Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School

Union Hall Farm, Brasside, Durham DH1 5SG
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Top 20 award
9.9 67 Reviews
  • Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School, Durham
As part of the Farm Day Nurseries group, Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School is purpose-built to offer the very best early years education within a countryside environment.

Offering quality childcare for children from 6 weeks old, children will enjoy daily visits to the farm animals and free flow access between the nursery building and the private nursery and pre-school gardens. Adventure Valley was recently rated 'Good' by Ofsted in their April 2022 inspection.

Children also enjoy a new woodland space, exclusive for nursery use, where children enjoy a number of woodland activities.

The new day nursery & pre-school offers 2, 3 & 4-year-old funding including 30 free hours.

Please register for a Showround at their website.

Nursery opening hours: Monday - Friday 07:30 am - 06:30 pm.

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Care Provided by Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School

  • Type of Service
  • Day Nursery – Privately Owned
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Julie Norton (Nursery Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 20
  • Total Places for Children
  • 94
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 2 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:30-18:30
    Tuesday 07:30-18:30
    Wednesday 07:30-18:30
    Thursday 07:30-18:30
    Friday 07:30-18:30
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays & Christmas

Funding & Fees Guide for Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School

  • Full-day session: 7:30 am - 6:00 pm
    Morning session: 7:30 am - 1:00 pm
    Afternoon session: 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
    Late collection: 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm

  • Each situation is different and bespoke to your childcare needs. To find out more about our fees, please do get in touch so we are able to build a profile and give you a breakdown of what we believe best suits your child’s needs.

Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School Reviews (67)

Total of 67, showing 41-60
9.9

Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.865) out of 10, based on 17 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School has 67 reviews.

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Review from Lore T (Mother of Child) published on 10 September 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My child is one year old and has been going to nursery for approx. 5 weeks now. She has settled very well. She now greets the staff when I drop her off and she is in a good mood when I pick her up. Communication with the nursery is good and I feel that I am given the information that I request and the
information that I need to be confident that my child is well cared for. I was apprehensive about nursery because of lockdown and the very limited socialization that we were able to do because of that, but I needed nursery because I work full time. At this point, everything has been going really well, and both me and my partner feel that our child benefits from going to Adventure Valley Nursery. I am glad that I chose Adventure Valley Nursery and definitely recommend them.

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Review from Laura B (Mother of Child) published on 8 September 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Encouraged to start my son back at nursery but without any pressure and very glad we did. We appreciate the way this was dealt with post lockdown as it was an unsettled time anyway without the added stress of worrying about a child starting nursery but it’s been great and they even sent a picture and
reassuring email the day that he had tears going in to show us that he was ok and was playing happily. Every staff member we’ve seen has been very pleasant.

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Review from Stephanie K (Mother of Child) published on 8 September 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

This is such a lovely nursery, all of the staff are extremely friendly and my daughter loves going. They are really approachable and understanding and have made my daughters transition to nursery really positive and stress-free for all of us. They have amazing facilities including access to adventure
valley during nursery time, a key benefit. They have a lovely spacious and welcoming space and the menu for the kids is amazing, catering for allergies too.

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Review from Kate W (Mother of Child) published on 28 August 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The team are so welcoming and my daughter loves her days at nursery. The level of care and experience is so comprehensive. She is given opportunities that I don’t believe she would be exposed to at another nursery. I couldn’t think of a better place or better people to leave my daughter with.

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Review from Victoria S (Mother of Child) published on 28 August 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We heard about the nursery as we are on the mailing list for Adventure Valley and we are so glad we did! Our daughter is loving going to the nursery and her speech has improved incredibly in a matter of weeks. The nursery and all of the staff have been wonderful!

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Review from India G (Mother of Child) published on 27 August 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Genuinely couldn’t speak higher of this nursery. I feel extremely comfortable leaving my 9-month-old son there, the staff are so welcoming and friendly. Even the mention of the word nursery to him gets him excited and smiling so I know he is enjoying going. The staff have been excellent following the
dietary requirements he has and he has settled in very quickly, considering he is usually attached to my hip during a non-nursery day. I have already recommended this nursery to a few of my friends who are looking for their little ones to start.

