Activeplay Nursery and Preschool
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.9 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Milton Regis for babies from 3 months up to 5 year olds, open 8am to 6pm. £73.00 a day for children aged two – three, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2023. Open since 2003, with 54 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Attending 1 full day per week £73
One published rate, dated September 2026. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Funded hours
Up to 30 free hours per week for 9 months-4 year olds; children over 3 entitled to up to 30 hours per week; in some circumstances 15 hours funding available for children aged two.
Worth knowing. Meals are not covered by the Early Years Free Entitlement: £1.75 breakfast, £3.50 lunch, £2.90 tea (no charge for snacks). Extra top-up hours beyond entitlement charged at £9.45 unless they equate to a full or half session. Holiday absence policy applies to free entitlement attendance so meals are not charged during holiday absence.
What childcare usually costs in Kent
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Kent from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
ME10 2ABWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 26 April 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are very happy and settled throughout the day. Staff form good relationships with children and get to know their individual personalities. Children enjoy each other's company and make up games as they play in the garden.
Children engage well in learning and often return to activities throughout the day that spark their interest. For example, children mix a range of herbs and spices with dough for a sensory experience. They roll different shapes and pretend to make pizza and birthday cake. The staff work hard to create an environment that is engaging and interesting, to help children's learning. For example, they review and adapt what is available based on children's interests. Children behave very well.
Staff rarely have to give guidance and children understand agreed rules. For instance, they understand how to use the timer when they have a turn with the large tablet, and know when their turn has finished.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to fully implement all curriculum plans, to ensure all children consistently benefit from high-quality experiences and make even more progress in their learning n strengthen staff's knowledge about how to best support children's early reading skills for those who show an interest, to help them benefit from a consistent approach.
- 26 April 2023Good
- 21 September 2017Good
- 7 October 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Activeplay Nursery and Preschool
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £73.00 a day still the rate? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.