NurseryWise Childcare in England
Day nursery in Norwich

Little Squirrels Play Forest

Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established

A day nursery in Norwich for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 2017, with 34 places.

Call 01603633550Their website

Cost

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 Norfolk

£5.66an hour, typical for a 2 years old
£5.50an hour, typical for a 3 and 4 years old

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.

The basics

Places, hours and the day

Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.

Who they can take
Birth to 8+Registered from birth. Whether there is a baby room is a question for the call.
When it's open
08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a weekFrom their Google listing
Funded hours
Not published, so ask them
Google rating
5.0 out of 5From 5 Google reviews. NurseryWise has none of its own.
How many children
34 placesMedium for England
How long open
9 yearsLong established
Address
Little Squirrels Play Forest, 70a Castle Quarter, Norwich, NR1 3DD

Where it is

NR1 3DD
Ofsted URN EY543579On the register since 20 April 2017
Ofsted

What 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 June 2023 · read the full report

What it is like to attend

Children learn to explore their environment and develop their curious and creative nature at this nursery. When it rains, there are plenty of resources that they select and use as they splash in puddles, collect water in containers and experiment with it. During older children's spontaneous play, staff introduce them to information about mathematics and literacy. This supports children to build their knowledge ready for the future stages of their education. Babies receive kind and sensitive care from staff who engage them in play.

The knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff give children practical and emotional support. They promote children's thinking by sharing information and posing carefully considered questions. Children develop confidence to share their thoughts. They have lots of ideas and suggestions to make. Staff value the way each individual child learns. At times, when children feel unsettled or upset, staff comfort them and acknowledge their feelings. This helps children to build trusting bonds with the staff and to feel safe and secure. Daily routines are very flexible to meet children's individual needs. For example, children are able to attend snack and mealtimes when they are ready and feel hungry. This allows them to follow through their play until a point of satisfactory completion.

What Ofsted told them to improve

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:

- develop strategies to help children to understand what they can do to ensure that their play environment remains safe and inviting for all n review the arrangements for settling new children in to the nursery to ensure that staff consistently have sufficient time available to sustain high levels of interactions and support for all children's learning.

  • 20 June 2023Good
  • 22 March 2019Good

Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.

Still missing for Little Squirrels Play Forest

  • 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.

Before you ring

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.
Compare

Day nurseries within a couple of miles

This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.

Treehouse Children's Centre

Day nursery · 30 Chatham Street, Norwich, NR3 3DN

GoodTakes funded hours£38.75 a sessionBirth to 8+From 2 years08:30 to 14:30, 5 days a week★ 4.4 Google, 1834 placesOpen for decades
0.8 mi
15 min walk
01603 665740Their website

Pick two or three to compare.

Everything here comes from Ofsted's published childcare register, under the Open Government Licence. Ratings are quoted exactly as Ofsted gave them, with their dates. Read the full Ofsted reports · How we put this together.

All childcare in Norwich