The Wooden Horse Nursery

05/09/2026

Looking for a nursery where your child can nurture, thrive and explore? 💚

At The Wooden Horse Nursery, we provide a warm, welcoming and stimulating environment where every child is supported to grow in confidence, develop their independence and enjoy learning through play. ✨

We have a dedicated space for every stage of your child’s early years journey:

🐛 Caterpillars 1 | 0–16 months
A gentle and nurturing environment for our youngest children, with a focus on secure attachments, sensory exploration and those all important first milestones.

🐛 Caterpillars 2 | 16–24 months
Building confidence and independence through play, exploration and meaningful interactions, while supporting those exciting steps towards toddlerhood.

🌱 Cocoons | 2–3 years
A wonderful stage of discovery! Our children are encouraged to become increasingly independent, develop friendships and learn through exciting, hands on experiences.

🦋 Butterflies | 3–5 years
Preparing children for their next big adventure… school! 🎒 Our school readiness approach supports children’s confidence, communication, independence and key skills, helping them feel ready to take that next step.

💚 The Nurtury | SEND Hub
A dedicated, supportive space providing tailored care and opportunities for children with additional needs, ensuring every child can feel safe, included and able to thrive.

✨ NOW TAKING ENQUIRIES ✨

Whether your little one is just starting their nursery journey or getting ready for school, we’d love to welcome you and show you around The Wooden Horse Nursery.

📧 [email protected]
📞 01947 604222
💬 Send us a message on Facebook

Spaces are limited, so please get in touch as soon as possible to discuss availability and arrange a visit. 🐴💚

The Wooden Horse Nursery
Nurture • Thrive • Explore 🌿

02/09/2026

🌟 WHAT A DAY! - A Wooden Horse first!🌟

Today we brought the whole Wooden Horse team together for our 2026 Staff Training Day — and what a day it has been!💚

We spent the day stepping away from the day-to-day running of nursery and taking the time to learn, reflect, challenge ourselves and looked at how we can continue to improve the experiences we give our children.

From EYFS 2026 and changes coming into September, to quality observations, safeguarding, professional curiosity, safer sleep, SEND & inclusion, wellbeing and preparing for Ofsted not to mention lots of very exciting nursery updates! We covered A LOT! 📚

But more importantly, it wasn’t just about sitting and listening.

Our staff had the opportunity to discuss, question, share ideas, work together and reflect on their own practice. We looked at what we’re already doing well, where we can improve and, most importantly, what we can each do differently to make a positive difference for the children in our care.

One of the biggest messages from the day was:

One team. One vision. One standard.

We don’t need perfection, we need consistency, honesty, reflection and each other. ❤️

We were incredibly proud of how openly and positively everyone engaged throughout the day. There were some really valuable conversations, some great ideas and plenty of moments where staff challenged themselves, exactly what a training day should be about!

Every member of the team also finished the day by making their own personal commitment:

“From September, I will…”

One realistic, measurable and meaningful thing they can do to improve their practice and, ultimately, improve children’s experiences. 🌱

And that’s what it’s all about.

NURTURE. THRIVE. EXPLORE.

We genuinely feel that the day has given our team greater clarity, confidence and a renewed focus going into September and beyond. A huge THANK YOU to every member of our team for their hard work, honesty, enthusiasm and commitment. 🥰

We’re incredibly proud of you all and we’re excited to see the positive impact everything we discussed will have on our children, our rooms and our nursery.

Here’s to another year of learning, growing and being the very best we can be! 🐴✨

28/08/2026

🌟 Employee of the Month – August 🌟

This month has honestly been one of the hardest months to choose! 💚

Our staff have really made us think, with so many members of the team going above and beyond, showing incredible dedication and doing amazing things for our children, families and each other. We want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to every single member of our team. Your hard work does not go unnoticed, and we are incredibly proud of you all. 💚✨

After much thought, we are absolutely delighted to celebrate Charlotte Beattie as our Employee of the Month for August… and for the second time! 🌟

Charlotte has once again gone above and beyond in every aspect of her role. Her hard work, dedication and commitment to the children, families and wider nursery team continues to shine through every single day.

Charlotte has shown just how much passion and dedication she has for The Wooden Horse Nursery. She constantly steps up, supports those around her and gives her absolute best to everything she does.

To be recognised for Employee of the Month once is fantastic, but to achieve it for a second time is a real testament to the consistency and impact Charlotte has within our nursery. 🌟

Charlotte, thank you for everything you do. Your hard work certainly does not go unnoticed, and we are incredibly proud and grateful to have you as part of our team.

You really are amazing! 💚✨

Congratulations, Charlotte! 🥳👏🌟

And once again, thank you to our entire team, you really are what makes The Wooden Horse Nursery so special. 💚

14/08/2026

Preschool keeping cool 😎 ☀️

It’s certainly been warm the past couple of days! Water play is in abundance at The Wooden Horse Nursery this week!

10/08/2026

Whitby Regatta 2026 over and out!🎇

We hope you’ve all had a wonderful regatta weekend and we can’t wait to hear about what you’ve been up to!💚

04/08/2026

☀️🏖️ A Wonderful Beach Adventure for our Butterflies & Cocoons! 🏖️☀️

One of the many things we absolutely love about The Wooden Horse Nursery is our fantastic location. We are incredibly lucky to be just a short walk away from the beach, the Cinder Track, Whitby’s bustling harbour, the RNLI Lifeboat Station, the train station, local shops, library and so much more. These wonderful places become extensions of our classroom, giving children endless opportunities to learn through real-life experiences.

