Pippin Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.5 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A pre-school in Hitchin for from 2 years up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £50.50 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2023. Open since 2011, with 60 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Full day | Session | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £50.50A full pre-school day | £6.06Lunch Club £20.20Afternoon, 2.5 hrs £24.24Morning, 3 hrs |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £50.00 Registration feewaived if in receipt of 2 year old funding on presentation of, not refundable
Funded hours
2 year old funding.
What childcare usually costs in Central Bedfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Central Bedfordshire 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
SG5 4PFWhat 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, 20 June 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily and separate from their parents confidently. They greet each other and staff enthusiastically. Children understand the pre-school routines and instinctively know what room their day starts in. Staff teach children to play collaboratively and treat each other with kindness and respect. For example, they listen to each other's opinions and work together to build a ladder for the outdoor play equipment. Children enjoy using their imagination at the pre-school. They dress up as superheroes and pretend to save their friends. Children behave well and remind their friends of the pre-school's 'superhero' rules.
Staff get to know children well. They plan their teaching to support all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, children make good progress. Staff plan varied experiences for the children to ignite their curiosity. For example, children eagerly take part in an underwater scavenger hunt where they search for sea creatures hidden around the room. Staff help children to understand the intended learning first. For example, they model how to correctly hold scissors before cutting the paper. When children struggle, staff help children to gain resilience and confidence in their own abilities as they encourage them to try again with their support.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- increase staff confidence in how to identify more precisely what they want children to learn from an activity so that the teaching matches the intention n strengthen opportunities for children to further develop their independence.
- 20 June 2023Good
- 10 January 2023Inadequate
- 13 March 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Pippin Pre-School
- 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.
- Is £50.50 a day still the rate? 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.