A York nursery rated 'outstanding' is celebrating its 20th anniversary by opening a new site.
Tiddlywinks Day Nursery set up its first site in 2004 in Osbaldwick. Founder Tracey Roberts converted a former primary school into a purpose-built nursery, intended to offer all age groups plenty of room to play and flow freely between indoors and outdoors.
According to Tracey, Tiddlywinks was founded when her local playgroup had to close and she decided to open her own nursery in order to spend more time with her own children.
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Children at Tiddlywinks spend much of their time outdoors, learning, exploring, and making their own adventures with a set up that allows them to enjoy the benefits of fresh air and outdoor exploration all year round.
After the success of her first location, Tracey then bought and renovated an existing nursery in 2015 to create Easingwold Tiddlywinks – a second site offering a new group of children the chance to experience quality care before starting school. They are hoping to expand the offering in the next few years.
Both nurseries are currently graded outstanding with the original Osbaldwick location having achieved outstanding in 2013 and then again in 2019.
Since founding her nurseries, Tracey has served as governor for York Learning and sits on various groups within the local authority looking at sustainability and funding, in addition to being chair and vice chair of the local NDNA network for the last 20 years.
Speaking to The Press, Tracey said: “I’m really privileged to be able to have done it and done it so well. I have a fantastic team and without them, there’s no me, and vice versa.
“I’ve got an excellent team, some of them have been with us for 20 years since the beginning. There’s at least seven or eight staff members who have been there between 15/20 years.
“We have a good reputation and big waiting list because of this. They have to have a lot of faith and trust in us and I’m glad they do. We always strive to be outstanding.”
Tiddlywinks will be expanding further with the addition of a brand new purpose-built rural nursery, situated at Yolk Farm Boroughbridge, which is set to open early 2025.
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