





Kids Planet High Bank is an Ofsted rated 'outstanding' nursery (September 2016) situated on a working farm in the village of Stapleton, near the town of Darlington. Nursery care is provided for children aged six weeks to five years old.
The nursery is divided into four main rooms, all of which are designed to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. An extended pre-school room, known as The Curiosity...
Funding & Fees
Please get in touch with the nursery for our most up to date fees and availability.
Contact Kids Planet High Bank to get a personalised quote:
Type of Service
- Day Nursery
Opening Schedule
Open all yearFull days available
YesHalf day sessions offered
YesGroup/Owner
- Kids Planet Day Nurseries
- Private Owned
Person in charge
- Katie England (Manager)
Number of Childcare Staff
- 27
Total Places for Children
- 140
Age Range
- from 0 years 3 months
- to 5 years 0 months
Meals Provided
NoConsumables provided
NoOpening 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 & Christmas
Kids Planet High Bank Reviews (96)
Kids Planet High Bank has a Review Score of 9.4 (9.408) out of 10, based on 16 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Kids Planet High Bank has 96 reviews.
Fantastic nursery would highly recommend.
Hi Hayley, what an amazing review, thank you we really appreciate it.
The staff have always been friendly and passed on any information at the door when dropping off or collecting my daughter, along with messages on the app and email.
When I have had any concerns, I have been able to speak to staff and managers (who are always accessible through email) and my concerns have been sorted promptly.
I would recommend this nursery to all my family and friends and I’m looking forward to the rest of the time that my little girl attends High Bank.
Keep up the fantastic work and thank you for all you do.
Thank you for the lovely review! Much appreciated.
One of a kind outdoor space on a working farm, which is utilised to maximum potential. The children are encouraged to learn by playing and exploring, and even get to help feed the animals and collect eggs sometimes. The staff have really genuine connections with the children and my son is always talking about his 2 favourite practitioners at home. I like that their social media page is always being updated with photos and updates of what they are up to and it’s nice to be able to read the bios of the staff who look after my child on the nurseries website. Staff always take the time to talk to me about my child when I drop him off and collect as well. 5 stars probably aren’t enough but it’s the best I can give.
Thank you for your lovely review, much appreciated.
The nursery has many different activities which they both thoroughly enjoy.
The staff are brilliant and really care for each child's individual needs.
Thank you for your lovely review, much appreciated.
My daughter has settled into the routine so quickly and I can see how happy, contented and fulfilled she is by the way she excitedly greets the team when she arrives. Her confidence and motor skills have developed greatly in a short space of time thanks to the attention of the team and the lovely safe environment. Knowing that she is being looked after by such a kind, compassionate and skilled team in a fun, safe and stimulating environment is a huge comfort. I would and have recommended High Bank to anyone considering nursery care for their child.
Thank you for your lovely review, much appreciated.
Every single staff member at High Bank has been an important part of her development. She’s received so much love and learning from the staff that she can’t wait to be dropped off and asks me not to come early as she likes to stay as long as she can each day!
High Bank have helped with every stage, from walking to potty training to gross motor skills with all the outdoor education and play to helping her already now at just turned 4 being able to write her name and many other family names confidently! She knows many phonic sounds and shapes and cannot wait to learn to read.
As a parent myself who works in education, we couldn’t have asked for a better start for our little girl! It will be a sad day when she leaves to start school.
I would highly recommend High Bank Nursery.
Thank you for the lovely review, Much appreciated!
Really friendly. Children have lots of opportunities and the food is amazing. The classrooms are suitable. They do a lot outdoors which is great for children. Hours are flexible as well which is always handy
Thank you for your lovely review! Much appreciated.
He suffered a brain injury during his birth which has lead to multiple diagnoses/medical conditions the main one being his cerebral palsy which has led to him being tube fed in recent months. When I first started to look into him attending nurseries I expected it to be a draining process and simply put hard work to get him into a mainstream nursery without a fight.
High Bank took him on no problem, nothing is too much for the staff. His medical needs have become more demanding so a 1-1 was put in place who supports him where needed, he thrives best around the other children. The children are as amazing as the adults. They help him, they enjoy pressing the buttons on his machine and take great interest in why he has it and why he mustn’t be treat differently.
I could not recommend the nursery more.
Thank you for your lovely review, very much appreciated!
My little boy loves this nursery. He started just after the first lockdown so he had a big break from social interactions and struggled with meeting new people. However, he settled so quickly here. He made great relationships with the staff straight away (started in Tweenies) and the communication from them was fantastic which really put myself and my husband at ease. Since moving up to toddlers, he has continued to grow in confidence and has developed so much. He always talks about the amazing experiences and things that they do, as well as talking about his friends and staff with such love. Each room he’s been in has had amazing play and experiences that we’ve often had to repeat at home, as well as several requests for a pet pig and goats! I would highly recommend this nursery to anyone.
Thank you for your lovely review, very much appreciated!
My child absolutely loves going to High Bank. He has great relationships with all staff and the staff are so friendly and caring towards him. The activities provided are very stimulating and engaging for the children. The extra activities provided such as football and sing and sign are great. My child has developed his physical and social skills so much since attending nursery. My child is safe and happy at High Bank and always chats about the great friends he has and activities he has done during the day.
Thank you for the lovely review much appreciated!
My son and daughter both started at High Bank Nursery - Darlington as babies and are now in the preschool. I chose the nursery based on its unique farm setting, the facilities are amazing and I love how much time the children spend outside. My children love going to nursery, there is always something fun going on. Their development has been aided by a huge variety of activities, Forest School, gardening club and singing and signing tots have been particular favourites! The staff have gone above and beyond in helping my son with his speech which he has struggled with, his key worker spends a lot of time with him and has even made him special games to help with his sounds, which has made a real difference. It is clear to see the hard work that goes into making nursery a wonderful experience for the children. My children are both very happy and settled at High Bank and will be well prepared for the transition to school.
