Once upon a time Nursery School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Norwich for babies from 9 months up to 5 year olds, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2025. Open since 2014, with 34 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 and 30 hours for 3 and 4 year olds; 30 hours for eligible working parents of children aged 9 months to 3 years old.
Worth knowing. Consumables charge applies from the school term after the child's second or third birthday; meals and snacks fee is optional (opt out by providing own meals); minimum attendance two days per week, 51 weeks of the year; no term-time only places; funded hours stretched over the year.
What childcare usually costs in Norfolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Norfolk 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
NR3 4HAWhat 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, 25 June 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff greet children with warmth and smiles as they arrive. Parents come into the room and share updates about their children's well-being. Children say goodbye happily and settle quickly. They follow familiar routines and start their day with confidence. They feel safe and secure. Strong bonds with staff help children feel calm and settled. A well-embedded key-person system supports this. Staff know all children well, not just their key group. This builds trust and supports children's emotional and social well-being.
Leaders have built a clear and purposeful curriculum. All staff understand what children need to learn. They adapt teaching to suit the age and stage of each child.
As a result, children enjoy activities that reflect their interests. For example, in the sensory garden, children enjoy planting, watering, weeding and growing fruit and vegetables. These activities help them learn where food comes from. Children make strong progress through well-planned sessions and nurture groups that give extra support.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to further promote good hygiene routines, especially in helping children manage their runny noses n build on the already good practice to help all staff provide high-quality teaching to consistently support the play and learning experiences for children.
- 25 June 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 8 August 2019Good
- 20 January 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Once upon a time Nursery School
- What it costs
- 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.