Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Bexleyheath for babies from 3 months up to school age, 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 March 2022. Open since 2013, with 140 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 Bexley
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Bexley 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
DA6 8AHWhat 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.
- 15 May 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 1 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are excited when arriving at the setting. Equally, staff are delighted to see them. Children are extremely well supported to settle in. Children, across the setting, show high levels of respect for others. Very young babies give sensory bottles to each other, toddlers pour paint for their friends, and pre-school children cooperate with one another to make a pathway for staff and other children to walk along. Children increasingly show high levels of confidence in social situations.
Children enjoy many opportunities indoors and outdoors that develop their physical skills. Children are becoming effective communicators because the staff focus on developing their communication and language. Children benefit from staff interactions, who use any moment to build on their vocabulary and engage them in conversation.
Children thoroughly enjoy playing in the role-play areas. They explore real food and develop their small-muscle skills as they play. Children use a knife to cut fruit and learn how to do this safely. Staff model and describe how to use the knife in a safe way alongside the children. They provide frequent and specific praise for children's achievements. This creates a positive learning environment where children are keen to have a go at a variety of activities. Children help at tidy-up time so that the areas remain safe to play in.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: - deepen children's experiences with a rich and diverse curriculum that represents all children and families and helps children learn about people and communities that are different to their own n enhance the partnership with parents to extend children's learning at home, particularly those from disadvantage backgrounds.
- 1 March 2022Good
- 15 May 2017Good
- 7 January 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery
- 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.
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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.