Smiley Faces Childcare
GoodBirth to 8+Open a few years
A day nursery in Boston for children from birth to 8+, open 07:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in December 2024. Open since 2023, with 24 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 Lincolnshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Lincolnshire 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
PE21 6TLWhat 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, 2 December 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children approach their learning with enthusiasm. This is seen outdoors, where staff help children to kick and throw a ball with accuracy. Children willingly respond to staff's interactions, kicking the ball back and forth with them. Staff invite other children into the game, which helps to develop all children's social skills as they play as part of a team. Next, staff challenge children to throw the ball into a wheelbarrow. Children struggle slightly but show their resilience as they persist and go on to successfully achieve the task.
Children enjoy the company of their friends. They chatter among themselves at snack time, talking about what they are eating as they pass bowls of fruit around the table. Staff skilfully repeat what children have said to subtly correct their mispronunciations. This helps to develop children's language and communication skills. Children practise using their small finger muscles to peel pieces of banana, which staff have cut into appropriately-sized pieces so children do not choke when they eat. Children learn how to be hygienic and promote everyone's good health.
They follow staff's instruction to 'catch their cough' by raising their hand in front of their mouth.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop more effective methods of communicating with parents and carers so that they fully understand information about their child's care at the setting and what they can do to help their child's learning and development further at home n support staff to adapt their planning of group learning times to make sure all children's learning and development needs are continually met.
- 2 December 2024Good
- 11 June 2024Needs improvement
- 17 January 2024Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Smiley Faces Childcare
- 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.