Little Years Nursery Acomb

A Secret Garden behind a Grade II listed building gives Little Years Nursery Acomb a character that goes beyond its Front Street address. Bug hunting, building dens and mixing muddy potions bring outdoor exploration into the nursery day, while children move between the playrooms and a courtyard garden. This is care for children from birth to five, with shared experiences across ages alongside their own base spaces.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that targeted plans and work with other professionals supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) positively. Those findings give families a useful quality benchmark.

Term-time and full-year attendance are offered, with full days, morning and afternoon sessions, and a shorter School Day pattern.

Rooms and Ages

Family Grouping is the group-wide approach used here: children keep a consistent family group while spending time learning and playing with children of different ages. Base rooms still provide an age-related starting point. The practical distinction is that a child's nursery experience extends beyond one room, with fewer changes of group as they grow.

The Nest & The Hollow, for ages zero to two, provide quieter base spaces for younger children and for children who need a pause from busier activity. The Burrow & The Nurtury, for ages two to four, emphasise discovery through engineering, science, mathematics and technology, using natural materials and toys that invite experimentation. The Studio adds space for investigating materials, messy creativity and practical experiments.

These named spaces form part of the group-wide room model used at Acomb. A lead key person belongs to each child's base room, so time across age groups sits alongside an identifiable adult relationship. For parents, that combination matters more than a simple list of rooms: the base provides continuity while shared experiences broaden the child's day.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS is the required framework for children's learning, development and care, with learning through play encompassing communication, physical development and early understanding of the world. Acomb adds its family-group arrangements and outdoor experiences alongside that framework. They shape how children encounter learning rather than replacing the common requirements.

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found good progress across learning and a strength in mathematics, but asked for further development of communication with younger children and opportunities to explore technology safely. The examples make those conclusions tangible. In October 2024, children counted fallen apples and ladybird spots, while staff introduced mathematical vocabulary during play. Numbers had a purpose beyond a separate counting exercise.

During that same month, children's interest in emergency vehicles prompted discussion about people who help others. Stories encouraged predictions and conversation. However, adults sometimes spoke at a pace and level of complexity that did not suit younger children, and children's curiosity about electronic devices needed more planned support. These are specific teaching points for families weighing the learning offer.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Secret Garden is Acomb's setting for Forest School, with hands-on outdoor exploration through bug hunts, den building and muddy play. The courtyard provides another outdoor space. Different settings allow outdoor time to include both everyday play and more exploratory activity.

Children use the outdoor areas daily in wet weather as well as dry weather. Local walks and woodland experiences also feature in the outdoor programme. The emphasis is practical: suitable clothing belongs in the daily bag because outdoor learning is part of the routine, rather than an occasional special event.

In October 2024, babies practised walking in the garden with steps adding a physical challenge. A bug search also became a language activity, with adults introducing words about moss and its growing places. The garden therefore contributed to movement and conversation as well as play.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows the individual child, with introductory sessions, visits accompanied by a parent and time to develop a relationship with the key person. There is no fixed settling timetable. This gives the beginning of nursery life room to respond to the child's confidence and familiarity with the adults.

The optional Settling In Fee covers a nursery bag, stay-and-play sessions and as many settling sessions as needed; it is refundable if the family decides not to take up the place. Families declining that fee receive one stay-and-play session and one settling session. The choice changes the introductory package, so its practical effect deserves attention alongside the attendance pattern.

Famly, the group-wide parent app used at Acomb, carries photographs, messages and observations, together with updates about eating and sleeping. Handover conversations, newsletters and parent meetings add other ways to stay involved. For a parent of a baby, the meals and sleep updates offer a concrete account of the day; for an older child, observations give context for their developing interests.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Personalised support plans, adjustments to the environment and collaboration with external professionals are the mechanisms for SEND support. The group SEND Officer and SEND & Inclusion Manager provide roles within that structure. Families can therefore discuss their child's needs through an individual plan rather than relying on a broad statement about inclusion.

Behaviour support centres on helping children regulate emotions with an adult, recognise feelings and understand boundaries. In October 2024, staff used praise tied to particular actions to explain expectations, and training had addressed how to respond to biting. These details concern how adults respond to behaviour, not simply the rules children are expected to follow.

Meals and snacks are made on site, with nutritionist input, and the nursery's dietary arrangements cover allergies, intolerances and cultural needs. In October 2024, sleeping children received regular checks and drinking water was accessible during the day.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm. Full Day bookings run from 8am to 6pm; morning sessions are 8am to 1pm, and afternoon sessions are 1pm to 6pm. The School Day option runs from 9am to 3pm. These are different booking patterns, rather than interchangeable descriptions of the opening window.

Both term-time and full-year care are offered. Across-year fees are based on 51 weeks, while term-time billing follows the sessions attended each month and carries an additional term-time charge. The nursery closes on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Families choosing year-round attendance need to accommodate those closures.

An early start from 7.30am to 8am is separately charged and cannot use funded hours. Fully funded term-time attendance runs from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. The early-start arrangement therefore belongs in the paid part of a family's plan, rather than the funded allocation.

Getting There

Little Years Nursery Acomb is at 27 Front Street, Acomb, York, YO24 3BW. Enquiries go to acomb@littleyearsnursery.co.uk or 01904 848828, and showround booking is offered. The Grade II listed building is a recognisable part of the setting's identity.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour entitlement for children aged three to four, support for eligible two-year-olds and the 30-hour entitlement for eligible working families with children aged nine months and over. Funding can be used over 38 weeks or stretched across 51 weeks: the pack gives 11 weekly hours for the stretched 15-hour entitlement and 22 for the stretched 30-hour entitlement. Eligibility conditions apply.

Private childcare is also offered. The private package includes the Additional Fee covering meals, snacks and non-food consumables such as wipes, nappies and sun cream. On funded hours, the Additional Funding Fee is an optional charge per funded hour for the enhanced package, including food and consumables; families opting out provide their child's meals, snacks, drinks, nappies, wipes and sun cream each day. The distinction affects daily preparation as well as the invoice.

The opt-in model also bundles enhanced resources and activities, rather than describing food as the only extra. Families experiencing financial difficulty or on low incomes can receive assistance with additional fees, and a sibling discount applies to the eldest child's invoice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Mixed-age learning and a base room. Family Grouping combines shared experiences with an age-related base and a lead key person. During a showround, ask how a younger child's quieter time fits alongside activity with older children.
• Communication and technology. The October 2024 improvement points concerned adult language for younger children and safe exploration of technology. Ask how these have been incorporated into current daily teaching.
• The funded-hours package. Declining the optional additional charge means providing food, drinks and consumables daily. Compare that routine with the opt-in package, and confirm current dietary practice if your child has an allergy or intolerance.
• Settling arrangements. The optional Settling In Fee changes the introductory package, with one stay-and-play and one settling session offered when it is declined. Discuss how the chosen arrangement will work for your child before agreeing the booking.

Little Years Nursery Acomb suits families who value daily outdoor exploration, a consistent key relationship and experiences shared across ages. The Secret Garden and courtyard give that approach a physical setting, while Famly provides a practical connection between nursery and home.

Its attendance options serve families seeking full days, shorter morning or afternoon sessions, or a School Day pattern, with term-time and full-year choices. The Good judgement from October 2024 is balanced by specific teaching improvements to discuss. The other important decision is how the optional funded-hours package fits the family's budget and daily routine.