Circus Day Nursery Ltd
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.3 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Cheltenham for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £9.80 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2024. Open since 1997, with 119 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
51 weeks a year, price list dated April 1st 2026.
| Age | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £5.90pre-booked £6.20Breakfast Club (includes breakfast) | £9.80 |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £85.00 Joining registration fee (one off)
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £20.00 Permanent changes to sessions
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £2.60 an hour Hourly rate for selective items (not included in funding)
Funded hours
15, 30 hours and two year Government Funding; 30 hours from 9 months from September 2026.
Worth knowing. Consumable charges do apply to the 15 and 30 hour subsidised funding; additional drinks, snacks, food, nappies and accessories etc will be charged as extra during your 'free funded' period only; funded hours spread over 51 weeks.
What childcare usually costs in Gloucestershire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Gloucestershire 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
GL52 2PZWhat 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.
- 22 April 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 8 October 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are safe and secure in this calming nursery. Children form strong attachments with familiar staff who know them well. Staff gather information from parents and use their own observations of children to provide the support children need to settle quickly into nursery life. This continues as they move through the nursery into older rooms.
The provider and staff have worked hard since the last inspection to construct and implement a broad and meaningful curriculum for all children. Staff focus on ensuring that children are well prepared for their next stage of learning and for starting school. Staff support babies to develop their physical skills and encourage them to take measured risks in the environment. For example, babies crawl over different surfaces and begin to navigate steps and low slides. Toddlers develop a love of books from a young age. They self-select books, turn pages with interest and share their excitement with staff as they identify familiar characters. Older children are independent, confident and have a positive attitude to learning. For example, during free play, children attempt to complete large floor puzzles. When they encounter difficulty, supporting staff use words of praise and encouragement.
Children persist, and when they achieve, they beam with pride.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the organisation of transitions throughout the day to ensure that children receive consistent support, guidance and engagement at these times.
- 8 October 2024Good
- 13 November 2023Needs improvement
- 25 November 2022Needs improvement
- 8 December 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 4 graded inspections.
Still missing for Circus Day Nursery Ltd
- 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 £9.80 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.