to be connected to learning about the wider world and different cultures. Some children also became distracted during activities. These are meaningful qualifications to the positive account of an active nursery day, especially for families weighing how movement and sustained engagement fit together.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is tailored to the family. A key person gets to know the child's routines, preferences and interests, and the nursery offers as many settling sessions as the family needs. That makes the starting process responsive to the child rather than a fixed number of visits everyone must complete.

The Famly App carries updates about food, sleep, bottle feeds and nappy changes, as well as learning and development. Conversations at collection and opportunities to contact staff during the day sit alongside those digital updates. Parents can follow both the practical care routines and the learning, rather than receiving only a brief account of activities.

In October 2024, staff used familiar comfort items to help children settle and responded calmly when emotions became difficult. Everyday independence included spreading butter on crumpets, using cutlery, handwashing and learning to use the toilet. These small tasks gave children opportunities to take responsibility within familiar routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with gaps in their learning received support and that staff worked with other professionals while families awaited further assessments. The current team includes a practitioner with experience supporting additional needs, and the manager holds the safeguarding lead role.

Food is prepared by in-house chefs, with a dietitian overseeing nutrition; the summer menu includes dishes such as vegetable lasagne and salmon risotto, with a bean alternative. Food is charged separately, so meals need to be considered alongside the childcare booking when comparing the total package.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Agility, London Ebor Business Park, Millfield Lane, Nether Poppleton, YO26 6QY. The nursery operates across the year, opening for 51 weeks and closing for Christmas week and bank holidays.

Full-day sessions run from 8am to 6pm, while short days run from 9am to 3.30pm. Half-day sessions are also offered. Breakfast club runs from 7.30am to 8am, giving families an earlier option before the main opening window of 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

The difference between a short day and a full day is useful here: families can choose a school-day-shaped window or care extending into the early evening. The enquiry route is a form, email, or telephone and WhatsApp contact with the nursery manager.

Funding and Paid Extras

Agility Tots accepts childcare funding and childcare vouchers, and provides a tailored quotation based on the family's requirements and funding eligibility. Private childcare is also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, allowing the attendance pattern and funding position to be considered together.

Food and non-food consumables and resources are separate charges. The food items distinguish morning snack and lunch from afternoon snack and tea, while consumables and resources have their own charge; there is also a registration fee. The sessions and fees page sets out that structure, which matters when comparing childcare packages rather than looking only at the session price.

• Attention during activities. In October 2024, some children lost concentration readily. On a visit, ask how staff adapt activities to help children stay involved for longer.
• Learning beyond the nursery. October 2024 walks needed stronger links to understanding other people, places and cultures. Ask for an example of how an outing now connects with children's learning.
• The complete booking cost. Food, consumables and resources are charged separately, and a registration charge also applies. Use a written quotation covering your chosen sessions and funding eligibility to compare the whole package.

Agility Tots suits families who value physical activity, individual settling and detailed communication, whether they need full days or the shorter 9am to 3.30pm pattern. Half days add another attendance option. Access to Agility's facilities and Tatty Bumpkin yoga give the active emphasis substance, while the key-person process and Famly App make care routines easier for parents to follow.

The October 2024 priorities deserve attention: an energetic day also needs activities that hold children's interest and outings that extend their understanding. Separate food and consumables charges make the complete quotation another important part of the decision.