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Darlington College Childcare Centre

Ofsted: Good
(Dec 2024)
·
4.3(6 parent reviews) ·Central Park, Haughton Road, Darlington, DL1 1DR · Darlington
Number of places
53 places
Age range
0–5 yrs
Last inspected
Dec 2024
Local authority
Darlington

About this day nursery

Darlington College Childcare Centre, nestled within Darlington College, offers a nurturing and secure environment for young children. As part of the wider college campus, the childcare centre aims to support the educational journey of parents by providing reliable and high-quality care for their little ones while they pursue their studies or work.

The centre focuses on creating a positive and stimulating atmosphere where children can learn, play, and develop under the supervision of dedicated staff. This integrated approach benefits both students and the community by facilitating access to education while ensuring children receive excellent care.

What it's like

Staff warmly welcome children into the nursery and they settle quickly with a variety of activities. The key-person system is strong, and staff prioritise children's emotional development, effectively role modelling kind and positive behaviours. Children benefit from a broad curriculum enhanced with community experiences and visits from various professionals.

College-affiliatedNurturing environment

Pricing & funding

Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

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Key facts

Opening hours

Monday to Thursday, from 8am to 5.30pm and from 8am to 5pm on a Friday and during school holidays.

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Darlington College Childcare Centre

Last inspected 12 December 2024 · Eileen Grimes

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

Staff warmly welcome children into the nursery and they settle quickly with a variety of activities. The key-person system is strong, and staff prioritise children's emotional development, effectively role modelling kind and positive behaviours. Children benefit from a broad curriculum enhanced with community experiences and visits from various professionals.

Inspector highlights

  • Staff effectively role model positive behaviours, leading to children being polite, caring, and considerate.
  • Children benefit from a broad curriculum enhanced with experiences, such as activities in the community and visits from different professionals.
  • Support for children with SEND is a strength, with staff working in partnership with other agencies and attending training.
  • Partnerships with parents are very good, with staff involving parents in their children's learning and providing resources for home learning.
  • Staff proactively support each other, ensuring a meaningful and ambitious curriculum for all children.

Areas to develop

  • 1support staff to extend children's learning during play, to help develop children's thinking and enable them to share their own ideas
  • 2build on how staff plan the outdoor provision to ensure that it consistently meets the individual learning needs of all children.
Inspection #10364265 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

Parents value the support they receive from the staff.

They say that their children benefit from the strategies that staff share with them to use at home.

They comment that the committed staff team create a fantastic learning environment for children.

They comment that children thrive in their care and the staff team 'go above and beyond' for their children.

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Staff support all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), extremely well. For example, when children struggle with their feelings, staff use calm voices in an age-appropriate manner to settle them down. Support for children with SEND is a strength. The nursery works in partnership with other agencies, such as speech and language therapists and health visitors. Staff attend training to further their knowledge of ways to support children with SEND. Children with SEND thrive and make progress at this nursery.

Outdoor space

Older children build strength and stamina in the garden while rolling down tubes. However, staff do not always give the same attention to the planning of outdoors as inside. This means that children's large muscle skills are not always effectively planned for.

Parent Reviews of Darlington College Childcare Centre

4.3
(6)
Susan Spencer
8 months ago

My little boy has just started here last week and honestly I cannot praise them enough. For him to have been attending for such a short time, the staff already know him so well and take the time, care and attention to ensure both the child and parents are happy. Our little boy got really upset when we first started handing him over, which obviously was emotional for us as his parents too, and management and staff took their time to make sure we were okay and keep us updated throughout the day. Our son is already coming on so much. Definitely recommend.

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Fiona Taylor
9 months ago

My children have attended the Childcare Centre at Darlington College for almost 3 years and the experience, social skills, communication, language and education they have learned and developed is fantastic. My children thrive at this nursery and I can confidently say that they are, and will, be school ready by the time they leave. They have the skills to do well, educationally and socially, because of the management and staff at this setting. The staff are dedicated, professional and passionate about each child. They are attentive to every child and parents needs, including supporting us when expecting our second child by helping our first child understand and prepare to become an older sibling. They have also helped our family adapt to nursery life when I returned to work from maternity. We, as a family feel very lucky that our children attend this nursery and I highly recommend the Childcare Centre.

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Emmanuella Mensah Adjei
8 months ago

My son fell in love during the settling in session, he was crying when we left. The management team provides lots of information, the teachers are soo patient and lovely. I would highly recommend The Childcare Centre. Thank you staff for letting my son enjoy being in school.

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Zoe Nicholls
9 months ago

Fantastic nursery!! The care and support to children and parents from staff and management is fantastic. High knowledge and support for Special Needs also. Manager Kelly and Deputy manager Doni are always there to offer support when needed. Parents and carers are treated like family. Thank you for everything you do.

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Franki Burn
8 years ago

My daughter loved going here. The staff treat everyone like family and are such lovely people. The outdoor areas are amazing. Lots of fun too.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Darlington College Childcare Centre. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: February 2011

  • December 2024Good
  • January 2019Outstanding
  • July 2015Good
  • February 2011Outstanding

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