Explorers Nursery at QE

Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate, Thorpe Green Lane, Thorpe Underwood, York YO26 9SS
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Top 20 award
9.8 46 Reviews
  • Explorers Nursery at QE, York
Explorers Nursery at QE is the Outstanding Early Years provision (ISI February 2019) at the Excellent rated independent school, Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate.

Situated on the beautiful Thorpe Underwood Estate, Explorers Nursery at QE is a friendly setting where children receive the best possible support and care.

The experienced team of staff there take pride in ensuring a warm, family atmosphere in which the children can learn. They focus on the Prime curriculum areas crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and building on their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

A creative refurbishment of the setting in 2017 means that children benefit from a specially designed flexible indoor space and interactive outdoor learning area. They also have access to a standalone library and a dedicated Early Years dining area, so that they can enjoy meal times together in a homely atmosphere. Meals are prepared by a dedicated Early Years chef, who caters for all nutritional requirements.

Children grow and develop through three main rooms:

Adventurers:

The 3-month to early walkers’ room. Staff create a lovely, friendly and soothing first room for the children who have their own, unique routine. There are a range of activities and toys for the child to investigate, and the children often get rather messy when they do their first masterpieces of art!

Voyagers:

For early walkers to 2 years. Staff begin to encourage independence. The team organise activities that move the children on to their next steps, along with lots of opportunity for messy/tactile play!

Pioneers:

For children aged 2-3 years. Staff create an energetic and very independent room. Children have more activities to choose from and are big on outside play. Children at this age are starting to form friendships and staff facilitate this with more group activities.
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Funding & Fees

Monthly fees:
Half a day - £40
Full day - £80
5 days a week - £375


At Explorers Nursery, we accept the Government Tax-Free Childcare Scheme and Childcare Vouchers.

Contact Explorers Nursery at QE to get a personalised quote.

Contact Explorers Nursery at QE to get a personalised quote.

Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Owner

  • Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate
  • Privately Owned

Person in Charge

  • Emily Hunter (Head of Early Years)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 13

Total Places for Children

  • 36

Age Range

  • from 0 years 3 months
  • to 3 years 0 months

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays & 1 week at Christmas

Explorers Nursery at QE Reviews (46)

9.8

Explorers Nursery at QE has a Review Score of 9.8 (9.793) out of 10, based on 12 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Explorers Nursery at QE has 46 reviews.

Overall Experience
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Date Published
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Reviewer Connection to Explorers Nursery at QE
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Total of 46, showing 41-46
Review from Jo A (Mother of Child) published on 19 December 2019 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Excellent facilities and a lovely caring team. My son loves going and is flourishing there. The staff provide lots of updates and photos during the day via the app which is great. Particularly comes into its own during the dimmer whether children have the opportunity to explore the fabulous grounds
and use the play area.
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Review from Meg W (Mother of Child) published on 19 December 2019 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Queens Kindergarten is a wonderful childcare facility. They individualise care for every single child who attends whilst maintaining a whole community atmosphere. The adaptable and brilliant facilities have meant my daughter has not felt any change moving between the different rooms or key workers.
The staff are worth their weight in gold and will always go the extra mile to ensure each child is cared for exactly how they need to be. The rural setting is beautiful, safe and clean. The opportunities and events available at Queen's Kindergarten are exciting and something I’ve never seen at another nursery. Just last week, my daughter had the chance to have a Christmas dinner and go see a play! Can’t recommend it enough, we are gutted we are edging towards outgrowing it ready for school!
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Review from Katie H (Mother of Child) published on 19 December 2019 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Brilliant, caring and incredibly helpful. My son is extremely happy and confident to attend and the staff always do their best to be flexible when requested.
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Review from Helen M (Mother of Child) published on 30 August 2019 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Very good overall although the large number of staff involved can mean that care feels a little more institutional and less personal at times. Facilities, cleanliness, efficiency, food are all outstanding.
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Review from Emily P (Mother of Child) published on 15 August 2019 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I can’t recommend the Kindergarten at Queen Ethelburga’s enough. The staff are amazing and put my daughter, husband and I at ease straight away despite us being very nervous about leaving our little girl (our first baby) with them at 15 months old. The facilities are second to none and the activities
that they engage the children in are fun, imaginative and educational. It is such a lovely environment for children to make friends, learn and flourish in. Our daughter’s development has come on in leaps and bounds since attending Queen’s Kindergarten, she is really happy there and we will be sad when she reaches 3 and has to leave!
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Review from Rachael W (Mother of Child) published on 14 August 2019 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The staff at Queen's Kindergarten are amazing, from my little boy's first day (only nine months old) in the Squirrel Nutkin room they made both him and myself feel completely at ease. They take every need into consideration and provide constant updates on care and development.
The nursery have always
been flexible with day changes/additional days which is extremely helpful for us as working parents. The facilities are immaculate and the location of the nursery is extremely safe, tucked within the grounds of a beautiful school, which was definitely a conditional element for me as a parent when choosing the right nursery. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
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Current Review Score: 9.8 (9.793)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.8 (9.793) out of 10 for Explorers Nursery at QE is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 5.0 out of 5 from 12 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.8 out of 5 from 12 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:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.993 for Explorers Nursery at QE is calculated as follows: ( (142 Excellents x 5) + (1 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 143 Ratings = 4.993
  2. 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 4.8 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Explorers Nursery at QE is based on 12 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 20 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews, 0.05 Points for the next five Positive Reviews, and finally 0.025 Points for the next ten Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.050, 7th = 0.050, 8th = 0.050, 9th = 0.050, 10th = 0.050, 11th = 0.025, 12th = 0.025, 13th = 0.025, 14th = 0.025, 15th = 0.025, 16th = 0.025, 17th = 0.025, 18th = 0.025, 19th = 0.025, 20th = 0.025) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.025 + 0.025 = 3.8
    2. 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 36 number of registered child places is 7.2, which has been reached with 12 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Awards / Recognitions (3)

Meet the Team (13)

Emily

Emily

Job Title: Head of Early Years Joined: 2025

Emily is the Head of Early Years

Aimee

Aimee

Job Title: Assistant Manager of Queen's Kindergarten Joined: 2018

Aimee works in the Adventurers' room.

Hana

Hana

Job Title: Assistant Manager of Queen's Kindergarten Joined: 2016

Hana works in the Voyagers' room.

Tina

Tina

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2021

Tina works in the Adventurers' room.

Hannah

Hannah

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2020

Hannah works in the Voyagers' room.

Becky

Becky

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2022

Becky works in the Voyagers' room.

Amy

Amy

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2024

Amy works in the Adventures room.

Tegan

Tegan

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2023

Tegan works in the Pioneers' room.

Emma

Emma

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2024

Emma works in the Pioneers' room.

Emily

Emily

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2024

Emily works in the Pioneers' room.

Caitlin

Caitlin

Job Title: Early Years Apprentice Joined: 2024

Caitlin works within all 3 rooms.

Becki

Becki

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2025

Becki works in the Voyagers room and goes swimming with Pioneers.

Lauren

Lauren

Job Title: Early Years Practitioner Joined: 2025

Lauren works in the Adventurers' room.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Explorers Nursery at QE to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Explorers Nursery at QE has an Enhanced Service - more info.