Milton Mount Playgroup
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Crawley for children from birth to 8+, open 08:30 to 14:30, 5 days a week. £6.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2024. Open since 1992, with 36 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year.
| Age | Session | Hourly | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £18.00Mornings, 3 hrs £30.00Short day, 5 hrs £36.00All day, 6 hrs | £6.00Additional hours | £3.00half hour at one end of the 5 hour day |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £1.00 a week voluntary donation towards snacks
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Early Years Free Entitlement (EYFE) funding for eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds; 15 hours universal and 30 hours for eligible 3-4 year olds.
Worth knowing. Any hours attended above the funded entitlement will be charged at our usual hourly rate. Funded hours may not be exchanged for monetary value or carried over to the next term.
What childcare usually costs in West Sussex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in West 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
RH10 3DYWhat 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 September 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
- 5 March 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 4 March 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive, happily store away their belongings and enter the setting with excitement. Those who need a little support, receive this promptly from staff, enabling them to settle quickly. Children make independent choices about where they would like to play within the effective learning environment staff that create.
In the garden, children dig for insects. They discuss with staff about where worms live and children chat about things the worms may need to survive. This shows a clear understanding of how to care for living things and of good language development.
Children show good small-muscle development. For example, children learn about threading and use the pens to make pictures with laces. Staff readily praise young children for their efforts and children show a great sense of pride in their achievements. Children receive prompt and effective reassurance when they accidentally take a tumble or become upset. This helps them to feel safe and secure while at playgroup. Children enjoy story times. They sit with staff, talking about what will happen next. Staff bring the story to life, using different tones in their voice and children look at the pictures intently. They chat about the dinosaur bones and staff ask children well-timed questions to maintain the intrigue. Children engage in worthwhile discussions with staff. For example, they talk about x-rays and how this shows a picture of their bones. Other children listen to the conversation, developing their awareness of their bodies.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- explore further ways in which to help children manage minor conflicts and aid in their understanding of how to share and take turns - build on ways in which to share information with parents about how they can further support their children's learning at home.
- 4 March 2024Good
- 7 November 2023Inadequate
- 3 May 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Milton Mount Playgroup
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
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.
- Is £6.00 an hour still the rate? 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.