The Wendy House Children's Day Nursery

A garden used morning and afternoon and individual bedding in Quiet Room give The Wendy House a practical emphasis on outdoor play and rest. This family-run nursery in Dringhouses, York, combines shared experiences across ages with spaces for sleep, social play and table-based learning. Its appeal rests on those practical arrangements rather than elaborate branding.

At its 26 November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with warm relationships and effective settling arrangements, although staff needed to improve learning handovers and the organisation of duties during busy periods. Those qualifications matter alongside the grade. A small nursery still needs a child's learning plan to travel between adults and rooms.

The nursery has capacity for 22 children, accepting children from three months to five years. Full-day care and separate morning and afternoon sessions serve different attendance needs. The outdoor offer is substantial for this scale of setting: a bike track, space for climbing and a covered deck sit alongside a nature area and growing activities.

Rooms and Ages

Three rooms organise the indoor day around sleep, shared play and practical learning.

Quiet Room accommodates children under 18 months with developmentally suitable toys, while cots, mats and pushchairs provide sleeping options and children have individual bedding. The Wendy House Room emphasises social interaction through sensory experiences and activities together, giving children opportunities to practise sharing. Table Top Room brings dressing skills together with music, movement, early literacy and maths, so practical independence and learning sit within the same space.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework for children's learning and care, with play supporting development across its areas of learning. At The Wendy House, changing topics provide starting points for activities, while children's interests influence what staff plan. People Who Help Us and Fairytales and Mythical Creatures are examples, alongside seasonal and transport themes. The topics change regularly rather than following a stated weekly timetable.

In November 2024, children explored pretend dinosaur remains in sand with spades, paintbrushes and magnifying glasses. Conversations about size and materials accommodated different stages of vocabulary development.

Stories that month used props and questions about vocabulary, authors and illustrators. Play dough and pretend food preparation in home corners added physical exploration and imaginative play.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed garden is used morning and afternoon. Bikes, a bike track, balance beams and a climbing frame support physical play; a stage area and play teepee add opportunities for imagination.

A canopy covers the all-weather deck, and the garden also includes artificial grass and picnic benches. These are useful practical features for a nursery that uses its garden throughout the day: sheltered space makes outdoor time less dependent on dry conditions.

Nature Area includes an insect board, bird table and bug hotel, with flower beds and space where children cultivate fruit and vegetables. This gives observation and growing a physical place in the nursery day. Children can engage with living things and planting alongside their more active garden play, broadening what time outdoors involves.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2024, children were allocated a key worker promptly and took part in settling sessions. Parents received photographs and written accounts of development, while staff reviewed learning goals and adjusted next steps. That gives families more than a general account of whether a child enjoyed the day: it creates a way to discuss what the child is learning and what comes next.

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff helped families access additional support and funding, but identified weaknesses in sharing learning targets beyond the key worker, especially for children with SEND, and in maintaining support for play while other duties occupied staff. The distinction is important for parents: a good relationship with one adult needs effective handovers to remain useful across the day.

Daily parent conversations offer time to discuss changing needs and routines. Families can also request copies of nursery policies.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO is always on site. The nursery's arrangements include reviewing individual needs, communicating with other agencies and involving parents in support for special educational needs. These are concrete mechanisms for discussing a child's circumstances; families can use them to explore how a plan would work across the nursery's different spaces.

In November 2024, children poured drinks, cleared cups and swept after meals. Handwashing, cleaning their noses and putting on coats also helped them practise personal care, with support when needed.

Food is prepared in the nursery kitchen, with lunch for full-day and full-time children and snacks during the morning and afternoon; fruit and vegetables feature among the snacks. Senior staff have allergy-awareness training, and families must disclose allergies or medical conditions when enrolling.

Parents supply disposable nappies and wet wipes for children who need them, with emergency supplies kept on site. Toilet training is incorporated into the daily routine. Suitable clothing for outdoor play also comes from home, making the garden's regular use something to plan for in the nursery bag.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 28 St Helens Road, Dringhouses, York, YO24 1HR. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full-day care operates within that window; the morning session runs from 8am to 12.45pm, and the afternoon session from 1.15pm to 6pm. These are separate booking patterns, so families can compare a full day with attendance for one part of the day.

Care runs across the year, with closure on bank holidays and approximately a week around Christmas. The exact Christmas closure depends on where Christmas Day falls. For working families, this makes the holiday arrangements part of the attendance decision as well as the weekly clock times.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or contact form. The nursery has its own car park, and the driveway must remain clear of vehicles, prams and buggies.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers free funded hours (15-30) for eligible children, applying to their fees from the term after they reach nine months, and also sells private childcare. Funding and the cost of additional attendance need to be considered together; current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation. The funding and fee terms also set out monthly advance payment and charging for bank holidays, including for children attending part time.

A non-refundable settling-in charge is payable when a place is reserved. Reducing attendance or cancelling a place requires one calendar month's notice. These terms affect the flexibility of a booking after it begins, so the initial choice of days and sessions deserves care.

The nursery describes a partnership with Dringhouses Primary School and local playgroups. Attendance does not guarantee a school place: families still use the local authority admissions process for a state-school application. The partnership should therefore be understood separately from the decision about Reception admission.

• Learning handovers and busy periods. November 2024 brought two improvement priorities: sharing next steps between staff and organising competing duties more effectively. On a visit, ask how learning plans now follow children between adults and how play is supported while care tasks are underway.
• The youngest children's space. Quiet Room supports both sleep and children under 18 months. Explore how sleeping routines and younger children's play are organised together, using your child's usual pattern as the starting point.
• The funded booking and total cost. Funded hours sit alongside private attendance, advance payment, bank-holiday charges and a non-refundable settling-in charge. Before reserving a place, request a written quotation covering your attendance pattern, the funding timetable and the treatment of meals and other supplies.

The Wendy House suits families seeking either full-day care or separate morning and afternoon attendance in a small nursery with an active outdoor routine. The covered deck, nature area and rooms with different purposes provide concrete reasons to consider it, especially for parents who value practical independence alongside play and early learning.

The Good judgement from November 2024 carries meaningful qualifications about learning handovers and staff duties. The deciding conversation is how those arrangements work now for an individual child, particularly one needing additional support. The physical offer is clear; the continuity of care and learning deserves equal attention.