Little Explorers Nursery
OutstandingTakes funded hours★ 3.4 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Sheffield for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £62.80 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in May 2025. Open since 2014, with 59 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
50 weeks a year, price list dated Sept 25.
| Age | Full day | Session | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £62.80 | £31.40Morning or Afternoon, 5 hrs |
Discounts
- 5% 5% discount for a second child attending at the same time
- 5% 5% discount for a 40 hours
- 8% 8% discount for 50 hours
Funded hours
3 hour funded places available for term only, sessions for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Worth knowing. 50p voluntary snack contribution.
What childcare usually costs in Rotherham
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Rotherham 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
S26 5REWhat 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, 7 May 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children make strong and consistent progress from their individual starting points during their time with the well-qualified and purposeful staff. They are very well prepared for the next stage in their education and development, including starting school. Children learn, for example, to develop their imagination and persist at challenging tasks. For instance, babies build their observational awareness and physical skills as they follow and reach out for the colourful bubbles blowing around the room. Two-year-olds refine their fine hand control as they rhythmically tap wooden beaters and other instruments in time with the many well-remembered nursery rhymes and other songs they choose.
Children learn to become independent and confident communicators. For instance, three- and four-year-old children build strongly on their language skills and understanding of the world as they demonstrate how to handle and care for the hens they have bred. They talk knowledgeably about the 'incubator' that the chickens 'hatched' in and the way the hens 'peck the ground' in search for food.
Children are safe and secure. They rise to staff's high expectations for good manners and positive social behaviour. For instance, children engage in polite, friendly discussions throughout the nutritious snack and mealtimes. They develop their management of cutlery and use of open cups as they progress through nursery.
- 7 May 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 1 October 2019Outstanding
- 21 December 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Explorers Nursery
- 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.
- Is £62.80 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.