Phoenix Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Stevenage for babies from 10 months up to school age, open 8am to 6pm. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2022. Open since 2005, with 28 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
We receive Government funding for all 3 and 4 years old’s and some 2 year old’s. Parents are able to access up to 30 hours per week of Government funded childcare provision.
What childcare usually costs in Hertfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hertfordshire 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
SG2 0QQWhat 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, 27 January 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
All children enjoy inclusive activities at the nursery. For instance, the youngest children join the older children on a walk to the woods. Children develop the skills they need to get themselves ready to go, such as putting on their own coats. Staff accompany their key children outside, so that they can support their individual needs and learning requirements. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities enjoy the outing. Children who are not yet ready to talk, communicate with staff using visual cues. This helps children to know what is expected of them and keeps them safe.
Children develop a love of reading. Those children who struggle to sit and focus with a book are supported well by staff. This enables them to fully engage as they listen to interactive stories. Toddlers enjoy looking at books about nursery rhymes.
They push the buttons on the pages and dance along to the music and songs they hear. The oldest children confidently join in with repeated phrases in familiar stories. Children visit the local library with staff. This helps them to understand about the wider community around them. They learn to take care of the items that they borrow.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- use questioning and discussion even more effectively to help assess children's understanding and extend their knowledge even further.
- 27 January 2022Good
- 2 August 2016Good
- 25 February 2016Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Phoenix Nursery
- What it costs
- 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
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.