Our beautiful nursery is rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted and we are proud to be part of the governments free nursery education programme for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, with Flexibility to suit our parents needs.  Please check out ‘Childcare Choices’ website where you will find all the information with childcare costs and eligabilities. We are open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm with bookable extended opening from 7.00am and 7.30pm. 

Ideal Location

Great Expectations nursery is perfectly located in the very heart of Middlesbrough town centre (opposite Captain Cooks multi-storey car park). We are in the middle of the main shopping area and just a few minutes walk from the University and Middlesbrough College. We are also ideally located for those travelling by car as we have a designated drop off area in which parents are able to park for a short period whilst dropping off or collecting. We are close to both the bus and the train station.

Our Ethos

At Great Expectations the welfare of all our children is paramount.  The children’s health and well-being are actively promoted.  Self-esteem, resilience and a positive self-image are recognised as essential to every child’s development.  Children’s personal and physical safety is safeguarded, whilst allowing for risk and challenge as appropriate to the capabilities of the individual child.

Our aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, understanding and routines ready for them to start School.  We structure intervention groups which are currently running within the schools such as Jolly Phonics, Letters and Sounds, Phonics Play, Dough Disco, Oxford Reading Tree, pre-cursive writing, number, name, ‘Ten Town’, shape and colour recognition.  For those children showing signs of readiness; moving onto blending and segmenting letter sounds, we also introduce the Reception Key Words for them to be able to read on sight.

The needs, rights and views of the children are at the centre of our practice.  We celebrate all cultures within our setting enabling the children to encounter different foods and traditions, embracing Individuality, difference and diversity.

Best practice requires reflection and a continuous search for improvement, therefore working with parents/carers and families who are partners in the care, learning and development of their children is vital to involve and merge ideas in order for the best outcome for the children.  Staff are encouraged to develop their CPD (Continual Professional Development), by attending courses and in house training in order for them to be aware of new legislation, guidelines and practices.

 Sue Willis – Manager

Our parent partnership is very important to us, therefore we use Baby’s Days as a valuable communication tool to inform parents of the day to day activities and care needs of the children within our setting.  It can upload photos for parents to see how new starters have settled in, giving peace of mind knowing their loved ones are happy and enjoying their experience with us.  Sleep, meals, bottles, any bumps/grazes, nappy, and toileting can all be uploaded.  It can show children’s progression and next steps in their learning journey, giving ideas of activities at home to move them on in their development.  We encourage parents to download the app, where they too can keep up to date and have a sneak peek of what their child is doing whilst enjoying a cup of tea at home or work. Parents can also upload photographs and proud milestones children reach at home, which staff can link to the learning goals on their E-portfolios.