Secret Garden
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.8 on GoogleBirth to 5Long established
A pre-school in London for babies from 9 months up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2024. Open since 2017, with 50 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
30 hours funded entitlements for working families with children aged 9 months to 4 years, as well as 15 hours of funded childcare for eligible disadvantaged two-year olds. All three-and four-year-olds can also access the universal 15-hour free entitlement from the term following their third birthday.
Worth knowing. Optional Cost - additional hours (12:00 pm to 3 pm) £35 per session; voluntary contributions (PE, Music, Tennis, Football) £1.56 daily per activity for 15 funded hours, £3.13 daily per activity for 30 funded hours; £50 retainer to secure place, refunded within first month; Minimum Booking rule not applicable to grant funded sessions.
What childcare usually costs in Camden
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Camden 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
NW3 2YHWhat 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 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and eager to arrive at this warm and welcoming pre-school.
Children develop strong bonds and have positive relationships with staff. Those who are new to the pre-school separate easily from their parents. Staff ensure that children feel safe and secure from the moment they settle in. This helps them to become confident learners. Children are supported to be independent from a young age. They are beginning to recognise their name as they hang up their coats and bags on their labelled coat peg.
Children have positive attitudes to learning and engage in activities for prolonged periods. The staff's calm and caring nature supports children to understand what is expected. Children behave well. They develop strong friendships as they find a quiet area to share books together. Children relish playing outside. They benefit from opportunities to learn about nature and respect for living things. Children talk about the weather, saying, 'Rain helps the trees grow.' Children giggle and laugh with their friends as they splash and jump in the puddles. Their physical development is well supported. They enjoy riding the wheeled resources and tricycles and running through the musical maze. They show care and consideration for each other. Children learn to share resources fairly and take turns. They learn about their own identity and cultural diversity around them, which helps them to feel special and unique.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- further support staff to plan group activities fully to make the best use of opportunities to support all children's concentration and engagement.
- 27 September 2024Good
- 18 October 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Secret Garden
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.