Lilypads Daycare
Good★ 4.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Dudley for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in December 2022. Open since 2017, with 27 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 Dudley
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Dudley 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
DY1 1DWWhat 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, 6 December 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thoroughly enjoy the time they spend with staff at the nursery. Staff are nurturing and attentive, and children form close bonds with them. Children show that they feel safe, secure and ready to learn. They have high levels of enthusiasm and engagement as they join in activities with staff or follow their own play ideas.
Two-year-old children sustain their interest for extending amounts of time. They focus very well as they carefully mix ingredients to make reindeer food and then use their fingers to pack the food into small bags.
Staff skilfully support children to develop a love of books. Children respond with excitement and enthusiasm as staff read stories to them. Staff make good use of the opportunity to help children to develop their understanding of the themes included in the books. For example, pre-school children explore what it is like to throw snowballs and excitedly help to create the effect of falling snow.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: - use the information obtained from the assessment of children's achievements to identify precise and ambitious learning targets that fully extend children's knowledge and skills n extend the parent partnership working to fully inform parents about the current focus for their children's learning.
- 6 December 2022Good
- 24 January 2022Needs improvement
- 21 November 2019Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Lilypads Daycare
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.