Beach Babies
OutstandingTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Cambridge for babies from 10 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in June 2025. Open since 2004, with 38 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
1140 hours/yr funding, 30 hours, universal funding (570 hours), 9 months to 3 years means-tested.
Worth knowing. Funded hours spread across 51 weeks, averaging 22.35 hours/week. Optional consumables charge for food and snacks for funded-only spaces. Chosen days must include a Monday or Friday.
What childcare usually costs in Cambridgeshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cambridgeshire 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
CB25 9FDWhat 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 June 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in the nursery because of inspirational leaders and staff who promote and inspire a real love of learning. Staff meticulously plan activities and provide an environment that fuels children's imagination and sparks curiosity. For example, children become excited when finding a mysterious bag in the nursery orchard. Staff create awe and wonder as they encourage children to think about who the bag might belong to. Children enthusiastically share the items they have found, and staff are on hand to extend their learning and build on their excitement.
Children communicate effectively with their friends as they discuss the size and shape of the objects found and offer ideas about how they came to be in the orchard. Activities such as these promote children's thinking skills, build on their social interactions and help broaden their vocabulary.
All children demonstrate exemplary behaviour and attitudes to learning. Clear rules and routines are threaded throughout the nursery, and staff skilfully adapt them to suit the differing needs of the children in each age range. This consistency enables all children to know what is expected as they move and transition to the older groups. Children are sociable and confident and forge strong friendships with their peers. Staff teach children effective social skills right from the start. Young children are already mastering the skills of turn-taking as they share resources during smallgroup activities. Older children wait patiently to use the 'tipping tap' as they collect water for the mud kitchen. Children help each other to push the lever and collect the water they need. Staff are on hand to praise their efforts, and this raises their self-esteem. Children show wonderful confidence, resilience and teamwork that supports their future success.
- 26 June 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 19 August 2019Good
- 12 April 2016Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Beach Babies
- What it costs
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.
- What does it cost, all in? 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.