Ducklings
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Milton Keynes for children from birth to 8+, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2021. Open since 2004, with 48 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 Milton Keynes
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Milton Keynes 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
MK4 2DFWhat 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, 22 November 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children follow a curriculum that promotes their good attitudes and dispositions towards learning. Staff have high ambitions for what children can do and they successfully build on what children already know. As a result, children make good progress relevant to their age and stage of development. Children explore a wide range of activities and decide where and how they want to learn. For example, children play in the garden when they choose and ask staff for resources they enjoy playing with. Older children are articulate and fluent in their speech. They speak with such confidence that their words come out in a hurry as they are so eager to share their ideas. Staff manage this well, listening and drawing other children into the lively conversations. Children display high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Staff greet children as they arrive, and children run into the pre-school happily. Staff offer continual reassurance and genuine affection as children learn to separate from their parents for the first time.
Children's behaviour is consistently good. They follow direction and even the youngest children know the familiar daily routine. This helps children to feel safe and secure as they know what to expect during the day. When children are tired, staff provide a cosy and safe place for them to sleep.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- expand on imaginative and role-play areas to further excite and entice children to build on their play and extend their ideas n gather more information from parents about children's home lives and experiences to build on children's learning about differences and similarities from the very start.
- 22 November 2021Good
- 30 January 2018Good
- 5 July 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Ducklings
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.