St Mary's Pre-School
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Maidenhead for children from birth to 8+, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 1992, with 25 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 Windsor and Maidenhead
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Windsor and Maidenhead 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
SL6 7EGWhat 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, 31 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children of all ages happily and confidently enjoy their time in this welcoming and well-equipped setting. Their emotional well-being is given a high priority. Staff diligently get to know children very well. This starts with the home visits they complete. The detailed information gathered from parents helps plan children's bespoke settling-in sessions. Staff ensure children feel safe, secure and comfortable.
Staff offer interesting and exciting activities based on an ambitious and wellsequenced curriculum. This helps to build on children's curiosities and motivates them to play, explore and experiment. For example, children try to work out ways to reveal small toys in blocks of ice. Staff skilfully facilitate this by suggesting simpler ways. Children learn to ask for warm water to pour on the ice to speed up the melting process. This extends their thinking, which they revisit with interest and excitement. Practical activities such as these greatly benefit children's knowledge.
Experienced leaders set high expectations for all children, including those identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work diligently with staff, parents and other professionals to plan specific support. This is proving successful at bridging gaps in these children's learning. Staff act as good role models to encourage children to be kind and friendly. They praise them for showing consideration towards others and playing cooperatively together. This is particularly effective outdoors.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to manage children's behaviour more consistently and help them understand what is expected of them n monitor and evaluate staff's teaching more robustly and provide individualised support and training to improve their practice even further.
- 31 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 22 May 2019Good
- 15 March 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St Mary's Pre-School
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.