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Nurseries in Thirsk

There are 6 nurseries and pre-schools on the Ofsted register in Thirsk.

Inspection grades in Thirsk

  • Ofsted report cards: 3 settings (6 Strong standard, 12 Expected standard)
  • Ofsted grades before November 2025: 2 settings (1 Outstanding, 1 Good)

Grades are shown only where the inspectorate has published the report.

Nurseries and pre-schools

  • Ash Park Childcare pre-school & out of school club - Day nursery, Thirsk YO7 1LW, 17 places
  • Ash Park Childcare Services Ltd - Day nursery, Thirsk YO7 1UN, ages 0 to 10, 70 places
    Ofsted, 5 November 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • First Steps Day Nursery & Big Steps Out Of School Club - Day nursery, Thirsk YO7 4NF, ages 0 to 10, 69 places
    Ofsted report card, 3 December 2025: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met
  • Jack and Jills Nursery School - Day nursery, Thirsk YO7 3NY, ages 0 to 10, 90 places
    Ofsted, 8 February 2023: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Lara Nursery Thirsk - Day nursery, Thirsk YO7 1TS, ages 1 to 4, 82 places
    Ofsted report card, 4 August 2026: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met
  • The Learning Tree Nursery & Kids Club - Day nursery, Thirsk YO7 4NJ, ages 2 to 11, 30 places
    Ofsted report card, 6 March 2026: Strong standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met

Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.

The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.

Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.

Source: Ofsted reports

Ofsted grades before November 2025 (England)

Inspections before November 2025 gave one overall grade on a four-point scale: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate. Ofsted also graded the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, and said whether safeguarding was effective.

Settings keep their last grade until Ofsted visits again, so many nurseries still show a grade from this older scale.

Source: Ofsted reports

Funded childcare hours in England

All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.

Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.

Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.

The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.

Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)

Council area

Schools in Thirsk

Sources: Ofsted, registers as at 30 June 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.