Castle Hill Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Basingstoke for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2024. Open since 2000, with 30 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
HCC's Early Years' Education universal funding (EYE 15 hours funding for all 3 and 4 year olds); HCC's additional 15 hours EYE funding (these two combine to total 30 hours funded); HCC's Early Years Education 15 hours funding for 2 year olds.
What childcare usually costs in Hampshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hampshire 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
RG23 8JQWhat 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 October 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff create a warm and nurturing environment for children. The cheerful and relaxed atmosphere ensures that children feel comfortable and settle in quickly.
Children arrive happy and excited to see their friends. They independently put away their belongings and enthusiastically engage in activities of interest. For example, children enjoy taking on different roles as they engage in pretend play.
They use clipboards and pens to collect orders in their café and practise their early writing skills.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen staff interactions with children to continually support and enhance their developing speech and vocabulary to an even higher level.
- 11 October 2024Good
- 6 December 2023Needs improvement
- 23 February 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Castle Hill Pre-School
- 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Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date.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.