Sandytots
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Stafford for children from birth to 8+, open 06:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in August 2024. Open since 2013, with 122 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 Staffordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Staffordshire 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
ST16 3NQWhat 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 June 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 28 August 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff at this nursery show genuine care and affection to children. Children enjoy spending time with staff and seek them out for comfort when they are upset. Staff stay close to children who are new to the nursery and help them to feel safe and settled.
All children have a positive attitude to learning. Staff apply successful teaching methods to capture children's attention and keep them engaged in learning. Staff support children to learn about their own feelings and those of others. They provide activities that teach children to take turns, and as a result, children behave well.
Children enjoy learning outdoors. Staff teach them about the bugs they find. They model how to handle the bugs with care and find them a safe space to put them so children can see them. Children learn about the size of different bugs and how they move. They pay attention to this and are interested in what they have discovered.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the arrangements for supporting and coaching staff, so that roles and responsibilities are fully understood and carried out consistently across the nursery n strengthen staff deployment so that children's needs are consistently met.
- 28 August 2024Good
- 21 September 2021Good
- 29 November 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Sandytots
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.