Thank you for the lovely comments much appreciated.
The menu served by the on-site chef has been great for their diet, and they are experimental with food.
I really look forward to their journey through toddlers and into pre-school before their formal education begins.
The management team are fully integrated and get to know the children and are very professional and attentive.
Thank you for your lovely review much appreciated!
Thank you High Bank team.
Thank you for the lovely review - much appreciated!
My eldest daughter only experienced preschool but from start to finish she had the most wonderful experience. The care she received from the staff was second to none and her ‘school-readiness’ was apparent when she did leave to go to school. Her reception teacher actually commented that she could tell which pupils came from High Bank Nursery as they were more than ready to start school and their handwriting and numeracy was excellent.
My second daughter started in the toddler room and, again, she has come on leaps and bounds. She was a late talker but as soon as she started nursery she really opened up and within weeks was beginning to communicate more fluently with us. She loves going to nursery and comes home happy every day.
Beautiful nursery with wonderful staff! Would recommend time and time again!
Thank you for the lovely review! Much appreciated.
I pulled my little girl out after attending for one month. She was increasingly upset (she does not react this way at her other nursery). She is potty trained but had a lot of accidents one day she soiled herself four times (I don’t blame them for this) however they did lose all changes of clothes and a jacket. When my little girl came home I asked her about her accidents to which she started yelling yuk, this is not a word we use and was odd for my little girl to use as she is mainly non-verbal using signs. None of the staff ever asked about the signs my little girl used to communicate (many were made up). My little girl did not seem to attach to any staff and I only found out she had a key worker when asking about the app which another parent had told me about. When the deputy rang after I said my little girl was leaving as she was very unhappy as well as other reasons I was just told we think she’s happy but should I take this as your notice, which confirmed for me I had made the right decision
We are sorry that you feel your experience at High Bank was not a positive one. The nursery has been operating for 18 years and we pride ourselves on the excellent service we provide and the unique, Ofsted rated outstanding setting we have developed via continuous improvement and investment. This...
My little boy is been attending High Bank since he was a baby. Staff have been, and continue to be, fantastic. He is really settled and enjoys going there. He loves the cows and I would say it's great that he has the opportunity to attend a nursery on a farm. I would highly recommend High Bank.
Thank you for the lovely review much appreciated. Many thanks, Zara
My little boy has attended this nursery for almost a year and I am delighted with the progress he has made. The staff are fantastic, they are very kind, patient and attentive. One of my favourite things about the nursery is that they take the time to update a parent app throughout the day so that I can see the activities my little boy has taken part in and they include details such as meals and nappy changes. This is so reassuring. The nursery even have a dedicated chef who prepares all the meals with fresh ingredients, sometimes the children help make treats and other things. The range of activities they do is phenomenal. My little boy loves to play outside and they do this almost every day. He regularly tells me about the chickens, the ducks and the pig. It's wonderful.
Thank you very much for your review much appreciated. Many thanks, Zara
When she first started we had 2 trial sessions where I left her for very short periods and I found this really helpful for both of us! It meant when she went for the full days she had already met all the staff and wasn't just in a strange building.
There were a few tears the first few mornings, but it's great that you can telephone each room and speak directly with nursery staff to get updates on how your child is doing. She soon settled! Staff really made me feel like I could call as many times as I wanted, which was very reassuring.
I love the app they have; I can see exactly what she has eaten, photos of what she has been up to, and other useful information like nap times, nappy changes, etc. We are very happy with all aspects of the service we receive from High Bank and very grateful to the staff for the care they provide our daughter.
Thank you for your lovely comments, Much appreciated!
The app is fantastic for keeping me updated in the day and is so detailed so that puts my mind at rest, it’s lovely to see the photos they upload of him having fun. I also love how the nursery have their own chef who prepares nutritious healthy meals each day. My son is a huge fan of being outdoors so I knew he would particularly love this nursery as they spend lots of time outdoors on the farm.
I would highly recommend this nursery.
Thank you for your lovely comments, much appreciated!
It's great that it is situated on a farm so the children get to see the animals daily and help to collect the eggs from the chickens. I love the activities that are included, like forest school, football, music sessions. I feel that it has really helped my eldest daughter now she is at school when it comes to learning.
It's surprising how much knowledge she has which she has gained from nursery. The nursery have really worked hard to make the environment covid-19 safe, including building extra rooms so the children have more space. I feel reassured that my daughter is as safe as she can be in this current climate. I highly recommend High Bank Nursery.
Thank you for your lovely comments, much appreciated!
Child Vacancies
Please contact us for latest vacancies.
News (1) & Events (0)
- Posted: Tuesday 10 Sep 2024We are proud to announce that Kids Planet has been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Education & Training 2024 by Great Place To Work UK! This...
There are no upcoming events for Kids Planet High Bank.
Awards / Recognitions (14)
- Recipient: Kids Planet Day NurseriesDate: Tuesday 31 Mar 2026
- Recipient: Kids Planet High BankDate: Friday 28 May 2021
- Recipient: Kids Planet High BankDate: Tuesday 31 Mar 2020
Meet the Team (1)
I have over 10 years’ experience in early years, which covers all age groups 0-5 years. I am a level 3 childcare educator and a level 5 in Leadership and Management, specialising in childcare education. I am passionate about outdoor learning and environments to support children's mental health and well-being.
My role as the manager is to support and inspire the staff, families, and children to settle and flourish in a loving and exciting environment, building strong bonds, imagination, and curiosity through learning.
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