Castle Nurseries at Rye Hill
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Newcastle upon Tyne for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2023. Open since 2003, with 50 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Eligible children of working parents 9m + = 30 hours per week (38 weeks); 2 year funded entitlement for eligible children = 15 hours (38 weeks); Universal entitlement for all 3&4 year olds = 15 hours (38 weeks).
What childcare usually costs in Newcastle upon Tyne
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Newcastle upon Tyne from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
NE4 6HLWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 21 March 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enjoy their time at the warm, welcoming and inclusive nursery and have plenty of fun. They delight in a wealth of opportunities to explore natural materials, for example spaghetti mixed with jelly, using all of their senses. Babies are gleeful and try to blow bubbles when playing with soapy water. Staff supervise children closely to ensure that they are safe while they explore and investigate the environment. They change and add resources as children learn and develop. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress.
There are strong bonds between staff and children. Caring staff tailor settling-in arrangements to suit individual children and families. Children's emotional wellbeing is prioritised. Staff know children very well and use this information to provide a range of activities to prepare for the next stage of children's learning. For example, staff use signs and pictures to help children understand what to expect next in their daily routines. In the baby room, very young children help to gather together toys, while older children learn to put these in the correct places. Children are settled, happy and confident. They behave well relative to their ages and respond positively to boundaries set by staff.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- consider ways to enhance some routines, such as lunchtime, to strengthen children's social skills and independence further n review and enrich planning for the outdoor curriculum, so that all children, particularly those who prefer to learn outside, benefit fully.
- 21 March 2023Good
- 18 August 2017Good
- 16 May 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Castle Nurseries at Rye Hill
- What it costs
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.