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Day nursery in Arlesey

Best Nursery (Arlesey)

GoodBirth to 8+Long established

A day nursery in Arlesey for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 17:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2024. Open since 2016, with 65 places.

Call 01462 732168Their 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 Central Bedfordshire

£7.00an hour, typical for a 2 years old
£6.50an 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 Central Bedfordshire 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
07:30 to 17:30, 5 days a weekFrom their Google listing
Funded hours
Not published, so ask them
How many children
65 placesLarge for England
How long open
11 yearsLong established
Address
High Street, Arlesey, SG15 6SL

Where it is

SG15 6SL
Ofsted URN EY494589On the register since 4 April 2016
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 inspector, 21 May 2024 · read the full report

What it is like to attend

Staff provide children with an interesting and welcoming environment at this bright and busy nursery. Staff plan activities with children's interests in mind, which helps children to engage in learning and develop their concentration. When children in the pre-school room enjoy finding plastic bugs in some mud indoors, staff encourage children to look for real-life bugs in the garden. They enable children to complete the task by providing good-quality resources, including magnifying pots and a bug checklist. Children investigate areas of the garden with staff by looking under logs and digging in planters. They excitedly tell staff they have found a slug and continue looking for more. This helps to build on children's curiosity about nature and develop a genuine love of learning.

Children are developing a strong sense of self at the nursery. Staff say babies'

names when they roll balls to them. This helps babies begin to understand when it is their turn and when it is their friend's turn. Staff help older children to recognise and name emotions. Children are beginning to learn about how to regulate their feelings and behaviour. Children feel safe to share when they have had minor disagreements with their friends. Staff help them to understand how to negotiate these moments and how to help their friends feel better. As a result, children show others how to be kind to their friends.

What Ofsted told them to improve

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

- help staff to consistently build on activities to further stretch and challenge children's thinking.

  • 21 May 2024Good
  • 27 June 2018Good

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

Still missing for Best Nursery (Arlesey)

  • 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.

Busy Bees, Stotfold

Day nursery · The Grange, 70 High Street, Stotfold, Hitchin, SG5 4LD

GoodBirth to 8+07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week★ 4.0 Google, 864 placesOpen for decades
1.6 mi
4 min drive
01462 734306Their website

Merry Poppets Nursery

Day nursery · Bld 942, Raf Henlow, Henlow, SG16 6DN

GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Babies from 3 months08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week★ 5.0 Google, 18106 placesLong established
1.7 mi
5 min drive
01462 850242Their 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 Arlesey