URN 2837373 · Inspected 2026-07-08 · Published 2026-10-23 · Inspector: Josh Hawthorne
Tiddlywinks Boroughbridge Unique reference number (URN): 2837373 Address: Minskip Road, York, YO51 9HY Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 22/04/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Tiddlywinks Private Day Nurseries Limited Inspection report: 8 July 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Safeguarding standards met The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe. How we evaluate safeguarding When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes: Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met. Exceptional Strong standard Leadership and governance Exceptional Leaders have a clear strategic vision and ethos for the setting that they have developed and cultivated. Sustainability is integral to this vision. The eco-friendly building, on-site farm and innovative curriculum provide authentic opportunities for children to understand environmental responsibilities. Experiences such as recycling, growing and harvesting vegetables and caring for the on-site alpacas develop children's curiosity, responsibility, empathy and understanding of the natural world. Leaders demonstrate excellent practice in their support and recognition for staff. There is a shared passion and effort among the leadership team that transpires into the highest-quality coaching. This includes leading by example. Staff are encouraged to develop, share and apply their expertise. This results in a highly-skilled, reflective and motivated team. Children rush to leaders when they walk into the room and wrap their arms around them in a gleeful embrace. Leaders know all children and their families exceptionally well. They work with the dedicated staff team to tailor their support for them. This ensures that all children who attend receive first-class teaching. Leaders demonstrate sustained transformational impact through their linked settings, sharing expertise and contributing to improvement beyond their own provision. Parents are valued as genuine partners in their children's learning. Leaders are reflective and analytical. They have a clear understanding of their setting and evaluate this with astute precision. Children who face barriers to their learning receive precisely tailored support. There is a remarkable engagement of outside agencies and professionals. As a result, children achieve and thrive. The extent to which leaders are striving to develop the setting, including the enrichment opportunities that children have access to, highlights their vision for excellence. Parental engagement is high, and feedback from parents is warm and positive. Achievement Strong standard Children are effectively supported with transitions and are ready for the next stages of their learning. Older children speak confidently about their upcoming move on to school. Children make continual high progress across all areas of their learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make profound and sustained progress, particularly around self-care and physical development. For example, individualised approaches to provide opportunities for gross motor skills have been developed and refined with the support of outside professionals. The results of this are consistently high. Children learn and make progress across the whole curriculum as a result of the balance between adult-led and child-initiated play. They approach play and learning opportunities with enthusiasm and confidence. Pre-school children are eager to join in with adult-led science activities and use advanced vocabulary. This demonstrates their clear passion and keenness to explore and learn. Levels of engagement across the setting are high. Babies communicate their enthusiasm for aspects of the curriculum, including 'mighty me' sessions that they enjoy weekly, focused on supporting physical development, confidence and emotional literacy. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard Children develop effective skills in managing their feelings and behaviour. Young children take turns and share resources. They show that they are able to regulate their own emotions and have an awareness of the feelings of others. The daily and weekly routines of the setting are well established. Even the youngest of children remember and look forward to enrichment activities that support their personal and social learning. Babies develop secure attachments quickly with their key person. This helps to ensure that they settle well and are able to engage with the curriculum. For example, the youngest children who are newest to the setting are quickly and easily comforted by their key person. Attendance levels are high, and leaders take decisive action to address any barriers to maintain this. Leaders know and understand their children and families. They have clear communication and well-developed relationships with parents and carers. Parents speak highly of the setting and how supported and involved that they feel in their children's day-to- day learning. Parents particularly praise the extent to which the setting shares updates and how well it manages the settling-in process to make it a positive and smooth experience for families. Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard Leaders and staff have a comprehensive knowledge of all children and can effectively support their welfare and wellbeing. Routines and structures are very well embedded and have a significant positive impact on children's learning and development. Leaders are aware of the changing circumstances and varying needs of children and their families. They ensure that relevant information is shared with staff so that they can respond quickly and effectively. The practices of the setting are underpinned by clear policies and procedures that are understood and followed consistently by the whole team. For example, staff in the baby room are well versed in the upcoming changes to safer sleep requirements and already have them implemented. Leaders are proactive in identifying barriers to learning or children who might need extra support. Timely and effective communication means that this support or specialist input is swiftly and effectively sought and implemented. The chef in setting, supported by the group's catering manager, has developed a varied, balanced and nutritious menu. Children are encouraged to serve their own food, and older children have a growing appreciation of where their food comes from. The setting takes advantage of their location and works harmoniously with the farm next door, passing on food waste for the pigs to eat. Curriculum and teaching Strong standard The curriculum is well sequenced, and children's engagement is particularly high. The well- considered enrichment programme supports the curriculum successfully. Experiences such as forest school, tatty bumpkin, mighty me and science tots enrich children's learning and contribute to the development of a broad range of knowledge, skills and understanding. Engagement and interactions between staff and children are consistently of a high level, with purposeful guidance and questioning to further extend children's