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Adventure Valley Day Nursery

Ofsted: Good
(Mar 2022)
·
4.0(12 parent reviews) ·Union Hall Farm, Brasside, Durham, DH1 5SG · Durham
Number of places
86 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Mar 2022
Local authority
Durham

About this day nursery

Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School, situated in the picturesque Durham countryside (DH1 5SG), offers an exceptional early years education experience for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. This purpose-built facility, operating Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm, integrates daily farm animal visits and woodland exploration into its curriculum.

Partnering with Farm Day Nurseries, the nursery ensures a unique nature-based learning environment. Children benefit from individualised attention, with practitioner-to-child ratios of 1:3 for babies (6 weeks to 24 months), 1:5 for toddlers (24 to 36 months), and 1:8 for pre-schoolers (3 to 5 years), adhering to the EYFS framework.

The nursery prides itself on its 'Good' Ofsted rating from 2022. Emphasis is placed on creating a stimulating atmosphere where play forms the foundation of learning, fostering independence, confidence, and a lasting appreciation for nature.

Healthy, nutritionist-planned meals are prepared on-site, catering to dietary needs, and essential items like nappies, cream, wipes, and formula milk are provided free of charge for babies. The nursery actively supports various government funding schemes and offers sibling and full-day discounts.

Our ethos

Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School's unique nature-based learning environment integrates daily farm animal visits and woodland exploration into its curriculum, adhering to the EYFS framework. Play forms the foundation of learning, fostering independence, confidence, and a lasting appreciation for nature.

What it's like

Children enjoy a warm, welcoming nursery where they form strong attachments and feel emotionally secure. The curriculum is rich and exciting, with staff making full use of the nearby adventure area and regular trips to the farm to enrich children's experiences.

Countryside LocationDaily Farm VisitsNature-Based LearningNutritious MealsOfsted Rated Good

Pricing & funding

Fees include freshly prepared meals, nappies, wipes, milk, and supervised daily visits to Adventure Valley. Various discounts are available, including sibling, NHS, and member rates, though only one discount can be applied per child. Government funding is accepted for children aged 9 months to 4 years.

Funding accepted

15 hours — working parents (9 months–2 yrs)15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)Tax-Free Childcare
  • Adventure Valley Members discount (under 3)5%
  • Adventure Valley Members discount (over 3)10%
  • Sibling discount (both children attend same amount of days and sessions)10%
  • Parents paying 5 full days discount10%

Good to know

  • Fees include freshly prepared healthy meals, nappies, nappy cream, wipes, and baby milk.
  • Daily supervised visits to Adventure Valley are included in the fees.
  • Discounts of 5% (under 3s) or 10% (over 3s) are available for Adventure Valley members.
  • A 10% sibling discount is available when both children attend the same amount of days and sessions.
  • A 10% discount is offered for parents paying for 5 full days.
  • Only one discount can be used per child.

Key facts

Food

Freshly prepared healthy meals cooked on site, planned by a nutritionist. Caters for special dietary requirements. Babies receive free milk.

Opening hours

Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 6:30 pm

Age range

6 weeks to 5 years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Session types

Full day

Established

2019

Waitlist

Unknown

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Adventure Valley Day Nursery

Last inspected 8 March 2022 · Claire Crumpton

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children enjoy a warm, welcoming nursery where they form strong attachments and feel emotionally secure. The curriculum is rich and exciting, with staff making full use of the nearby adventure area and regular trips to the farm to enrich children's experiences.

Inspector highlights

  • Children form strong attachments and demonstrate emotional security.
  • Rich, exciting curriculum with frequent use of nearby adventure area and farm visits.
  • Highly qualified staff make learning interesting and bring experiences to life.
  • Children demonstrate good behaviour, cooperation and independence.
  • SENCo trained and effective; additional support (visual aids, sign language) provided where needed.

Areas to develop

  • 1ensure that all staff are consistently deployed, so that their time is spent with children and focused on their learning
  • 2strengthen and embed support for newer and less-experienced staff to help raise their good level of practice higher.
Inspection #10214322 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) completes relevant training and carries out her role effectively. The SENCo ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the additional support that they need; for example, staff use visual aids and sign language to help some children's understanding.

Outdoor space

Staff make full use of the nearby adventure area and regularly take children on trips to the farm to see and feed the animals. These visits enrich children's experiences and learning.

Parent Reviews of Adventure Valley Day Nursery

4.0
(12)
lucinda steel
a year ago

Amazing nursery! My little girl loves it here, she’s been going for a year now and how she has flourished since going is unbelievable. All of the staff show so much care for the children and support for parents too, especially when it’s so hard to leave your little one with people you don’t know. The trips to adventure valley are great too, so many learning opportunities and experience for the children to have on a daily basis. So lucky to be able to send my daughter somewhere with great opportunities to help her learn!

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fiona c
10 months ago

My daughter and niece have been attending this nursery for a while now, the staff members are absolutely lovely! Some days she does kick up a fuss and doesn’t want to go but the girls are brilliant with her and she’s had a great day when she comes home, normally with a new hairstyle which is brilliant because she never lets me do her hair haha! I couldn’t recommend this nursery highly enough they do all sorts with the kids with loads of outdoor play. It’s also spotless, I always pass a busy cleaner, there really friendly aswell and always have a bit chat!

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Samantha Arkless
a year ago

Brilliant nursery, wonderful staff. Amenities they have available and being able to use adventure valley facilities on a daily basis with the children massive bonus. My son has attended since he was a baby and has always enjoyed his experience and time at nursery and my youngest son will be starting here too next year. Staff are so helpful and always there if you need anything. 5*****

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Ashleigh Gray
4 years ago

My son started adventure Valley nursery in January 2022 and I can honestly say he has developed so much more in the past 4 months. He goes full time and he gets so many experiences from messy play to feeding the animals at the farm. The care that the staff give him is second to none they are so lovely with him and is always happy to go in with no issues. His key worker is fantastic too she goes above and beyond to make sure he is happy and settled. I have no worries dropping him off as I know he's in good hands and they communicate with me so well especially with observations and showing off what he's been up to

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Abbie Walker
4 years ago

My nephew absolutely loves going to nursery! Since being raised in lockdown with no social experience, starting nursery was the first time he had been around other children or adults, and he is growing in confidence each week and always comes home talking about all of his friends, and telling us all about his day. Each week he comes home singing and dancing to new songs and we’re watching his language and social skills develop more and more. He loves that he can visit the soft play and feed the animals at adventure valley throughout his day!

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Adventure Valley Day Nursery. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Most recent inspection

8 March 2022

Good

Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.

View full Ofsted report

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This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more