Little Tinkers
Ofsted report card Mar 2026Takes funded hours★ 4.3 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Mayfield for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Inspected under Ofsted's new report card in March 2026. Open since 2009, with 64 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 or 30 free hours; working parent funding allocated at 11 or 22 hours per week over the year from September to August.
Worth knowing. The working parent funding will be allocated at 11 or 22 hours per week over the year from September to August (we will not charge for the week that we close in August.).
What childcare usually costs in East Sussex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in East Sussex 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
TN20 6JJWhat Ofsted found, area by area
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives a standard in each of seven areas rather than one overall grade. Expected standard means it is doing what it should.
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.
- 24 March 2026Report card seven areas graded separately Safeguarding: Not met
- 14 February 2022Good
- 25 September 2019Good
- 13 August 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Tinkers
- What it costs
- 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
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date.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.
- 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.