Secret Garden Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Darlington for babies from a few weeks old up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2022. Open since 2017, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Worth knowing. We do charge lunch and tea fees for funded children should they stay for these meals.
What childcare usually costs in Darlington
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Darlington 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
DL1 2DFWhat 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.
- 18 September 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 16 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children receive a warm welcome from nursery staff. Any children who are unsettled when they arrive are cuddled and reassured. Children show that they feel safe and secure in the care of the nurturing staff team. There is a warm, family feeling in the nursery. Staff know the children well. Photos of children's families are on display to help support children's emotional security. They are also a focus for encouraging children's early speech. Children behave extremely well. Older children are gently reminded to use 'walking feet and listening ears'. They are praised for helping to tidy up and for being kind to their friends.
Children are becoming confident and curious learners. They explore the wellresourced playrooms. These are organised to support even the youngest children to make independent choices about what they want to do. Babies who are interested in vehicles can climb onto a low platform to watch the road outside.
Toddlers make their own play dough then develop their small-muscle skills, as they mould it into different shapes. Pre-school children ask to make cakes. They concentrate as they carefully follow instructions.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen teaching further in the pre-school room, so that all children are given opportunities to be actively engaged in purposeful activities throughout the day n continue to develop the outdoor area, so that it provides a more stimulating learning environment for children who prefer to learn outside.
- 16 November 2022Good
- 22 November 2021Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Secret Garden Day Nursery
- What it costs
- 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.