Beech Tree Childcare
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.8 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Littlehampton for babies from a few weeks old up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. £8.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2025. Open since 2024, with 55 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
51 weeks a year.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| All ages | £7.00sibling £8.00 |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £100.00 Depositnot refundable
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £4.15 Meals
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
2 year old funded hours, Universal 3 and 4 year old funded hours, Extended 3 and 4 year old funded hours, 9-month-old funded entitlement.
Worth knowing. Funded hours can be used between 10.00am-3.30pm Monday-Friday. Stretched as 11 hours per week over the 51 weeks of the year we are open.
What childcare usually costs in West Sussex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in West Sussex 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
BN16 4AXWhat 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, 14 April 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children and their families receive a warm welcome from leaders on arrival. They exchange any relevant information that may impact on the children's day. This helps staff to meet the ever-changing needs of children. Babies take great delight in being creative. For instance, they search for items in the tray filled with shredded paper. They copy staff as they say 'one, two, three', then toss the paper in the air, watching in wonder as it falls. This helps to maintain babies' interest in their activity, building their concentration. Children enjoy looking at books with staff, pointing out aspects on the pages and using their words to talk about them. Staff extend this, such as by adding additional words, helping children to constantly hear more vocabulary. Children learn the differing parts of a book, such as when staff talk about the next or last page.
Children learn to be resilient. For example, if they accidentally take a tumble, they assess their situation quickly and promptly get themselves back to their feet. This encourages children to learn to manage their own well-being and to try again.
Toddlers learn about music and rhythm as they explore instruments. Staff extend learning, introducing words to replicate the sounds the children make with their instruments. Toddlers enthusiastically show their recall skills, and they sing nursery rhymes with great gusto. Pre-school-age children show clear interest in knowing and using simple sign language. For example, they ask staff about the sign for jellyfish and then proceed to draw one. Staff seamlessly weave counting and calculations into the activity. This increases children's understanding of how many things they have and how many more they need.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance staff's understanding of effective techniques and the use of positive reinforcement to further support children's understanding of the consequences of their actions n strengthen staff's knowledge of consistently supporting all children to understand what is happening next, including changes of routine.
- 14 April 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
Still missing for Beech Tree Childcare
- 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 £8.00 an hour 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.