Smart Start Nurseries & Preschool
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open a few years
A day nursery in Crewe for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 16:00, 5 days a week. £7.50 an hour for 0 – 4 years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2024. Open since 2023, with 26 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Price list dated August 2026.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 4 yearsbirth to 4y | £7.5048 weeks per year | |
| 2 – 4 years2y to 4y | £7.50term time only (38 weeks) |
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £1.00 an hour Funded hours meals, snacks & consumablesper funded hour, includes meals, snacks & consumables
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Government funded 15 / 30 hours Stretched over 48 weeks.
Worth knowing. Funded hours meals, snacks & consumables £1 per funded hour at Stewart Street; no top-up fees on funded hours at Underwood Lane.
What childcare usually costs in Cheshire East
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cheshire East 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
CW1 3JXWhat 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, 3 July 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff have created a calm environment where children can learn well. The premises are safe and suitable for childcare. Everywhere you look, children are immersed in play. Their laughter fills the air and their energy to explore is palpable. Staff have secure bonds with children. They spend time getting to know them and their families during the settling-in period. Children have a strong sense of belonging.
They behave well and show positive attitudes towards their learning. Staff provide children with an ambitious curriculum that captures their interests. For example, staff build on children's prior knowledge of numbers by introducing them to number songs. Children relish these moments and show interest as they learn how to count.
Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They listen to children with interest and teach them new words. Children are competent communicators. They use a wide range of vocabulary. Staff help children to understand similarities and differences between themselves and others. Children talk about the many ways that they are unique. For example, they discuss differences in their hair and eye colour. Children develop a good awareness of what life is like in modern Britain. Staff support children to become independent from a young age. For example, toddlers help to tidy toys away and wash their hands before eating. Older children put on their own coats and help to prepare the table at lunchtime. Children develop good skills in readiness for their eventual move on to school.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the arrangements for staff's supervision, to help to improve their interactions with children n further develop the ways in which children are supported to learn about healthy eating.
- 3 July 2024Good
Still missing for Smart Start Nurseries & Preschool
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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 £7.50 an hour 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.
- 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.