Briar Dene Nursery
GoodBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Preston for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2025. Open since 2017, with 20 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 Lancashire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Lancashire 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
PR4 6RPWhat 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.
- 22 July 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 22 September 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children run happily into the nursery, separating from parents with ease. They have lovely relationships with staff, who get to know them well. Children are confident in the environment and know the daily routine. Staff are clear about their expectations for positive behaviour and remind children about the importance of sharing and taking turns. Staff quickly recognise when children are becoming overwhelmed and need more support to regulate their emotions. This helps children to feel secure and promotes their emotional well-being.
Overall, staff implement a broad and interesting curriculum that helps children to make progress. They sing songs and rhymes throughout the day that complement what children are learning. For instance, when playing in the water, staff sing songs about fish and use a toy fish as a visual representation. This helps to support children's understanding, particularly those who need extra help with their communication and language development. Staff introduce new words, such as
'spikey', 'smooth' and 'crunchy', to help describe items from the autumnal exploration tray. They encourage children to copy new words and use them in their play. Children are fluent communicators and have a good understanding of how back-and-forth conversations are structured.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the sequencing of the curriculum for whole group activities to help all children learn new skills in the correct order n provide parents with more precise feedback on children's next steps and how they can support learning at home n build on the programme of professional development to enhance staff knowledge and provide more consistency in the quality of education.
- 22 September 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 18 June 2025Inadequate
- 10 September 2019Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Briar Dene Nursery
- 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.