Bluebell Hill Children's Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.8 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Eastbourne for babies from 9 months up to 5 year olds, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2025. Open since 2007, with 62 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Government funding is available for children from the age of 9 months to 4 years.
Worth knowing. At Bluebell Children's Nurseries, we 'stretch' the funding across the 51 weeks a year that we are open.
What childcare usually costs in East Sussex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in East 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
BN23 6LJWhat 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, 11 July 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The new and inspired leadership team has taken swift and effective measures to address the weaknesses identified during the last inspection. Children are welcomed into a safe and happy environment where they are at the centre of the affectionate and nurturing practice of staff. They develop strong bonds with staff, who support their emotional development well. For example, babies seek out staff for reassurance and cuddles, while staff help older children to express their needs in words.
Children play in an exciting environment that is planned around their needs and stages of development. Staff know what the children enjoy, their interests and skills, and they use this to sequence a curriculum that is as educational as it is fun.
For example, children challenge their balance and core stability when they walk across the sensory path or develop strength in their shoulders when they sweep with brooms. This provides children with opportunities to improve and practise key physical skills.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- monitor staff practice more closely to help embed consistency of staff record keeping of routines and incidents n improve staff deployment during times of change in the routine to help maintain a calm environment for young children n enhance communication and information sharing with parents whose children speak English as an additional language, to further support children's learning.
- 11 July 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 29 January 2025Needs improvement Safeguarding: Yes
- 17 October 2019Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Bluebell Hill Children's Nursery
- What it costs
- 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.
- 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.