Fordfield House Nursery & After School Club
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Bedford 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 June 2023. Open since 1992, with 80 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Nursery Education Funding.
Worth knowing. Government funding does not cover consumables like meals, nappy changing, or sun cream. These charges will be applied to your account when your child is accessing funding.
What childcare usually costs in Central Bedfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Central Bedfordshire 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
MK45 2HZWhat 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.
- 12 March 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 20 June 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and settle quickly in the nursery. They are motivated to learn and explore with their friends and with the attentive staff. For example, babies and very young children feel play dough. They listen intently to the words staff use to describe what they are doing, such as 'squeeze' and 'stretch'. Staff praise children when they have a go at repeating the words, contributing to their expanding communication and language development.
Children take advantage of the outdoor environment. For example, children jump in puddles with great delight, watching how high the water reaches up to their wellington boots. Others collect water in pans and cups before announcing to staff that they are going to 'cook' in the mud kitchen. Children spend time in the nursery allotment. They learn about the fruit and vegetables they grow and eat, contributing to their recognition and appreciation of a nutritious diet.
Children enjoy challenges, such as negotiating an obstacle course. Before they begin, staff encourage them to feel their chests to check their heart rates. Children compare the changes before and after exercise, helping them understand important facts about their bodies. This contributes to children's growing awareness of making healthy choices.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to focus more precisely on what each child knows and needs to learn next when they plan activities, helping children make the best possible progress n support staff to consistently encourage children to contribute to keeping themselves and others safe through taking responsibility of where they leave resources and possessions.
- 20 June 2023Good
- 17 November 2017Good
- 11 May 2017Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Fordfield House Nursery & After School Club
- What it costs
- 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.