Ipstones Tiny Tots
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Stoke-On-Trent for babies from 6 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £6.93 an hour for 6 months - 2 and a half years old, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2025. Open since 2001, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Seedling Room (6 months - 2 and a half years old) £6.93 per hour
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Funded hours
15 hours for eligible working parents of 2 year olds from April 2024; 15 hours extended to eligible working parents of children from 9 months to 3 years old from September 2024; 30 hours for eligible working parents with a child from 9 months old up to school age from September 2025.
What childcare usually costs in Staffordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Staffordshire 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
ST10 2LDWhat 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, 21 February 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children play beautifully together, demonstrating secure friendships. For example, they imitate staff's language during play and work together to build an obstacle course. When they find useful resources, they call their peers over and work together to carry them back to the course. Children show creativity as they use a pretend drill to 'fix' the pieces together. Staff consistently praise children for their achievements, such as through wall displays that celebrate their efforts.
Children enjoy looking at books. For example, young children sit happily turning the pages. Older children vote for which book they would like to listen to, promoting fair decision-making. Staff actively involve children in stories by encouraging them to think about what is happening. For instance, children notice the empty bowl, remembering that 'Goldilocks' ate all the porridge. Staff encourage children to talk about healthy food choices. For example, children recognise that fruit is healthy and chocolate is not. They understand that chocolate contains milk and where milk comes from. This shows children's growing awareness of the world around them.
Staff assist children who need extra support in their speech and language skills. For example, they collaborate with external professionals to gain advice, use speech and language tools to identify any gaps and send home learning packs for parents and carers to build on children's communication skills at home. Funding is carefully allocated to resources, such as a 'light box' to promote small-group exploration. A
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance the curriculum linked to personal development, ensuring staff provide the appropriate support to promote children's learning and foster their independence n find ways to further engage parents in their children's learning and gather feedback, strengthening partnerships and contributing to the setting's continuous improvement.
- 21 February 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 10 May 2019Outstanding
- 10 May 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Ipstones Tiny Tots
- 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.
- Is £6.93 an hour still the rate? 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.