Bell Day Pre-school
GoodBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Saffron Walden for children from birth to 8+, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2025. Open since 2019, with 24 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Essex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Essex 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
CB11 3EGWhat 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, 16 May 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are at the centre of this unique pre-school. Fun-loving staff personalise care and teaching to ensure all children's individual personalities and characters shine through and they flourish. Staff get to know children incredibly well before they start. They offer a home visit, bespoke settling-in processes and a robust keyperson system, all adding to children's steady transition to pre-school. Staff use their in-depth knowledge of children to plan activities that consider individual interests and are familiar to them. Therefore, they feel safe and comfortable in their environment and ready to explore, play and learn.
Children benefit from a superb and endless array of wider experiences in the local community, where they learn about the wider world and their place in it. These extra-curricular activities include swimming, trips to the local town, market, pet shop, forest school and visits from the local police and fire service. This wellrounded start to children's early education, creates curiosity and wonder for lifelong learning. Children develop care and empathy for living things. They remind visitors to look at a spider from a distance, so not to hurt or scare it. Staff reinforce expected kind and positive behaviours with meaningful praise for children's care of the spider.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- help staff to consistently provide meaningful interactions to further enhance and extend children's learning n implement effective teaching strategies consistently to support children's deeper understanding of safe and positive behaviours and the impact their behaviour has on others.
- 16 May 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 16 July 2019Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Bell Day Pre-school
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? 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.