North Common Pre-School
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Bristol for children from birth to 5, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2023. Open since 2004, with 20 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 South Gloucestershire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in South Gloucestershire 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
BS30 8BNWhat 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, 4 May 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children show high levels of happiness and enjoyment at the pre-school. The atmosphere is nurturing, busy and filled with chatter from children. Staff ensure that children's emotional well-being is highly prioritised. A strong key-person approach is embedded into practice. This helps staff to fully support all children and meet their care and welfare needs at a consistently high level. Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour and excellent social skills. All staff give children consistent messages about their expectations for behaviour. This helps children to understand rules and boundaries and how to keep themselves and others safe.
Children show exceptionally high levels of motivation and approach their play with enthusiasm. Staff take care to find out about the children's interests and home routines. They use this information to ensure children settle comfortably in the setting and plan excellent activities based around each individual child. Children demonstrate consistently high levels of engagement and links to past experiences.
For instance, they recall going on holiday to the beach as they play in the sand.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- focus on identifying gaps in the knowledge of new staff to help improve their understanding of the curriculum intent and further develop their teaching skills n support staff to provide all children with enough time to think about and respond to questions.
- 4 May 2023Good
- 4 October 2017Good
- 3 December 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for North Common 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.