Caterpillar Pre School
GoodBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Mountsorrel for children from birth to 5, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2024. Open since 2016, with 30 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 Leicestershire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Leicestershire 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
LE12 7JBWhat 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.
- 19 May 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 7 March 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff warmly welcome children when they arrive at the pre-school. Children form secure and trusting attachments with staff and each other. Children are eager to get into the pre-school and begin to explore the environment and reconnect with their friends. Staff encourage children to follow simple rules. For example, children recite the rules of group times, such as good sitting and good listening. Children are well behaved and use manners, such as saying 'please' and 'thank you'.
Staff encourage children to choose where they want to play. Children can explore indoors or go outdoors. In the outdoor space, children test their handling skills.
They do this as they fill and empty buckets. They hide shapes in the sand and ask staff to guess which shape they have hidden. Indoors, staff sit with children as they develop role-play skills, imagination and social interactions in the pretend kitchen. Children of all ages and abilities show they have made good progress from their starting points. Children show especially good physical skills. For instance, children copy staff during a music-and-movement session. Outdoors, children take risks to practise their balancing. When they wobble very slightly, staff give them gentle support to keep them safe.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to use their interactions to build on what children already know and can do while children follow their own interests.
- 7 March 2024Good
- 3 May 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Caterpillar Pre School
- 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.