Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Cambridge
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.7 on GoogleBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Cambridge for children from birth to 5, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2022. Open since 2017, with 59 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Eligible families can access 15 or 30 hours funded childcare and may also use Tax-Free Childcare.
Worth knowing. We offer funded places for eligible families; however, government funding does not cover the cost of the all-inclusive package we provide at Monkey Puzzle. Additional charges apply for meals, consumables (such as nappies, wipes, and sunscreen), trips, and any extra hours beyond the funded entitlement.
What childcare usually costs in Cambridgeshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cambridgeshire 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
CB2 1AAWhat 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, 26 May 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children play happily with their friends and are keen to learn. They welcome staff who join their investigations and games. Children pour water through pipes. They rush to the other end, catching the water as it flows through. They take it to a tractor tyre and tip water into the centre, before climbing in to watch the water soak away. This helps them begin to make sense of what happens in the world around them. Babies and very young children become engrossed in sensory exploration. They watch rose petals gently fall from a basket, holding out their hands to feel them. Staff use rhythmic and tuneful sounds, encouraging those unable to speak yet to babble. Babies experiment with their own voices in meaningful exchanges of two-way interactions. Not only does this help create the foundations for verbal communication, but also strengthens social development.
Children enjoy books. They carefully turn the pages, pointing out things that interest them in the illustrations, and talk to staff about what they see. Staff use their fingers to follow the words they are reading, helping children understand that the text has meaning. Children recall familiar words and phrases from popular stories and anticipate what might happen next. This helps children build on their developing vocabularies.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- make use of the available spaces in the most effective way to further support children's learning and well-being n find different ways to support and encourage all staff to understand and deliver the highest levels of provision in all aspects of care and education throughout the nursery.
- 26 May 2022Good
- 18 September 2019Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Cambridge
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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.