RAFA Kidz Leeming

RAF Leeming, Gatenby, Northallerton DL7 9NJ
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9.5 19 Reviews
  • RAFA Kidz Leeming, Northallerton
RAFA Kidz is run by a charity to meet the needs of military and civilian families living around an RAF station by offering affordable childcare.

Its nurseries are located across the country on or close to RAF stations.

RAFA Kidz is focused providing a high-quality service for families rather than on making commercial profit.

Any extra income generated by a nursery will be invested back into the nursery and into RAF Association welfare services such as Finding it Tough.

Each of the nursery rooms (baby room, tweenie room, toddler room and pre-school room) is led by a senior nursery practitioner, who is supported by a qualified team.
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Type of Service

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

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Ute Oliver (Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 26

Registered Charity Number

  • 1154822

Total Places for Children

  • 121

Age Range

  • from 0 years 6 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Funding & Fees

  • Please email the nursery to ask about our fees.

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-17:30
    Tuesday 07:30-17:30
    Wednesday 07:30-17:30
    Thursday 07:30-17:30
    Friday 07:30-17:30

When Closed

  • Christmas

RAFA Kidz Leeming Reviews (19)

9.5

RAFA Kidz Leeming has a Review Score of 9.5 (9.485) out of 10, based on 15 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time RAFA Kidz Leeming has 19 reviews.

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Review from J D (Mother of Child) published on 21 October 2025 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We are so incredibly grateful for the care and support our children received from RAFA Kidz. From day one, the staff have been welcoming, kind, and truly dedicated to creating a nurturing environment. Our children's well-being is their top priority. The team takes time to get to know each child, offering
support that is thoughtful and tailored to their needs. As parents, it gives us peace of mind to know our children are in such loving hands every day! Thank you to all of the amazing staff for everything! We could not have chosen a better nursery for our children to start their academic journey!
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Review from D P (Grandmother of Child) published on 11 March 2025 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Staff are helpful, kind and willing to take feedback and caring.
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Review from Sarah G (Mother of Child) published on 16 December 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My little boy has been in the nursery for nearly 3 years, he has thrived in each and every room. The staff are amazing, and the love and care they give the children shines through. He wouldn't be the kind, clever, and confident little boy he is today without RAFAKidz, thank you!
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Review from A R (Mother of Child) published on 22 November 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Such a home-from-home nursery. The staff are superb, so caring and affectionate towards the children. The baby room manager is incredible. She cares for the children like they're her own and puts so much effort into creative play for their development. The other ladies are all so enthusiastic and create
a fun and warm environment. Both my daughter and son, love it so so much and I have also been given so much support when my daughter was really poorly. Super grateful for these ladies and I couldn't recommend the nursery more for those on camp.
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Review from Joanne H (Mother of Child) published on 17 April 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughters have attended here for 9 years in total. They have thrived here! The staff goes above and beyond, always engaging with the children. The manager understands military life better than anyone and is always on hand to help. Wonderful environment, staff are amazing!
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Review from R W (Mother of Child) published on 21 March 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
What an amazing nursery. My daughter started at the nursery and transitioned perfectly to start reception at school last year. The lovely relationship between the nursery and school definitely helped. She attends before and after school club and loves it.
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Review from Lauren O (Mother of Child) published on 21 March 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Excellent nursery, that go out of the way for the children and parents. Nothing is too much trouble. Always doing something fun with the children and they are all really happy and settled. Highly recommend!
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Review from Jodie C (Mother of Child) published on 19 March 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter loves attending nursery, she always looks like she’s had a great day and she was very happy to see me. I was very happy to watch her playing and see what she gets up to on a day-to-day basis.
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Review from C W (Mother of Child) published on 14 March 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son only started at the nursery at the start of January; he had very bad separation anxiety, and I was very anxious about taking him. but the staff were amazing at getting him settled in, and although he still gets a bit upset walking to the nursery, once I have dropped him off, I can see he has
already settled. They always keep me updated, and every time I ask for an update, I get pictures and a detailed update on his day.
He has now become more outgoing and sociable with family members whom we don’t see as often, which is amazing.
I’d also like to add the work the staff members do for the community is fantastic, such as hiding books around the area and leaving small gifts on people's doorsteps!
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Review from Daniel S (Father of Child) published on 14 March 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our little girl started here in November when she was just six months old. She is now ten months old and is absolutely thriving. We were so worried about her being so young, but the girls in the baby room were amazing with her. She loves going to nursery and will nod if we mention her key worker and
room lead name. She has made a few little friends there, and it makes us really sad knowing she is leaving here next month. Thank you, Rafa Kidz Leeming, for making our little ones' nursery journey begin with such a lovely one.
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Review from Jessica T (Mother of Child) published on 14 March 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
A lovely nursery that provides a welcoming and happy environment for our son, who loves attending and interacting with the staff and other children. They are always so new things and creating a learning environment for the children.
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Review from K L (Mother of Child) published on 14 March 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
A brilliant nursery that both my children love attending. The staff are friendly, caring and brilliant at what they do. The amount of care and attention that is shown to the children is outstanding. What a lovely bunch of ladies who work at this nursery! I couldn't recommend it enough!
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Review from Sarah B (Mother of Child) published on 15 February 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I cannot speak highly enough of this nursery, my 2 year old has settled so well. She has additional needs and all members of staff have been so supportive. I can go to work and feel 100% content that my daughter has everything she needs. She has developed into a beautiful little person and the nursery
has been an absolute rock for her. I would never dream of leaving the setting I only wish my other two elder daughters could have had the same care and experiences. Thank you so much.
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Review from C S (Father of Child) published on 13 February 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
RAFA Kidz Leeming is a fantastic community-focused nursery that goes the extra mile to support children and their families. Our daughter has attended the setting for just shy of two years and has enjoyed every day thoroughly. The staff are very kind, caring and professional in every respect and work
collaboratively with parents to ensure children have the best possible experience. The range of daily activities they provide is excellent, and their efforts to enable children to engage with local events right through national initiatives are amazing. What is more, the nursery is managed extremely well; communication from the Management Team is timely, clear and helpful. We certainly feel we made a very good choice by sending our daughter here and that it has set her well on the way to a successful transition to primary school!
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Review from M A (Mother of Child) published on 9 January 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
When we joined RAFA Kids Leeming Nursery my daughter was shy with difficulties with her speech. She spent the first year in full-time nursery and the difference in her speech was amazing. She is now in year 1 but attends Jesters (wrap-around care at this nursery for 18 months). She has blossomed into
a confident, polite young lady. The staff are passionate about the children's development, always ensuring there are crafts and activities for the children to join in on. There is a lovely outside area to play in the summer, which is well managed by staff from a safeguarding point of view. I see the cleaning staff there at pick-up every evening, ensuring the nursery is in tip-top condition for the next day’s activities. A big thank you to all the staff for making my daughter feel welcome and settled. 5*
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Review from N F (Mother of Child) published on 3 April 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
All 5 of my children have been to the setting and they absolutely love(d) it. The staff are like family and treat the children like their own. They even undertook specialist training to look after my son with complex special needs. I can't rate them highly enough.
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Review from L B (Mother of Child) published on 3 April 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
The staff in green room are so lovely and really do make a big effort to organise and make the children’s day interesting and fun. The food the nursery provide is nutritious and of a good variety and my little one eats really well when there. Overall, very happy with the care my boy receives.
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Review from R P (Mother of Child) published on 3 April 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My son attends the before and after school club which is located within the nursery. He also attended nursery a few days a week before starting school. The staff that work there are amazing and have the children's best interest at heart. The communication has improved vastly within the last 12 to 18
months and would highly recommend this setting.
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Review from A E (Mother of Child) published on 3 April 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
All staff are extremely professional with a very friendly approach to both the children and their families. My daughter loves attending this nursery. Different activities each day help advance her development skills and their varied menu each month offers a great range of food groups catering for all
the children’s needs. Daily updates of your child’s new achievements, foods they have eaten, nappy changes, sleeping times, pictures of activities etc are all available to monitor on the app which is useful to have. I feel at ease knowing my child is cared for and is happy attending full time and I would recommend this nursery to any parent.
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Current Review Score: 9.5 (9.485)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.5 (9.485) out of 10 for RAFA Kidz Leeming is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 15 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.6 out of 5 from 15 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 4.865 for RAFA Kidz Leeming is calculated as follows: ( (158 Excellents x 5) + (16 Goods x 4) + (4 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 178 Ratings = 4.865
  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 4.62 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for RAFA Kidz Leeming is based on 15 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 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
    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 121 number of registered child places is 24.2. 15 Positive Reviews ÷ 24.2 = 0.62
  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 (0)

