Caldecote Preschool
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Cambridge for children from birth to 5, open 08:00 to 15:00, 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 2022, with 28 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 Cambridgeshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cambridgeshire 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
CB23 7NXWhat 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, 8 May 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are sociable, confident explorers, who enjoy their time in the warm and welcoming pre-school. They enthusiastically follow their interests and are keen to build on what they already know and understand. Children listen to the explanations staff provide, helping them find out about the world around them.
While they listen to staff and their friends, children find new words to help them expand their vocabularies. Children who speak English as an additional language are delighted to hear words in the language they use at home, through an electronic device. This helps them feel valued in the pre-school. Staff use visual aids to help children settle and become familiar with the routines of the day. This contributes to children's growing confidence. Children's emotional well-being is central to the well planned curriculum the manager and her team facilitate for all children.
Children gravitate to the inviting activities and areas that staff carefully position.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to identify when and how to add more focused challenge to children's self-chosen play and explorations to help maintain children's engagement in purposeful activity n gather even more initial information about what children already know and understand to help identify next steps in learning right from the start.
- 8 May 2024Good
Still missing for Caldecote Preschool
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.