Daisy Chain Day Nursery

Two play rooms give the Tweenies space to choose between sand and water, stories and role play. That practical emphasis on choice helps define Daisy Chain Day Nursery in Heworth, York: a setting with separate stages for younger babies, mobile under-twos and children preparing for school, rather than one undifferentiated nursery day.

At its September 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found that children made good progress and formed close relationships with staff, and judged safeguarding effective. The judgement is dated. Its useful detail lies in the attention to individual routines, the opportunities for independent play and the teaching improvements still required.

Daisy Chain accepts children from 3 months to 5 years and has capacity for 54 children. Full-day, morning and afternoon attendance give families different ways to use the setting. Packed lunches, stretched funding and fixed booked days are important parts of the practical picture.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Room 1 serves under-twos, with songs, shared books and sensory exploration through water, jelly and paint supporting early communication. Baby Room 2 also serves under-twos, bringing dough, gloop, dancing and small-group books into a day shaped around increasing mobility and learning to play alongside others. The distinction is developmental: moving between the baby rooms happens without a fixed age threshold, and the groups come together from 5pm to build familiarity with future carers and companions.

For children aged 2 to 3, Tweenies combines two freely accessible play rooms, with creative work, sand and water in one and stories, home play and changing role play in the other, alongside an emphasis on independence, conversation and social confidence. Pre-School, for ages 3 to 5, balances activities chosen by children with adult-led experiences, using their interests and staff observations to plan subsequent learning. These are different stages of the same progression, with increasing opportunities to make decisions and participate with peers.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides planning across the nursery: children build language, physical skills, relationships and early understanding of numbers and literacy through play. This is the shared early-years framework, while the particular activities and resources give the day its character. The curriculum overview explains how relationships, observation and the learning environment fit together.

Games explore number, shape and problem-solving; role play draws on familiar experiences such as shopping or a dentist visit. Music, movement and art provide other ways for children to express ideas. The value is in connecting learning to something a child can do, discuss or investigate, rather than treating early learning as a sequence of formal lessons.

Zoolab and Living Eggs are among the visiting experts included in funded-hours enhancements, alongside gardening, baking and outings. These sit alongside the everyday play programme. FAMLY, the online learning journal included in those enhancements, provides another connection between nursery experiences and home.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play forms part of the day when appropriate. In September 2021, toddlers practised jumping from climbing equipment onto mats while adults discussed safety, and children used sponges and bubbly water to wash a ride-on car outdoors. These examples show physical exploration and familiar routines becoming opportunities for conversation.

During September 2021, lower storage in the tweenie room let children select more resources themselves. Changes to the outdoor environment also supported children who preferred learning outside. The practical thread is access: children could make choices about materials and take part through different kinds of play.

Relationships and Communication

Settling sessions for babies introduce families and staff to one another while helping carers learn home routines. Familiar key staff then provide continuity. That matters for a child whose comfort depends on recognisable adults and patterns, especially when starting nursery for the first time.

Baby Room 1 records important moments from the day in a book shared with parents. Meetings with a child's key worker take place in March, July and November, while Pre-School newsletters explain current topics and give parents ideas for related activities at home. These offer different kinds of communication: daily practical detail, a scheduled discussion and a link to what older children are learning.

In September 2021, staff gathered information about children's preferences, talked with parents about development and used introductory visits before children started. They knew individual sleep preferences and used singing to comfort upset babies. At lunch, adults helped toddlers who needed support and encouraged attempts to feed themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The deputy-manager role includes SENCO training. In Tweenies, potty training follows individual routines agreed with parents, with encouragement for children's attempts. This keeps an important care task connected to what happens at home, rather than imposing a single timetable on the group.

At the September 2021 inspection, Ofsted identified missed opportunities to deepen learning during children's own play and found that children learning English as an additional language needed better support to participate in larger groups. Those are material qualifications to the Good judgement. They concern the teaching children receive and how fully they can join shared activities.

During September 2021, staff collected words from children's home languages and spent individual time introducing English vocabulary. Staff also exchanged information with schools to help children prepare for their next stage. That transition work concerned preparation and continuity of care.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Cinder Lane, Heworth, York YO31 7TP. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with full-day attendance running across that window, mornings from 8am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. The fees structure also includes a separate half-day booking category. The nursery operates across 51 weeks and closes on bank holidays, including the specified Christmas and New Year dates.

Booked days cannot be exchanged for other days. Changes to days or sessions require one month's notice, while withdrawal or increases and reductions in hours require four weeks' written notice. Families with changing work patterns should weigh those rules alongside the choice of session lengths: shorter attendance does not mean an interchangeable booking.

An enquiry form accepts a requested start date and morning or afternoon preferences for each weekday. Families can also contact the nursery by telephone on 01904 422211. Enrolment carries a non-refundable administrative charge, and fees are due in advance by the start of the month. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes universal provision of 15 hours for children aged 3 and 4, eligible working-family provision of up to 30 hours, and deprivation funding for qualifying two-year-olds. Working-family funding can begin in the term after a child reaches 9 months, subject to eligibility. The term-time entitlement covers 38 weeks, but Daisy Chain spreads it across 51 weeks to give a reduced fixed monthly payment; eligibility codes need renewal every three months.

Funding and extras are separate. A voluntary additional service charge on funded hours covers snacks, consumables and enhancements such as visiting experts, outings and the FAMLY journal. For private sessions, snacks are included; parents provide lunch, and an evening snack tea if required, with an ice pack in the lunch box. Funded-hours snacks are charged separately through the voluntary service charge, while lunch still comes from home.

Nappies and creams are supplied with a separate charge under the private-care terms; parents supply baby milk and baby food. For funded hours, nappies, creams and wipes fall within the voluntary additional service charge. The fees page sets out the funded-hours categories separately from private attendance, making the distinction important when comparing quotations.

Getting There

Parking options include a 10-minute zone on Cinder Lane, Malton Road and spaces on East Parade with a one-hour limit; drivers are asked to avoid Wood Street and keep the narrowing section of Cinder Lane clear. Secure cycle storage and provision for disabled access offer practical alternatives to parking close to the nursery.

• Teaching and participation. September 2021 improvement points concerned extending children's chosen play and involving children learning English in larger groups. At a visit, ask how staff now develop those conversations and adapt group activities.
• Days that stay booked. Days cannot be swapped, and changes require notice. Morning, afternoon and full-day choices are useful, but the contract needs to fit the predictability of your working week.
• Food and the funded-hours bill. Lunch comes from home, while funded snacks and other extras sit within a voluntary service charge. A written quotation should separate private hours, funded hours and those additional services so the household commitment is clear.
• The baby-room move. There is no fixed age for moving between the two baby rooms, and the groups meet from 5pm. Ask how the transition would be planned around your child's development and usual collection time.

Daisy Chain suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with care extending from early infancy to the preschool years. Its recognisable strengths are practical: developmental stages within the baby provision, genuine choice between the Tweenies play rooms, home-linked settling and scheduled parent conversations.

The September 2021 Good judgement provides a positive assessment with specific teaching improvements attached. For a family comfortable supplying lunch and committing to fixed booked days, the room progression and stretched funding arrangement give this Heworth nursery a clear, usable shape.