MadHatters Pre School Nursery
Good★ 3.4 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Scarborough 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 April 2025. Open since 2012, with 34 places.
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 North Yorkshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in North Yorkshire 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
YO12 7SZWhat 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, 24 April 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are enthusiastic, curious and confident learners. They receive tailored settling-in sessions to ensure they feel settled and secure in the nursery. Children arrive happily at nursery and are eager to join in. They form firm friendships with their peers and strong bonds with staff. Staff are respectful and polite to children and one another. This promotes children's emotional well-being and helps them to feel safe. The nursery's routines are well embedded and help children to know what to expect.
Staff plan an ambitious curriculum. They organise the environment well to enable children to make independent choices in their play. Overall, children are motivated to engage in their learning. This contributes to the good progress that they make.
For example, children eagerly flick paint onto paper and staff teach them about colours and textures. They benefit from meaningful praise from staff. Children listen and respond well to staff's instructions. Their behaviour is very good.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- adapt group activities more specifically to consider the different ages and abilities of children to ensure that all children fully engage and benefit from the learning opportunities n strengthen the sharing of information between key persons and the staff team to further promote and extend individual children's learning n embed consistent strategies to support children who speak English as an additional language to develop their communication and understanding.
- 24 April 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 29 August 2019Good
- 8 January 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for MadHatters Pre School Nursery
- 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.
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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.