Flying Gulls
GoodBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Helston for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 17:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 2019, with 21 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 Cornwall
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cornwall 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
TR12 7DFWhat 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, 8 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and demonstrate they feel safe. They arrive calmly and confidently and are greeted warmly by the friendly staff. With support, children explore the well-resourced environment and settle quickly to an activity. They benefit from a broad range of experiences planned by staff that help children to develop their skills and knowledge in good preparation for school. For example, two-year-old children learn to count and pre-school children confidently identify some written numbers and letters. They listen well to stories and enthusiastically join in with repeated refrains. Pre-school children are eager to make marks during activities and proudly show staff their attempts at writing their name.
Through positive praise and a respect for children's cultural backgrounds, children learn to be confident about who they are. Children who speak English as an additional language are welcomed by staff who use some key words in the children's home languages to help build their self-worth. Children are kind to each other and learn to use good manners. For example, they thank their friends for sharing items and grin while giving appreciative 'thumbs up' gestures.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop the planning of activities to take account of all children's individual learning needs, to provide good challenge consistently and engage them further n strengthen the curriculum for communication and language to provide all children with consistent support and encouragement to develop their speaking skills n strengthen the monitoring, support and coaching for staff to provide greater consistency in their practice, with particular regard to helping children learn to be independent.
- 8 March 2022Good
- 9 December 2021Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Flying Gulls
- 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.