Our Butterflies and Cocoons enjoyed a fantastic trip to the beach! The children loved digging in the sand alongside their friends, building together, exploring different textures and even having a little splash in the sea to cool off! 🌊⛱️

Beach visits provide so many valuable learning opportunities. The children developed their physical skills by digging, carrying buckets and walking across the sand, while also strengthening their communication and language through conversations, teamwork and imaginative play. They explored the natural world, discovering shells, seaweed and the movement of the waves, helping to build their understanding of the environment around them. They also practised problem-solving, shared resources with friends and showed fantastic kindness, patience and cooperation throughout the day.

We were incredibly proud of how well behaved every single child was. They represented our nursery beautifully and made the day such a pleasure for everyone involved. ⭐

To finish off our adventure, we made a very special stop at K+K's Seaside Shack for a delicious ice cream before heading back to nursery the perfect ending to a wonderful day! 🍦💚

These are the memories childhood is made of, and we’re so grateful to be able to make the most of everything our amazing town has to offer.

04/08/2026

Interviews have started for our roles advertised! Still time to apply!💚

🌟 WE'RE GROWING... AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR AMAZING PEOPLE TO GROW WITH US! 🌟

Due to a significant increase in the number of children joining our nursery family and the expansion of our setting, we are delighted to announce that we have TWO exciting full-time opportunities available at The Wooden Horse Nursery! 💚

✨ Toddler Room Leader
✨ Nursery Practitioner

If you're passionate about early years education, love creating magical learning experiences, and want to be part of a supportive, welcoming team, we'd love to hear from you!

At The Wooden Horse Nursery, we pride ourselves on providing a warm, home-from-home environment where children are encouraged to nurture, thrive and explore. We are passionate about child-led learning, outdoor play, inclusion, and building strong relationships with our children and families.

What we're looking for:

🌿 Toddler Room Leader
• Level 3 Early Years qualification or above
• Experience working within an early years setting
• Leadership experience desirable

🌿 Nursery Practitioner
• Level 2 or Level 3 Early Years qualification or above
• Experience working within an early years setting

Paediatric First Aid qualification is desirable for both roles, but training can be provided.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a nursery that is continuing to grow, develop and invest in both its children and staff.

If you're ready for your next adventure in Early Years, we'd love to hear from you!

📩 Direct message us on Facebook
📞 01947 604222
📧 [email protected]

Please help us spread the word by liking, sharing and tagging anyone who may be interested! ❤️

03/08/2026

✨ Employee of the Month – July ✨

This month we are delighted to celebrate Sue Newton as our Employee of the Month! 💚

Sue has truly gone above and beyond in her role over the past month. Stepping into a leadership role with confidence and ease, she has demonstrated incredible commitment, professionalism and compassion every single day.

Sue provides the love, care and reassurance that every parent or carer hopes for when leaving their little one with us. She has a wonderful ability to make every child feel safe, valued and at home, helping to create the warm, nurturing atmosphere that The Wooden Horse Nursery is so proud to offer.

Her dedication to the children, support for her colleagues and passion for early years education has certainly not gone unnoticed. Sue is a valued member of our team and an inspiration to those around her.

Sue, thank you for everything you do. We are incredibly grateful to have you as part of The Wooden Horse Nursery family.

You are truly wonderful! 💚✨

👏 Congratulations, Sue! 👏

13/07/2026

🌟 🦋Leavers Fest 2026 What a Day! 🦋🎉

On Friday we celebrated our amazing nursery leavers in style at Leavers Fest and what a party it was! 💫

From face painting to exciting games and bouncy castles, the day was bursting with laughter, colour, and joy. It was so important to mark this special milestone for our little ones as they prepare to take their next big step and we couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of them. 💖

Even with the hot weather our spirits – we danced, played, and celebrated through it all! ☀️

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the day so memorable. Here’s to new adventures! 🌈🎓

A big thank you to Kai at K+K's Seaside Shack for burgers, hotdogs and ice creams!💚

09/07/2026

🧡A Morning with Whitby’s Lifeboat Crew!🧡

Today our children enjoyed an incredible visit to the lifeboat station, where they learnt all about the amazing work of the RNLI and how they help keep everyone safe at sea.

During our visit we learnt:
🌊 About the different lifeboats and what they are used for.
⭐ How to stay safe in the water by floating like a starfish.
📞 The emergency number to call if someone needs help.
🚨 What the lifeboat crew do and how they rescue people.
🦺 We even got to sit inside the lifeboat and try on the lifejackets and helmets!
👀 We also had the chance to see the different rescue boats up close.

We are incredibly proud of all of our children today. They behaved beautifully throughout the visit, and we received so many lovely comments from members of the public about how sensibly they were walking and listening. They were fantastic ambassadors for The Wooden Horse Nursery! 💚

A huge thank you to everyone at the lifeboat station for taking the time to share such important life-saving knowledge with us. What a wonderful experience that our children will remember for a long time! 🚤💙