Castalia Montessori Day Nursery and Preschool
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.2 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in London for babies from 9 months up to school age, 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 May 2023. Open since 2014, with 26 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 hours childcare funding for disadvantaged children and the new extend 15 hours entitlement for working parents of 9 month plus children (full 30 Hours childcare funding).
Worth knowing. Please note, we do not charge extra on top of government-funded hours. Charges are only for additional sessions you require.
What childcare usually costs in Tower Hamlets
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Tower Hamlets 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
E14 3NGWhat 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, 31 May 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily at this warm and welcoming setting. The staff greet the children with a smile and ask them about their day. Children show they feel safe and secure as they confidently separate from their parents. The effective keyperson system is well embedded within the setting. Children have formed strong bonds with the staff, who know them very well.
Staff have high expectations for all children, and children make good progress from their individual starting points. Children are happy and play independently. Staff are kind and warm with the children. They provide a varied range of activities based on children's interests. Children are keen to get involved in the activities on offer and show positive attitudes to learning. For example, they happily cut real vegetables and make fruit tea in the role-play area. Children receive lots of praise from the staff, and this helps them to build their confidence and self-esteem.
Children have excellent opportunities to develop their fine and gross motor skills.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- continue to develop staff's interactions with children to help enhance children's critical thinking skills even further.
- 31 May 2023Good
- 26 October 2017Outstanding
- 22 July 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Castalia Montessori Day Nursery and Preschool
- What it costs
- 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
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.