knowledge. Staff skilfully guide and lead conversations around mathematical concepts and developing knowledge and understanding of the world. In addition, adult-led science sessions are skilfully delivered to provide opportunities for developing and extending vocabulary as well as strengthening language comprehension. There is a clear ethos of high expectations for all children. The enhanced curriculum is used to great effect. Staff use these sessions to inform and support learning in half-termly cycles. Babies and young children are supported in a language-rich environment. Engagement levels in group activities such as 'What's in the box?' are high as all children excitedly join in. Transition points in the day are used as everyday learning opportunities. Children are given time and support to develop self-care skills, such as putting on coats and shoes. The outdoor environments are thoughtfully considered to offer a range of play opportunities, where children can develop a wide range of physical skills. Water and sand play are equipped with age-appropriate resources, and staff demonstrate and model a range of age- appropriate skills. In the toddler room, children work together on immersive 'big art' activities. They share ideas and work cooperatively. Activities are designed to stretch and challenge children, giving them experiences and opportunities to develop communication and teamworking skills. Inclusion Strong standard Leaders and staff are passionate and proactive about highlighting and addressing barriers to learning. This makes a significant difference to the experiences of all children, and particularly children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There are robust and clear links with outside agencies that further strengthen this provision. Children with SEND are involved in all learning opportunities. Staff work to identify and implement adaptations to facilitate involvement of everyone. Monitoring and assessment throughout the setting are of a high standard and are used precisely to support transitions. Progress checks at age 2, as well as internal systems, ensure that information is consistently and effectively shared among the staff team and with parents and carers. Where children require specific or individualised support, staff swiftly and skilfully implement this. Ongoing assessment, reflection and adjustments further reduce barriers to learning. Staff actively seek out support from external professionals to obtain guidance. Interactions between adults and children are purposeful. Staff in the pre-school room draw on their expert knowledge of children as individuals to provide tailored engagement. For example, a group of boys keen to play football are stretched and challenged with mathematical concepts in their game. Leaders and staff continually reflect on adaptations and the impact that they are having on children who face barriers to their learning. Progress is made quickly for many children due to the consistent and sustained support that they receive. Leaders have an excellent understanding of the individual circumstances of children and their families. For example, a higher-than-average proportion of children come from military families. Leaders and staff demonstrate a clear awareness of the impact that deployments can have on children and adapt their practice accordingly. They implement targeted approaches and provide additional support to help children manage the significant changes and periods of uncertainty that deployments can bring to family life. Leaders are proactive in identifying where they can further strengthen their provision. For example, they understand the changing dynamic in their growing setting and are working to ensure excellent peer mentoring in their toddler room to ensure continuity and consistency. Compulsory Childcare Register requirements This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met Voluntary Childcare Register requirements This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met What it's like to be a child at this setting Children thrive in the rich learning environment of this welcoming setting. Babies form exceptionally close bonds and secure attachments with their key person. Their individual needs are met with sensitivity. This includes their individual cues, routines and emotional needs. As a result, babies show high levels of confidence and emotional security. Babies show high levels of curiosity and engagement in their learning. They eagerly initiate their own play and exploration. Babies respond enthusiastically to thoughtfully planned adult-led experiences. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make strong and sustained progress as a result of the opportunities and experiences that they have access to. This is supported by the impeccably structured and supportive settling-in process, as well as the very regular communication parents and carers receive from staff and leaders. Children are able to access a wide and rich curriculum. This is enhanced by the extensive enrichment programme that the setting has cultivated across all age ranges. Sign language is used to great effect to support emerging communication skills among the youngest children of the setting. Similarly, older children are stretched and challenged with new and complex vocabulary as they engage in activities exploring scientific concepts. Outdoor play spaces are used to great effect. Babies and young children explore in water play and mark making. Children of all ages are encouraged to join in with 'big art' activities and to work collaboratively with their peers to explore with a range of mark-making resources. The setting benefits from being located on a working farm. Children learn about life cycles and the nearby animals. They begin to understand about sustainability as they recycle and save up any leftover food to give to the farm pigs. The setting has recently Inspector: Josh Hawthorne About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2837373 Address: Minskip Road York YO51 9HY Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 22/04/2025 Registered person: Tiddlywinks Private Day Nurseries Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: North Yorkshire begun to use a nearby space as a forest school, which all children have access to throughout the week. Next steps Leaders should continue to sustain the exceptionally high-quality practice and seek opportunities to share their expertise beyond the setting. About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children and parents during the inspection. We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage. Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 8 July 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 80 Our grades explained Exceptional Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it. Strong standard The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them. Expected standard The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them. Needs attention The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements. Urgent improvement The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk. 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