Little Owls Day Nursery
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Dereham for babies from a few weeks old up to school age, open 07:30 to 06:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 2008, with 100 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
From 1st September 2025 most working families have access to up to 1140 hours of funding per academic year. Families can access either 570 hours per academic year or 1140 hours per academic year.
Worth knowing. At Little Owls we implement a stretched offer for funding which includes all of the school holidays, apart from the summer holidays, within the academic year. Please note that the academic year runs from September to mid-July. Therefore, early education funding is not offered during the 6 weeks of the summer holidays. At Little Owls the additional charges are for meals and consumables, which are optional.
What childcare usually costs in Norfolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Norfolk 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
NR19 1LRWhat 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, 16 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The nursery provides an environment that helps children to flourish and thrive and puts their needs at the heart of everything that they do. Children have formed close attachments with staff, who greet them with a warm and friendly welcome.
Staff support children to quickly become absorbed in activities that ignite their curiosity and thirst for learning. For instance, they enthusiastically gather around blocks of ice and consider ways in which they can get the flowers out that are stuck in them. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and are good role models. They teach children to be respectful, empathetic and considerate to one another. For example, when children struggle to put their coats on, their peers offer them a helping hand and staff quickly praise their kind behaviour.
The quality of teaching is exemplary across the whole of the staff team. Children of all ages consistently demonstrate extremely high levels of interest and engagement. Staff plan activities effectively, based around the children's interests and focus on teaching them new skills, celebrating children's achievements throughout. They support children to learn how to regulate their emotions by exploring in the well-designed sensory room. Staff encourage them to join in with daily yoga sessions and use the relaxing meditation area in the garden. This supports children's sense of self-confidence and emotional well-being.
- 16 January 2024Outstanding
- 21 March 2018Outstanding
- 21 March 2014Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Owls Day Nursery
- What it costs
- 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.