Little Dragons Nursery
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Reading for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2022. Open since 2003, with 64 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 and 30 hours funded childcare is available for eligible children the term after turning 9 months old. Some 2-year-olds may be eligible for 15 hours if parents receive certain benefits. All children are entitled to 15 hours from the term after their third birthday.
Worth knowing. Funding is 'stretched' over 51 weeks (instead of 38 term-time weeks), which means the funding provides 11 or 22 hours per week. For children entitled to receive 15 hours funding, this is attendance on two days from 9.30am to 3pm. For children entitled to receive 30 hours funding, this is attendance on three days. Days 1 and 2 are 9am to 4.30pm, and day 3 is 9am to 4pm.
What childcare usually costs in Reading
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Reading 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
RG30 2BAWhat 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, 20 October 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children settle well and are warmly greeted by staff on arrival. They are happy and secure in their environment with a willingness to learn. Staff know children well and focus activities on their initial interests. Children benefit from learning opportunities, respond positively and staff extend this learning. For instance, children show an interest in patterns. Staff support this interest with activities using paints with vehicles, play dough with tools that leave different marks and flour play, where children explore different patterns and prints. Children show high levels of curiosity while engaged in their play, and wallow in their experiences.
Children are encouraged to help each other and form good relationships. Staff use positive reinforcement and behavioural expectations so that children have a sense of belonging and feel safe and secure. Leaders and staff have good knowledge of the children's community and make good judgements about the experiences that they offer. For example, the pre-school pets bring the children joy and responsibility. Children are enthusiastic to feed, clean and care for them. This supports the children's well-being and offers opportunities for learning in all areas.
Children are polite, respond positively to each other and benefit fully from welldeveloped educational opportunities. Positive relationships are encouraged, and staff model expected behaviours well.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- create a language-rich environment for the youngest children to further enhance their communication and language skills n develop staff knowledge to effectively build on younger children's learning, to inform and support their next steps in learning.
- 20 October 2022Good
- 1 March 2017Good
- 17 July 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Dragons Nursery
- What it costs
- 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
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.
- 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.