This story is sponsored by Kids Planet Day Nurseries.

Nurseries in Harrogate and Knaresborough are offering up to 30 hours’ funded childcare, as well as tax-free childcare that can save parents up to £4,000 a year.

Kids Planet Day Nurseries is an award-winning national provider with over 170 nurseries across the North and Midlands, including settings in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Boston Spa, Horsforth and Leeds city centre. 

In line with government policy, it offers 15 hours’ funded childcare for three- and four-year-olds, but it also extends the offer to some two-year-olds. 

Working parents of three- and four-year-olds may be able to get as many as 30 hours’ funded childcare, depending on eligibility criteria such as salary, age of children and location. 

What’s more, parents in work with children aged 0-11 can use their tax-free childcare allowance with Kids Planet, saving them up to £2,000 a year. If their child has a disability, the age limit may be raised to 17, and the savings can reach £4,000 a year. 

All Kids Planet nurseries provide nappies, baby formula and baby wipes at no extra charge.

CEO Clare Roberts, who set up Kids Planet in 2008, said: 

“Funded and tax-free childcare is available through many providers, but at Kids Planet we provide so much more. For example, our nurseries are all-inclusive, so we include all nappies, baby formula and baby wipes in our fees, saving parents time, stress, and money.”

Kids Planet places great emphasis on the quality of its staff, and in 2018 it launched its own Kids Planet Training Academy, which offers traineeships, apprenticeships and other higher-level courses. 

Clare said: 

“We want all our nursery employees to be experts at what they do, and the Academy ensures that they are as qualified as they can be, with skill levels that allow them to progress and enjoy long and successful careers in early years.

“That’s good for them, and great for the children they look after, as happy colleagues mean happy children.”

If you’d like to see for yourself why Kids Planet Day Nurseries is trusted to look after more than 20,000 children across the UK, you can take a look around one of our nurseries. Just book an appointment online.

For more information about how you can save money through funded and tax-free childcare at Kids Planet, visit the Funded Childcare page on the Kids Planet website.

Kids Planet nursery in Harrogate has received a ‘requires improvement’ rating following a recent Ofsted inspection.

A government inspector said in a report published this week that “teaching is variable and inconsistent for children who attend”.

The report said “staff who work with babies understand how to meet their needs” but added “some children with special educations needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not supported effectively”.

It added:

“Babies explore sensory activities in the garden. Older children use the wooden trail to practise balancing and jumping. However, during times when toddlers and preschool children share the garden, some staff do not supervise them effectively or engage them in learning.

“Support for emerging SEND is inconsistent. For example, staff who work with toddlers have identified areas of potential delay in some children’s learning. However, they have not completed any assessments or created targeted plans to help them make good progress.”

The report said Kids Planet must “improve staff deployment outdoors, specifically when children of different age groups share the space, to ensure children are well supervised at all times”.

It must also “ensure every child has a key person who provides tailored and purposeful learning experiences which meet their individual needs”.

However, the inspector did note that “staff consistently promote children’s good behaviour and help them to develop their social skills” and that “children are well mannered and kind to each other”.

Staff were also found to be ‘good role models.’

In response to the report, Clare Roberts, chief executive of Kids Planet Nurseries, said:

“As part of our continued approach to embedding best practice within our nurseries, we strive to build engaging, everyday environments for all our children at Kids Planet, whilst empowering the new and existing team to develop their own skills relevant to this.

“We take reassurance that the Ofsted inspector acknowledged this, alongside the excellent relationship staff have with babies and the effective safeguarding in practice, supported by knowledgeable staff.

“We continue to work with all parties to ensure we retain the best quality of care and positive feedback received from parents.”

The inspection, which took place on July 21, was the first one since 2018.

This year’s inspection saw the nursery, which was formerly known as Sunbeams, downgraded from a previous ‘good’ rating.

Kids Planet bought the nursery from Sunbeams Ltd in January of this year.

The nursery is one of 165 Kids Planet nurseries in the UK.

Read more:

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• Masham pre-school rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted