Little Blue Van (Great Amwell)
GoodBirth to 8+Long established
A pre-school in Great Amwell, Ware for children from birth to 8+, open 07:00 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 March 2022. Open since 2014, with 28 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 Hertfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hertfordshire 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
SG12 9SHWhat 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, 28 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and feel safe in this nurturing and caring environment. They develop close and trusting relationships with staff, who put children's well-being and security at the heart of everything they do. Children communicate their feelings well. They confidently tell visitors what they do outside of the nursery, such as visiting the park with their mum, dad and sister.
Children invite their friends and staff to join in their play. They wait patiently for their turn to pay for a pretend cake. Children have plenty of fun and excitedly take part in messy play. After squeezing a plastic container, they enjoy watching red paint spurt into a tray. Children watch, listen to, and follow staff's clear instructions. After carefully dipping raw potato in paint, they press it onto a piece of paper and reveal the mark it makes. Children show a sense of pride at this achievement and smile at staff who give them plenty of praise. They show perseverance as they repeat this action to make a pattern. Children learn how to keep themselves safe through gentle reminders from staff.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- reflect more closely on the impact of training to help evaluate how this contributes to the continued quality of teaching to support children's learning n review staff's use of assessments during group activities to ensure that they consistently support the learning needs of all children as well as possible.
- 28 March 2022Good
- 21 March 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Blue Van (Great Amwell)
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.