Linden House Nursery
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Dunstable for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 September 2024. Open since 2002, with 36 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 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
LU6 1SEWhat 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, 5 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children play and learn happily with their friends. They make choices about some of the activities they would like to join in, contributing to their ability to follow their interests. Babies crawl and practise their newly acquired walking skills, enabling them to explore and discover the resources staff set out for them. The attentive staff recognise when babies are tired, settling them to sleep with their special toys and comforters they bring from home. This helps babies feel secure right from the start.
Staff plan a varied curriculum to help all children build on what they already know and understand. For example, children play a matching game with staff. They talk about the pictures they can see and wait their turn to choose a card. This helps children build on their language skills, while strengthening their ability to take turns and follow a sequence of instructions. Children join in familiar routines, such as brushing their teeth, every day. This helps to promote positive attitudes towards good oral health and hygiene from a very early age.
Staff give gentle reminders to help encourage children to begin to regulate their emotions while they join in activities. This contributes to children's good behaviour and the positive attitudes they have towards others. As a result, children play in a harmonious atmosphere.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- encourage children, giving them more time to develop their own thinking skills to help promote independent learning n support staff to extend children's individual learning experiences through appropriately focused challenges.
- 5 September 2024Good
- 23 October 2018Good
- 8 May 2018Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Linden House Nursery
- 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.