Magic Moments Pre-school
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Baldock for children from birth to 8+, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2022. Open since 2003, with 24 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 Hertfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hertfordshire 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
SG7 6ENWhat 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, 17 May 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily and settle quickly. Staff are attentive and provide comfort, particularly to new children who require extra support. Children interact confidently with staff and peers. They work together and express their ideas. For example, children create an obstacle course, using a range of large crates and tyres. This helps to promote their physical development.
Children, including those with special educational needs and or disabilities, now benefit from good curriculum opportunities. They engage in a range of activities and experiences, such as water play. Staff introduce new words and language as children discover the water moving through the tubes and funnels into bowls on the ground. This helps to extend children's communication and language development.
Children independently access books indoors and outdoors. Staff read stories to children and they listen intently. Children behave well. They learn to share and take turns through consistent messages from key staff, and they are beginning to selfregulate. For example, older children take themselves away from an activity when it does not appear to go how they want it to. Children are motivated. They are keen to learn and spend long periods at their chosen activities. Children demonstrate that they feel safe.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop the use of supervision, support and coaching to monitor staff performance and help to consistently raise the quality of teaching to the highest level n use information from assessments more effectively to monitor the learning and progress being made by individual children, and to identify more accurate next steps in learning n adapt teaching to provide further challenge for the most able children.
- 17 May 2022Good
- 16 June 2021Needs improvement
- 3 October 2019Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Magic Moments Pre-school
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.