Caterpillars Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Southampton for from 2 years up to school age, open 08:30 to 15:15, 5 days a week. £6.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2024. Open since 1999, with 48 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
All other sessions are charged at £6.00 per hour and are payable per half-term or weekly by arrangement with the Manager.
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
2 year additional support to eligible 2 year olds: 15 hrs free early education and childcare; Early years education funding (3-4 years): 15 hrs a week during term time; 30 hours free childcare; Early Years Pupil Premium; Tax free Childcare.
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
SO40 2ZZWhat 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, 25 June 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are warmly welcomed into the pre-school by staff who recognise and value their uniqueness. Staff get to know children well. They build strong, trusting bonds to help children feel safe and secure. Staff place a strong focus on children's personal, social and emotional development. They understand the importance this has for children, from the outset. Children learn how to recognise and respect the differing needs of their peers. Where children need additional help with sharing and turn-taking, staff sensitively offer support. They praise children as they listen to their friends and share turns with favourite toys.
Staff have high expectations for all children. They plan and create play experiences which motivate children to learn. For instance, staff ignite children's curiosity to create colours as they excitedly notice what happens as they mix red and blue powder paints. Children develop good mathematical skills. Staff use daily activities to embed this area of learning well. For instance, older children count how many of their friends are in the line as they return from playing outdoors. Younger children confidently recognise shapes. For example, they identify in their drawings how 'this is only half rectangle' as they develop good knowledge of some mathematical concepts. All children, including those in receipt of additional funding and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support all staff to extend and challenge children's learning as they join them at activities n build on the already good partnerships with parents to share more detailed information about children's learning at pre-school and help them to continue and extend at home.
- 25 June 2024Good
- 1 October 2018Good
- 21 April 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Caterpillars Pre-School
- 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.
- Is £6.00 an hour still the rate? 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.