Muddy Boots Nursery, Poppleton

Around 9 acres, gardens reached directly from the rooms, and Nature School with heated and cooled teepee tents give Muddy Boots Nursery, Poppleton a clear outdoor identity. Exploring and getting muddy are part of its approach to learning. The grounds are more than a backdrop: they give children space to investigate beyond their indoor rooms.

At its 28 March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, with a later Nature School safety finding also relevant to the choice families make today.

The nursery has 110 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. Its address is The Gardens, Boroughbridge Road, Upper Poppleton, York, YO26 6QD. Babies, toddlers and preschool children have different room experiences, from sensory exploration to preparation for Reception.

Rooms and Ages

Discoverers emphasises babies’ exploration through touch, sound and observation, giving the youngest children ways to investigate their surroundings before they can explain what interests them.

Adventurers supports toddlers’ growing independence through play and exploration, with planned activities introducing new challenges as children become more mobile.

Investigators brings children together for indoor and outdoor group activities, using curious resources to develop communication, friendships and independence.

Trailblazers (Preschool) combines imaginative play, early maths, reading, mark-making and ICT through purposeful play, with activities adapted to individual children as they prepare for school.

Direct garden access from the rooms makes outdoor exploration part of the room experience rather than a separate destination. The practical distinction between these spaces is their developmental emphasis: sensory discovery for babies, increasing independence for toddlers, and more social and school-related learning for older children.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children’s learning, development and care. In everyday terms, this connects play with learning to communicate, move, form relationships and manage personal needs. Poppleton’s curiosity approach adds an emphasis on investigating, experimenting and exploring outdoors.

In March 2023, songs, books and Makaton signs supported communication; the signs provided another way for children to communicate alongside speech. A nursery bear went home with families, whose accounts of its adventures became starting points for conversations. This connected nursery talk with children’s experiences at home, giving them something personally meaningful to share.

Sensory experiences were also concrete in March 2023: babies explored flowers and ice, while other children experimented with paint and foil. Adults introduced words during these experiences, linking language to something children could touch, smell or hear.

Outdoor and Community Life

Nature School takes learning into the grounds throughout the year, using two teepee tents with heating and cooling, indoor and outdoor resources, and an outdoor specialist team. Its value is practical: outdoor learning has sheltered spaces as well as open-air experiences.

In March 2023, toddlers used bicycles and practised walking, running and climbing on a hill. Those activities gave movement a real setting, with different surfaces and challenges rather than indoor exercise alone. The combination of room gardens and Nature School makes the outdoor offer the clearest reason to consider Poppleton.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2023, staff gathered detailed information from families regularly and knew babies’ individual routines. That exchange matters for children whose feeding, rest and reassurance needs vary: care can follow the child rather than treating every baby’s day as interchangeable.

The same dated account described specific praise, helping children understand which actions had gone well. Children needing reassurance received support to take part with others. These are useful examples of how relationships worked at that time, rather than a claim that a particular routine or staffing arrangement continues unchanged.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

During March 2023, preschool children used stories and colours to discuss feelings, and talked together about how to treat their friends. This gave them concrete ways to express emotions and consider the effect of their behaviour. Younger toddlers practised personal care, including blowing their noses, making independence part of ordinary daily life.

The later outdoor safety position needs its own weight. Following regulatory visits on 23 September and 28 October 2024, Ofsted found requirements had not been met and recorded continuing work to assure Nature School safety, including new fencing and an entrance, revised risk assessments and procedures, and staff training. The account dated 28 October 2024 describes action in progress; it should be read alongside, rather than absorbed into, the earlier inspection grade.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Families needing care during those closures will need to account for them when planning work and holidays.

Paid packages cover two, three, four or five days per week. This gives families a choice between a smaller weekly attendance pattern and care across the working week, rather than one fixed number of days. Those package choices also matter when comparing the total charge structure with a funded arrangement.

Getting There

The nursery is at The Gardens on Boroughbridge Road in Upper Poppleton, York, YO26 6QD. Its grounds sit less than a mile from Poppleton’s centre, combining a village location with substantial outdoor space.

Funding and Paid Extras

A 30-hour funded package is offered alongside private childcare packages. Food and non-food consumables carry separate opt-in surcharges, and other activities have their own opt-in charge. These categories are separate from the childcare package, so families comparing costs should distinguish attendance from the extras they choose.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. The nursery fees section sets out the package structure, including a sibling discount for the eldest sibling on packages and additional sessions. The useful comparison is the complete arrangement for the child’s chosen days, with the selected extras included.

• Nature School safety. The 28 October 2024 outcome described continuing fencing, entrance and procedural work. At a visit, ask how those measures now operate and how children are supervised across the outdoor spaces.
• Room choice. Discoverers, Adventurers, Investigators and Trailblazers have different developmental emphases. Ask which room would suit your child and how a move between rooms is planned.
• Funded package and extras. The 30-hour package sits alongside opt-in food, consumables and activity charges. Request a written breakdown for your proposed days and chosen extras before comparing the overall cost.

Poppleton suits families who want outdoor exploration to shape nursery life, with direct garden access and Nature School giving that preference a concrete setting. Its packages serve both families choosing two days each week and those needing five-day attendance.

The Outstanding judgement from March 2023 is a substantial strength, but the later Nature School safety outcome deserves attention in its own right. The decision rests on both: the learning and care described at that inspection, and a clear understanding of how the outdoor safety measures work now.