Clowns Childrens Centre Clay Cross
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Clay Cross for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2022. Open since 2005, with 88 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 Derbyshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Derbyshire 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
S45 9AQWhat 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, 27 January 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children demonstrate secure attachments with staff as they confidently move around the setting. They make good progress and have a consistently positive attitude towards learning. Children are highly motivated to join in with planned activities. For example, pre-school children are keen explorers. They demonstrate good problem-solving skills as they decide with each other the best place to sprinkle birdseed. They excitedly search the sky and trees for birds, using their cardboard binoculars. Staff stretch children's development by providing them with a visual reference sheet, where children then use their observational skills to identify, match and count the different birds. Children are very eager to share their findings with staff and each other.
Children are well prepared for their future success. They keenly engage with the stimulating environment and the good range of learning resources. They show excellent engagement levels with their chosen activities. For example, toddlers show high levels of concentration as they investigate cornflour and experiment with ways to make the mixture change from a solid to a liquid. They develop smallmuscle skills as they learn to handle tools while they participate in making patterns and shapes in the mixture. Staff and children talk together about how the cornflour feels, where children hear new vocabulary such as 'gooey' and 'gloopy'.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to consider the needs of individual children more closely when putting them into groups for activities and routines
- help children to understand the purpose of hygiene routines and the benefits of eating nutritious food.
- 27 January 2022Good
- 12 August 2014Outstanding
- 3 October 2011Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Clowns Childrens Centre Clay Cross
- 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.