NurseryWise Childcare in England
Day nursery in Milton Keynes

Little Tinkers Preschool@ Fern Grove

GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Long established

A day nursery in Milton Keynes for from 1 year 6 months up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2024. Open since 2016, with 40 places.

Call 01908 371 361Their website

Cost

What it costs

Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.

Funded hours

2 year old and working parents funded children.

Worth knowing. There is no additional charge for children who stay all day for lunch although parents must provide their child with a healthy packed lunch.

What childcare usually costs in Milton Keynes

£6.60an hour, typical for a 2 years old
£7.00an 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 Milton Keynes 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
From 1 year 6 months, up to 5 year oldsRegistered with Ofsted for birth to 5.
When it's open
09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a weekFrom their Google listing
Funded hours
Takes them
Meals
Not includedparents must provide their child with a healthy packed lunch
How many children
40 placesMedium for England
How long open
10 yearsLong established
Address
Lakes Estate Community Centre, Fern Grove, Milton Keynes, MK2 3HQ

Where it is

MK2 3HQ
Ofsted URN EY536356On the register since 4 July 2016
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, 2 July 2024 · read the full report

What it is like to attend

The management team and staff are very caring and passionate about providing the very best they can for the children attending the pre-school. The supervisor offers children a very warm welcome at the main door and then staff replicate this as children enter the main pre-school room. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging and at ease in the environment. Children arrive happily and settle quickly, making choices from a range of interesting and inspiring activities and resources. Children really enjoy being creative and show sustained concentration as they work hard on their colouring and sticking, relating to pirates. Children are extremely curious and eager to learn and join in with planned activities. They are highly motivated, concentrate well and engage for long periods in activities that interest them.

The management team has a very clear intention for children's development across all areas of learning. This builds on the pre-school ethos for children to be happy, confident and independent learners. The management team and staff use a loose thematic approach to build knowledge and skills over time. The curriculum focuses on children's physical, communication and personal development and supports them to build the appropriate skills for school or their next stage in learning. Staff know and understand the learning intentions and ensure they include all children, including children who are disadvantaged and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

What Ofsted told them to improve

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

- support staff to consider how they model language to help all children learn the correct pronunciation of words to support their language development even further n review and adjust daily routines to ensure they do not have a negative impact on children's learning and development.

  • 2 July 2024Good
  • 11 September 2018Good

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

Still missing for Little Tinkers Preschool@ Fern Grove

  • What it costs
  • 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

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.
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.

Eaton Mill Nursery

Day nursery · Saffron Street, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 3AH

Good£6.00 a sessionBirth to 8+From 2 years08:35 to 15:20, 5 days a week★ 4.0 Google, 570 placesOpen for decades
0.6 mi
12 min walk
01908 373621Their 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 Milton Keynes