Little Green Rascals Day Nursery Haxby

In July 2021, caterpillars and construction plans gave children opportunities to investigate how things work; Scientots science workshops added practical exploration in November 2024. Little Green Rascals Day Nursery Haxby is at 3 North Lane, York, YO32 3JP, and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. At its 1 July 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated it Outstanding overall.

The strongest examples from July 2021 connect learning with something children could actually do: follow an animal’s development, measure a building project or communicate a need through signing. Later Haxby activities include Scientots, workshops introducing science through practical exploration, with digestion among the subjects explored. These are concrete reasons for families interested in discovery through play to look closely at the setting.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care; in everyday terms, play and daily routines provide opportunities to develop communication, physical skills and growing independence. Haxby’s science, nature and creative activities sit alongside that framework.

In July 2021, babies learned Makaton sign language to express needs such as wanting food or a drink, and signing continued with older children. Music, stories and songs also supported language development. This gives communication a practical purpose: children can participate before spoken language carries everything they want to say.

Mathematical play in July 2021 took different forms across the ages. Babies encountered counting through songs, toddlers explored numbers through storytelling, and preschool children arranged wooden blocks bearing numbers. Number, order and quantity were part of play rather than confined to a separate exercise.

Construction in the garden brought several skills together. In July 2021, children combined water with sand, consulted pictures and plans, and used tools to decide where parts of their buildings should go. Pictures, plans and measuring tools helped children organise their building.

A Haxby activity account from November 2024 describes Scientots workshops exploring digestion through practical science. Yoga and forest school sessions, involving exploration of the natural world, also feature in that account. These additions give children different ways to investigate, move and learn beyond a single type of activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Living things supplied memorable learning in July 2021. Children followed the change from caterpillar to butterfly, then watched frogs develop from frogspawn before releasing them into a local pond. The experience connected observation with responsibility for animals, rather than ending with an indoor display.

Environmental questions also entered play in July 2021. Children used a hammer and chisel to uncover model dinosaur bones from plaster, then discussed fossils, extinction and animals under threat. Practical investigation opened up a conversation about protecting living things.

Remembrance Day activities in November 2024 used photographs, books and poppy making to introduce children to the meaning of the occasion. That month, a Children in Need cake sale brought families, staff and children together through baking and buying cakes. Both examples show how creative work and shared events can connect nursery life with the wider world; neither establishes a recurring timetable.

Relationships and Communication

In July 2021, key persons helped children settle into familiar routines, while staff encouraged persistence and modelled considerate behaviour. Children prepared lunch tables for friends and took turns with serving dishes. Everyday responsibilities gave them opportunities to practise independence and think about other people.

Communication with families in July 2021 combined a parent application with a private social media page. Parents exchanged daily information and discussed the next steps in their child’s development, including ways to support communication at home. The useful detail is the connection between nursery learning and something a parent could continue with their child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged that staff identified learning needs promptly, adapted activities to address them and supported excellent progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Practical independence also featured in July 2021: children poured drinks, helped themselves to lunch and changed clothes for yoga. These small tasks gave children a role in their own care. They also made the daily routine a place to practise skills, rather than something adults simply organised around them.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. For families organising work and childcare together, the closing time and holiday closures are the practical boundaries to plan around.

Applications use the Haxby registration form. Attendance days must be finalised at least six weeks before a child starts, and the manager confirms the exact sessions subject to availability. That makes the application part of agreeing an attendance arrangement rather than a guarantee of particular sessions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with the Haxby application terms referring to 15 or 30 hours a week. Private rates apply when attendance starts before funding activates.

For funded attendance, a separate service charge covers meals, snacks and non-food consumables, including wipes, nappies and suncream, alongside additional services. Funded hours do not cover additional attendance or activities.

Every new application requires a non-refundable registration charge. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, allowing families to compare the complete cost, including private hours and the funded service charge.

• Attendance planning. Exact days must be agreed no later than six weeks before the start date, and sessions require the manager’s confirmation subject to availability. Build that deadline into plans for starting work or changing childcare.
• Funding and application costs. Funded attendance carries a separate service charge for meals and consumables, while every new application requires a non-refundable registration charge. Use the complete written quotation when comparing costs.
• Learning across time. The Scientots, Remembrance Day and Children in Need examples come from November 2024. During a visit, ask how science, signing and nature exploration feature in your child’s age group now.

Haxby merits consideration for families drawn to practical science, nature exploration and children taking an active part in daily routines. Its July 2021 judgement provides a strong dated assessment, and the later Haxby activities add specific examples of creative and investigative learning.

It suits families seeking childcare across the year, including those combining funded entitlement with private attendance. The decision turns on the agreed attendance arrangement and total charge structure as well as the learning offer: the six-week deadline and separate funded service charge have real consequences for planning.