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Review from Maria H (Mother of Child) published on 27 August 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My baby girl settled in straight away, the staff at the nursery are fabulous with her and it's a great environment for her. There are lots of things for her to explore. The whole set up of the nursery is a great idea being able to go on daily visits to the farm, that alone gives the children so many
learning opportunities.

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Review from Beth M (Mother of Child) published on 30 March 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I had to change my little boy's nursery midterm due to moving house and was nervous he would be unsettled by this, however, he has really enjoyed attending Adventure Valley preschool from the beginning. He settled in very quickly as the atmosphere is very friendly, he seems to be happy and enjoys going.
The facilities are lovely and the staff are always polite and friendly.

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Review from Anna D (Mother of Child) published on 26 March 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We’ve found a little gem here. We moved into the area in July and struggled to find the right care setting for our daughter in the Durham area. We got a mailshot from Adventure Valley to say a new nursery was opening in October. We went to the open day and we’ve never looked back. Our daughter settled
straight away in the 0-2 room despite her being quite clingy with me. She has just moved seamlessly into the 2-3 room and staff are supporting my daughter through the early stages of toilet training. The nursery is brand new, clean and light. The toys are lovely and new with lots of variety and activities to mix up their day. There’s a lovely outdoor area for each room and the children are also taken into Adventure Valley to see the animals and explore. Meals look and smell amazing (I wish they did a doggy bag for parents) and above all, staff are really friendly. My daughter has bonded with them quickly and is very happy there. Thank you to all of the staff at Adventure Valley.

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Review from Hayley M (Mother of Child) published on 26 March 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am very happy to leave my 10-month-old son in the nursery. It is a very welcoming, stimulating, clean and friendly environment. All staff are smart, friendly and caring and it is obvious that they have the children at the forefront of everything they do. The nursery works closely with me to ensure
that interests my son has at home, are encouraged and developed within his learning at nursery. The provision itself is well maintained and new, with plenty of stimulating and fun resources. Special thanks to the manager and staff who look after my son so well. Thank you.

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Review from Jessica L (Mother of Child) published on 26 March 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We couldn’t be happier with this nursery and how our son has settled. Before he began last month he’d never been looked after by anyone but me or his dad (he’s 18 months old) but he’s settled in like a dream. I think he feels safe, secure and loved when he’s there. He loves nursery and the staff. The
facilities are so nice, they are brand new and purpose-built so everything is clean and fresh and it feels so safe and secure. Everything about the nursery and its facilities feels child-centred and with a focus on their exploration and development. We couldn’t be happier with the care and attention our little boy gets when he’s at nursery.

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Review from Wendy H (Mother of Child) published on 10 February 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am so happy to have found this fab nursery for my daughter, not only are the facilities brand new, ideal, clean and well thought out but the staff are so so lovely. My daughter has settled so well and she is used to being constantly by my side. The staff are genuinely caring and fantastic at what
they do. I have no hesitation in recommending this setting for our precious children.

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Review from Angela G (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My 3 year old started her 30 hours at Adventure Valley this January. She has absolutely loved it so far, from her very first visit she is always asking when she’s going to nursery next. She had never received any form of childcare before but was not nervous at all and all of the staff are amazing
with her. She always has a big smile on her face when I pick her up and talks for hours about what she’s done all day, visits to the farm, soft play, painting. My baby also loves going to pick his sister up from nursery and is already comfortable around the staff. Very keen for him to start when I go back to work, highly recommend Adventure Valley Day Nursery!

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Review from Stacey W (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter was in a very busy nursery before we decided to change her to Adventure Valley Day Nursery. My daughter settled almost instantly due to the calm and relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff. Her confidence has grown massively and knowing she can't wait to get there on a morning!

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Review from Jennifer C (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My Daughter started in January just one day per week in the baby room. She loves it, we pull up and she gets excited! Doesn’t look back...
I knew from my first visit that it was the nursery for my little one, the staff were friendly, the building is lovely, nice to see lots of wooden toys! She
loves being outside and this is perfect for her with them having visits to the farm too.
The food on the menu always sounds lovely and what I’ve seen looks very nice. Couldn’t say any other than I love the place!

