Scarborough nursery to open second site at Saint Catherine's Hospice

The nursery opens in January and will be a second site for Little Footsteps, which is expanding the business and will keep its original site in Columbus Ravine.

The project came about after Saint Catherine’s offered part of its building to temporarily re-house Eastfield Surgery. When the GP surgery moved back to Eastfield, following repairs to the building, the space became available.

The team from Little Footsteps were thrilled after viewing the space and knew if would lend itself perfectly to their needs for a new nursery.

The nursery will be towards the front of the building, near to Flavours Bistro and the Barn Boutique, which are on the opposite side of the site to the in-patient unit.

Gemma Pace, director of income generation at Saint Catherine’s, said: “We are really excited to be working with Little Footsteps and looking forward to welcoming them on site.

“The nursery and the hospice will operate separately, but we are very much working as a team when it comes to supporting each other. Having Little Footsteps on site will help bring in much-needed income for patient care at the hospice and we are also looking forward to welcoming families and new faces to Saint Catherine’s, who may have never previously been to visit us.”

Heath Samples, Trustee at Saint Catherine’s Hospice, who originally proposed the idea of a nursery, said: “It’s wonderful to see this idea become a reality. Making better use of our facilities to generate sustainable income, while providing something valuable for local families, is exactly the sort of creative thinking that will ensure the hospice’s future.”

Janet Collinson, of Little Footsteps Nursery management team, said: "We are absolutely delighted and incredibly excited to be opening our second Little Footsteps nursery at Saint Catherine's Hospice. This is such an exciting new chapter for our setting, and we feel very privileged to be able to grow our Little Footsteps family and become part of the Saint Catherine's community.

“We are looking forward to creating a warm, welcoming and nurturing environment where children can play, learn and develop. The team at Saint Catherine's have worked incredibly hard to bring this project together, and we are so proud of what has been achieved so far.

“We cannot wait to open our doors in January 2027, welcome our new families and begin this exciting journey. We are also looking forward to building a wonderful relationship with Saint Catherine's and supporting the fantastic work they do."

Little Footsteps will be holding an open day at Saint Catherine’s on Saturday November 21 from 10am until 12 noon. Everyone welcome, no need to book. The hospice Christmas Fair will also be on from 9.30am to 4pm on the same day.

To find out more about what Saint Catherine’s has to offer, go to https://www.saintcatherines.org.uk/ or call 01723 351 421.

For enquiries regarding Little Footsteps, visit https://www.littlefootstepsdaynursery.co.uk/contact/ or call 01723 360 719.