Ladybird Pre-school
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Cambridge for children from birth to 5, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2023. Open since 1994, with 75 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
All 3 and 4-year-olds are currently entitled to 15 hours a week (570 hours per year) free childcare for 38 weeks of the year (during term-time). For eligible working parents, you may be entitled to an additional 15 hours per week (1140 hours per year). As of September 2024, working families of children aged 9 months upwards may be entitled to 15 funded hours per week. Some families who are receivi.
Worth knowing. Any hours not covered by Government funding will be invoiced at our hourly rate.
What childcare usually costs in Cambridgeshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cambridgeshire 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
CB24 8TBWhat 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, 26 January 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are warmly greeted by staff as they arrive at the setting. They have good relationships with staff, which helps them to settle quickly into their day. Children are eager to take part in activities and talk to their peers while completing puzzles.
They sit with staff to read books and talk about their favourite stories. Children take turns at activities. For example, while making fake snow, children share the various ingredients, mixing and stirring them.
Children gain independence as they help to prepare fruit and set up cups and plates for their snack. Staff help younger children to find their bags for nappy changing. Children are able to put their own coats on when going outside, and help is available if they require it. Older children find their names independently, while younger children have a picture on their name cards to help find their names.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to be consistent in their management of children's behaviour, to reduce the impact on children's learning.
- 26 January 2023Good
- 8 June 2017Good
- 19 June 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Ladybird Pre-school
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- 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.
- 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.