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Review from Joanna S (Mother of Child) published on 5 February 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I had spoken to a few other day nurseries before contacting the manager of this one. My boy has some communication, social and sensory issues but also separation anxiety. I cannot praise this nursery enough. They have been supportive and patient with both myself and my boy, they provided as many visits
as my little one needed until we were confident he would settle being left. Staff are wonderful and really listen, I get lovely informative feedback when I return to collect him on how he’s gotten on. My boy's confidence has really improved since starting this nursery and he’s happy to go in. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this nursery to anyone.
Lovely spacious rooms, healthy foods, lots of indoor and outdoor activities for little ones to enjoy as well as trips to the farm.
The staff here really care about our kids.

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Review from Liza D (Mother of Child) published on 5 February 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

What can I say about this nursery apart from truly amazing! We first came to visit this nursery in October/November time after viewing other nurseries and this one stood out from the start, my little boy would be in the preschool room and we were so happy to see a massive spacious room with loads of
areas for the children to explore great outdoor space. My child likes to explore and always on the go and we knew straight away this was the perfect setting, daily visits to farm for soft play/animals was added bonus. He had numerous pre visits and had settled in very well, the staff always very helpful and told us how he was doing. He started Jan and although he's been there less than a month I can see how well he has developed, I couldn’t ask for better staff to look after him, he is a little character and he talks about them all the time. I would highly recommend this nursery to anyone it’s the best decision choosing here. Looking forward to him spending the next 18 months here.

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Review from Angela G (Mother of Child) published on 5 February 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Great facilities and lovely staff. Good hot food selection and lots for kids to do, especially the visits to Adventure Valley and animal petting.

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Review from Katy D (Mother of Child) published on 28 January 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We checked out a few nurseries in the area but none really stood out for us until we heard about this one. We knew after the first visit this was the one. Excellent facilities, spotlessly clean and brand new, lovely outdoor area and amazingly friendly staff. Our son had a few settling in sessions which
he loved and he could not wait to go back after each one. We feel so happy that our son is coming to such a lovely, friendly nursery that he absolutely loves coming to. The staff could not be any more friendly and really helped to get our son settled into nursery life. The location of the nursery is amazing with daily visits into Adventure valley farm. So pleased we heard about this nursery.

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Review from Helen A (Mother of Child) published on 3 January 2020
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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My little girl is currently in the baby room we were given lots of settling in sessions where the staff got to know her. By the time it came for her to start she was comfortable in the setting and was fine when I left her. She absolutely loves going to nursery and now gets excited when we pull up. The
staff are all really friendly and welcoming. They always have lots of activities set up and will tailor things to suit the interests of the children. There is lots of communication about day to day activities and observations of the children.
What we really love about the nursery is the access they have to the farm. The learning opportunities for the children there are brilliant and my little girl loves animals.
I would not hesitate to recommend this nursery to anyone looking for childcare.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.865)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.865) out of 10 for Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 5.0 out of 5 from 17 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.9 out of 5 from 17 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.961 for Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School is calculated as follows: ( (197 Excellents x 5) + (6 Goods x 4) + (1 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 204 Ratings = 4.961

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 4.904 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School is based on 17 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4

    • ii) 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 94 number of registered child places is 18.8. 17 Positive Reviews ÷ 18.8 = 0.904

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

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Meet the Team (1)

Julie

Julie Norton

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Hello, my name is Julie Norton and I am the Nursery Manager at Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School. I have worked in childcare for almost 20 years and hold a BA Hons in Early Childhood Studies and an NNEB Diploma in Childcare.


I take pride in building those early relationships with both children and parents and love to see children at my nursery grow and develop each day.


Being the Nursery Manager in this fantastic new setting brings me a lot of joy, seeing children learn through nature-based play including taking daily visits to the farmyard animals is a very unique experience for all.


Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Adventure Valley Day Nursery & Pre-School has a Platinum Service – more info.