Little Ducklings Preschool
GoodBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Heanor for children from birth to 8+, open 08:30 to 15:45, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2023. Open since 2015, 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 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
DE75 7DRWhat 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, 19 June 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children show a sense of belonging in the pre-school. For example, when they arrive, they hang their coats and place their shoes in their allocated space. Children who speak English as an additional language use objects in their play that reflects and celebrates their culture. For instance, at snack time, staff provide children with chopsticks to eat their snack. Staff encourage children to help each other. For example, when children make play dough and a child has two bowls of flour, staff ask other children what the child can do. Children reply, 'You can share'.
Outdoors, children show good balance and coordination when they use tricycles to negotiate space and when they climb on stepping stones. They receive praise from staff when they say 'I'm doing it'. This shows their positive attitude to learning.
Children are very sociable with their peers. When they initiate a ball game of catching and throwing, they laugh when it lands on top of a parachute. Staff use this opportunity to encourage children to use language to describe position. When staff ask if the ball is underneath, children happily reply, 'on the top'. Staff support children's understanding further of mathematics when they talk to them about shapes. Children learn that a rectangle has two long sides and two short sides, and that the building blocks they use are called cubes.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- explore how to allocate staff more effectively during planned large-group activities to help children get the most from the learning offered n help staff to be more aware of children who need support to develop their confidence to play games with their peers.
- 19 June 2023Good
- 31 October 2017Good
- 7 March 2017Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
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.