Little Acorns Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.2 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Chesterfield for babies from a few weeks old up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £77.00 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2024. Open since 2013, with 52 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
51 weeks a year.
| Age | Full day | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £25.009.00-6.00 or 8.00-5.00 £37.508.00-6.00 £42.507.30-6.00 £77.00 | £12.508.00-1.00 or 1.00-5.00, 5 hrs £52.00Am/ PM | £12.50outside the funded entitlement hours |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £100.00 Non refundable registration feeupon securing a private nursery placement, not refundable
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £6.00 a day Meals and snacks optional extrawhen securing a purely funded placement
Discounts
- 20% Tax free childcare scheme reductionpayment via the government tax free scheme
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Up to 30 hours per week (during term time weeks), funded sessions for qualifying children aged 9months+.
Worth knowing. Funded hours delivered 9.00am-4.00pm free of charge; meals/snacks/consumables not included; funded-only places term time (38 weeks); additional hours charged at £12.50/hour; optional meals £6.00/day.
What childcare usually costs in Derbyshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Derbyshire 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
S40 4AAWhat 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, 29 May 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children and parents are greeted warmly by staff as they arrive at nursery. Staff enthusiastically engage them in discussions about what they have been doing since they last came to the nursery. Children develop positive relationships with the staff, who know them well. This helps children to feel safe and secure and promotes their self-esteem. Older children settle quickly and are eager to explore the resources and activities. They excitedly run outside to play with their friends and negotiate taking turns to go down the slide. In the baby room, staff secure strong bonds with babies as they help them to stand. Babies sit on the knees of staff as they share stories. Outside, staff praise toddlers as they teach them to ride on balance bikes. Children are delighted with their success and show positive attitudes to learning.
Staff encourage children to persevere to complete tasks and offer praise when they achieve them. For example, staff support children to find out information about different types of transport as they research facts together from photos, books and the internet. Staff have high expectations for children's learning and behaviour.
They encourage children to be kind and thoughtful towards each other. Children invite each other into their play. For example, older children pass bubble blowers to each other so that everyone has a turn.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- focus more precisely on the intention of planned activities to support all children's learning n help staff implement the curriculum for communication and language to increase opportunities for toddlers to use newly acquired vocabulary.
- 29 May 2024Good
- 25 June 2018Good
- 8 April 2014Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Acorns Day Nursery
- 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 £77.00 a day 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.