Elm Lane Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Dagenham for babies from 6 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2025. Open since 2008, with 35 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 hours working parents 9mths-2 years; 15 hours Free Early Education Funding for Children aged 2 years; 15 hours and 30 hours for 3-4 years.
Worth knowing. All funding places are for TIME ONLY. Top up sessions available with an additional charge. For 3-4 years funded children additional charge for meals £2.50 a day or bring snack and packed lunch.
What childcare usually costs in Barking and Dagenham
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Barking and Dagenham 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
RM10 9URWhat 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.
- 18 March 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
- 4 October 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 17 September 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enjoy their time at this inviting nursery. Friendly and welcoming staff provide a caring environment, which helps children settle. A robust key-person system means staff know children, their needs and interests well. Staff plan for children according to their interests and next steps. For example, this is evident during a group activity using a mirror, where children talk about their emotions.
Staff link them to children's most recent experiences. Leaders ensure the curriculum is ambitious for all children. Staff support children well, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), especially during transitions. Staff use a range of strategies to meet their individual needs. All children make good progress.
Children behave well and learn the routines of the setting. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. For example, they introduce, 'Golden nursery rules' from an early stage, which helps children to feel secure and understand expectations. As a result, children develop a clear sense of routine and boundaries.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen consistent opportunities for all children to further develop their gross motor development, including large-muscle control and core strength.
- support staff to offer activities suitable for all children to further encourage their engagement and learning.
- 17 September 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 12 December 2024Needs improvement Safeguarding: Yes
- 17 January 2024Needs improvement
- 1 August 2023Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 4 graded inspections.
Still missing for Elm Lane Day Nursery
- What it costs
- 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.
- What does it cost, all in? 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.