Meet the Team (1)

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Ute Oliver

Job Title: Nursery Manager Joined: 1989

I have been working in childcare for 40 years, 33 of which I have been here at Leeming.


I started my career in childcare as a volunteer Mum and progressed on as an early year’s assistant. From there I become a Room Lead and then the Deputy Manager and Manager shortly after. I have gained many early years qualifications, as well as First Aid safeguarding children, working with children with additional needs and working with Parents in Partnership.


Childcare has been a lifelong passion for me, in particular working with children and families in the Armed Forces, especially working with children with additional needs and vulnerable children.


I have a military background myself, three children and two grandchildren. This has given me a sound understanding of what our children and parent’s needs are.

Frequently Asked Questions about RAFA Kidz Leeming

What is the Age Range of Children that RAFA Kidz Leeming accepts?

RAFA Kidz Leeming accepts Children aged from 0 years 6 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is RAFA Kidz Leeming Open?

RAFA Kidz Leeming is open: Monday 07:30-17:30, Tuesday 07:30-17:30, Wednesday 07:30-17:30, Thursday 07:30-17:30, Friday 07:30-17:30.

How many Children does RAFA Kidz Leeming have capacity for?

RAFA Kidz Leeming has capacity for a total of 121 Children.

How far is RAFA Kidz Leeming to the centre of Northallerton?

4.7 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

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