My Ohana York Nursery

Weekly tennis, swimming and a health club setting give My Ohana York Nursery a clear sporting identity. Based within David Lloyd on Hull Road, it combines access to sports facilities with an enclosed outdoor learning area. Physical activity has a place in the nursery week, rather than depending solely on playground time.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 18 September 2024 inspection, while identifying a need for staff to adapt activities more consistently so that every participating child benefits. The nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 54 places in total. Full-day, morning and afternoon attendance are offered, with a minimum booking of two days or four sessions each week.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play, conversation and practical experiences contribute to learning alongside daily care. York's flexible curriculum uses observations of children's development and interests to shape activities. Children have room to pursue what interests them, while staff plan the skills and knowledge those experiences should develop.

Four main rooms separate children by age group. Spacious rooms and an outdoor learning area give the day both indoor and outdoor settings; the fully enclosed outside space also provides somewhere for active play beyond the health club facilities. The playground has opportunities to slide and climb. That makes movement part of the ordinary environment as well as organised lessons.

For preschool children, tennis takes place weekly with a coach. Swimming lessons are also weekly, led by a swimming instructor with a nursery team member supervising. These are concrete reasons to choose this location: children can encounter organised sporting activities during their nursery attendance, rather than families having to arrange each one separately.

Stretch N Grow extends the active programme to babies as well as older children. This weekly health and fitness session uses instructors to work on movement skills and children's understanding of their bodies. Its inclusion from babyhood matters: the sporting emphasis is not confined to children approaching school age.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2024, babies and younger children practised climbing on wooden play equipment outdoors, while indoor dance activities involved balance and coordinated movement. The combination gave children different ways to practise using their bodies. The current access to David Lloyd sports facilities adds another setting for that physical activity throughout the year.

Other September 2024 activities connected small movements with early learning. Children used scissors, constructed bridges with bricks and small-world materials, and explored shapes and quantities. These examples show how practical play can involve mathematical ideas, imagination and the hand control needed later for writing.

Reading also featured beyond group story sessions in September 2024. Children brought books to staff, who varied their voices and linked stories to activities. For parents, that is a useful picture of learning woven into play: books were something children could choose, rather than something reserved for a single scheduled moment.

Relationships and Communication

The group-wide ParentZone app provides York families with a two-way communication channel with the nursery team. Its practical value is the connection it creates during the day: parents can exchange information with staff rather than relying entirely on a conversation at collection.

In September 2024, staff gathered information about children's existing abilities when they started. That gave planning a starting point in the child's life at home. Adults also sat with children at meals, talking together as children practised pouring water and feeding themselves. Independence was worked into familiar routines through manageable tasks.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including individual support plans developed with families and professionals and timely referrals for outside help. Those findings give parents something more concrete than a broad promise of inclusion: support involved planning together and bringing in additional expertise when needed.

In September 2024, staff also learnt words in children's home languages, allowing children learning English to practise both languages. Conversations changed with children's development, from supporting early sounds and words to longer discussions with older children. For multilingual families, the important detail is the use of familiar language alongside English.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm, for 51 weeks each year. Attendance can be booked as full days, mornings or afternoons, with a weekly minimum of two days or four sessions. That minimum matters for families seeking occasional attendance: the booking commitment extends beyond a single weekly session.

Christmas and New Year closures, together with bank and public holidays, need to sit alongside the family's work calendar. The year-round pattern can support regular attendance across school holidays, while the closure periods still require planning.

Getting There

The address is David Lloyd Club, St Johns Playing Field, Hull Road, York, YO10 3LG. York enquiries use the nursery's enquiry form or telephone number, 01904 751519; tours can be booked.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered to eligible families and stretched across 51 weeks. The joining form includes 2-year funding and 3-year universal funding. Spreading funded hours across the nursery year is useful for families whose childcare routine continues beyond term time, but eligibility remains a condition of the offer.

Meals and the activity programme are included in the nursery fee. York's in-house catering team prepares food using a three-week menu rotation, with vegetarian choices each day; the nursery accommodates dietary restrictions and allergies.

Payment can be made by direct debit or tax-free childcare. Joining involves a non-refundable registration charge and a deposit credited against the final invoice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which should be read alongside the attendance commitment and funding arrangement.

• Activity adaptation. The September 2024 improvement point concerned recognising when an activity needed changing to keep all participating children involved. On a tour, ask how staff adjust group activities for children with different interests or needs.
• The weekly commitment. A minimum of two days or four sessions applies. Compare that commitment with your intended routine, especially if you are considering morning or afternoon attendance.
• Funded attendance and care supplies. Funding is stretched over 51 weeks and meals are included in the nursery fee. Ask for a written breakdown of any funded-hours meal charges and which nappies, wipes or other care supplies families need to provide.
• Food allergies. Dietary restrictions and allergies are accommodated. Families affected by allergies should confirm the current arrangements for their child's requirements before joining.

My Ohana York suits families seeking full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with regular physical activity built into the nursery week. Weekly preschool tennis and swimming, plus Stretch N Grow from babyhood, give the health club location a practical purpose.

The September 2024 Good judgement sits alongside a specific teaching improvement point about adapting activities. The decision turns on how well the sporting programme, weekly booking commitment and stretched funding pattern fit your child and family routine.