Upperthorpe Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Darlington for babies from a few weeks old up to school age, open 07:00 to 17:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2024. Open since 2015, with 99 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Free funded education which allows you to claim either 15 or 30 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year.
Worth knowing. This funding can be taken during term time sessions or be stretched across the year. We have a minimum requirement that at least two sessions per week must be booked, and these sessions must be taken on different days. Parents can top up sessions for an additional fee should this be required.
What childcare usually costs in Darlington
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Darlington 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
DL3 7PZWhat 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, 29 November 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive eager and ready to start their day. They demonstrate that they are happy as they confidently leave their parents and quickly settle in their individual rooms. Children benefit from warm interactions with caring and nurturing staff.
Babies seek out their key person for cuddles and reassurance. The setting places a high priority on developing a robust key-person approach. This helps children to develop warm relationships and supports their emotional well-being.
Staff are passionate and dedicated. They provide a well-planned sequenced curriculum indoors with good-quality open-ended resources and experiences. This enables children to explore freely and engage fully with a variety of learning opportunities. Children are keen to explore the exciting indoor environment. Older children navigate around the nursery, excitedly choosing activities that spark their interest. For instance, staff teach children about nature and the planets. They explain how some planets are hot and how the sun and moon cause an 'eclipse'.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop the curriculum in the outdoor area to provide more varied learning experiences for children, particularly those children who prefer to play and learn outdoors n organise daily routines more effectively to help all children develop their independence skills and remain engaged at all times n strengthen the ongoing training, coaching and mentoring of new staff to help raise teaching to a consistently high level.
- 29 November 2024Good
- 26 March 2019Good
- 13 June 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Upperthorpe Nursery
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- 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.