NurseryWise Childcare in England
Day nursery in Chester

Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited

Good★ 4.7 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades

A day nursery in Chester for children from birth to 8+, open 07:00 to 18:15, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2025. Open since 2022, with 51 places.

Call 01244341057Their website

Cost

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 Cheshire West and Chester

£6.00an hour, typical for a 2 years old
£5.80an hour, typical for a 3 and 4 years old

This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cheshire West and Chester from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.

The basics

Places, hours and the day

Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.

Who they can take
Birth to 8+Registered from birth. Whether there is a baby room is a question for the call.
When it's open
07:00 to 18:15, 5 days a weekFrom their Google listing
Funded hours
Not published, so ask them
Google rating
4.7 out of 5From 15 Google reviews. NurseryWise has none of its own.
How many children
51 placesLarge for England
How long open
16 yearsOpen for decades
Address
Carlton House, Lightfoot Street, Chester, CH2 3AD

Where it is

CH2 3AD
Ofsted URN 2683500On the register since 9 May 2022
Ofsted

What 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 has looked into a concern about this setting. That means something was raised and Ofsted acted on it. It does not by itself say what was found — the document does.

Ofsted inspector, 5 February 2025 · read the full report

What it is like to attend

Children relish the time they spend in this safe and friendly nursery. They are energetic and motivated learners. To illustrate, quickly after arriving, children immediately explore toys and activities with enthusiasm and excitement. Staff prepare an engaging environment to support children's all-round learning. Children clearly enjoy this fun and stimulating nursery, giggling and laughing as they play.

Staff help children to enjoy reading and literacy. They successfully use humour and energy to deliver inspiring story sessions. Children are encouraged to join in familiar and repetitive parts of stories. Staff model language, pause and discuss illustrations, and children anticipate what will happen next. Children show good listening skills and concentration when reading. Furthermore, children benefit from a well-stocked library. They are encouraged to choose and borrow books. This helps to support continued learning at home.

Staff encourage children to complete tasks for themselves. They wait for children to have a go and offer plenty of encouragement to foster children's resilience. For instance, children are encouraged to wash their plates in warm soapy water after eating. Children relish this additional responsibility and stand tall when they have completed this independent task. Children are self-assured, confident and independent. Children's health is well promoted. They enjoy a nutritious menu and benefit from a freshly cooked, hot meal each day. Kitchen staff lead activities with children, such as baking. This helps children to appreciate where their food comes from and contributes to their positive attitude to healthy eating. Recipes are sent home to encourage parents to prepare balanced and economical meals for their children at home. Furthermore, mealtimes are a wonderfully social experience within the nursery. Children sit together and talk about their day, extending their social skills and continuing to foster their love of mealtimes and healthy food.

What Ofsted told them to improve

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:

- ensure that staff identify age-appropriate next steps to support children's sequenced learning, building on what they already know and can do n develop systems to enable staff to share their expert knowledge about children when they move from one room to another to enable the new key worker to support learning without interruption.

This setting re-registered. It replaced “Best Friends Day Nursery” at the same address, which had been registered since 8 June 2010. A change of owner or legal entity gives Ofsted a brand new record, so the inspections below may only cover the time since then.
  • 5 February 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
  • 17 April 2024Needs improvement

Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.

Still missing for Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited

  • 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.

Before you ring

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.
Compare

Day nurseries within a couple of miles

This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.

The Nursery in Belong

Day nursery · City House, 36 City Road, Chester, CH1 3AD

OutstandingBirth to 5Open all day, usually 8am to 6pm32 placesOpen a few years
0.3 mi
6 min walk
07817839020

Fir Cones Day Nursery

Day nursery · Firs School, 45 Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 2HJ

GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 507:45 to 18:00, 5 days a week★ 5.0 Google, 735 placesOpen a few years
0.8 mi
16 min walk
01244 322443Their website

Pick two or three to compare.

Everything here comes from Ofsted's published childcare register, under the Open Government Licence. Ratings are quoted exactly as Ofsted gave them, with their dates. Read the full Ofsted reports · How we put this together.

All childcare in Chester