Little Ducklings Preschool
GoodBirth to 5Open a few years
A day nursery in Pickering for children from birth to 5, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2024. Open since 2023, with 25 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 North Yorkshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in North Yorkshire 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
YO18 7ANWhat 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, 15 May 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily and settle quickly due to the warm welcome provided by staff. Their settled behaviour shows that they feel safe with the staff. Senior staff create a streamlined day that helps children to focus on their learning. Children are secure in the well-planned and well-rehearsed routines. Parents comment that the structure provided at pre-school has helped their children to listen and concentrate.
Children are keen to talk about their pre-school and what they have learnt. Due to effective teaching, children remember when they waited for chickens to hatch from the eggs. They are excited to see the changes to the caterpillars. They talk about the importance of self-care as they bath the dolls or play the toothbrushing game.
Children are motivated and enjoy their learning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- introduce more opportunities for babies and younger children to develop their physical skills indoors as they would at home, for example, by adding resources for them to safely pull themselves up and/or climb n continue to improve monitoring systems to provide even greater consistency in the quality of teaching, for example, in the use of labelled praise and in helping children to practice key vocabulary.
- 15 May 2024Good
Still missing for Little Ducklings Preschool
- 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.