Harper's Nursery School Ltd
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Bedford for babies from a few weeks old up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in November 2021. Open since 2007, with 98 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Funded places available for all three and four year olds.
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
MK44 3NXWhat 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, 11 November 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are enthusiastic and highly motivated to learn. They settle very quickly, behave very well and receive exceptionally warm and nurturing care. Children are treated with the upmost respect and as unique individuals. Children demonstrate that they feel very safe in the care of the staff. This supports children's emotional well-being extremely well and enables them to flourish. All children display curiosity and are given countless opportunities to thrive and explore their extremely wellresourced environment, including extensive outdoor areas. Children demonstrate immense pride in their achievements.
Babies, guided by nurturing staff, confidently explore and thoroughly enjoy the extensive range of sensory play opportunities provided. Babies handle three dimensional shapes, feel smooth pebbles and use their fingers to scrunch autumn leaves. Children smile with delight and enthusiastically bang wooden spoons on metal pans. They are encouraged to differentiate between loud and quiet sounds.
Younger children become totally engrossed as they mould and manipulate dough and confidently use language to express their ideas. They demonstrate great precision and control as they very carefully use toy tweezers to pick up grains of dry rice. Older children immerse themselves in their play. They use sticks and cold charcoals from the forest as mark-making tools. Older children successfully form recognisable letters and can write their name. They confidently solve simple calculation problems, count exceptionally well and learn to count up in twos.
- 11 November 2021Outstanding
- 17 September 2015Outstanding
- 12 April 2011Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Harper's Nursery School Ltd
- What it costs
- 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
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.