St Mary's Pre-school Shortlands
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in St Mary'S Avenue for children from birth to 5, open 09:15 to 12:30, 5 days a week. £23.00 a session for 3 & 4 year olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 1993, with 32 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Sessions cost £23 each for 3 & 4 year olds and £28 each for 2 year olds, paid half-termly in advance.
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Funded hours
Children are eligible for the Nursery Education Funding from the beginning of the term after their 3rd birthday. Some 2-year olds are eligible for funding.
Worth knowing. We charge £1 a day to cover the cost of our morning snack for children in receipt of the government funding. There is no additional cost if paying our fees.
What childcare usually costs in Bromley
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Bromley 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
BR2 0PUWhat 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, 30 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff provide an extremely welcoming and nurturing environment where children thrive and make good progress. Children demonstrate they are keen to attend and arrive ready to enjoy their time at pre-school. Staff get to know children well from the beginning and are attentive to their needs. This helps children form strong bonds with their key person and feel safe and secure. Staff provide an ambitious and varied curriculum which takes account of children's interests and individual needs. They have high expectations for all children, including those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff ensure all children receive the support they need to develop new knowledge and skills to prepare them for future learning.
Staff inspire children to be independent and try things for themselves. For example, some children try using scissors for the first time. Staff provide demonstrations, support and encouragement. Children show a positive attitude to their learning.
They respond well to praise which raises their self-esteem. Children proudly show staff their achievements. Other children work together to make play dough. They listen well to instructions, follow a recipe and share equipment. Children add ingredients, count and measure, which develops their understanding of mathematical concepts further.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen routines at times when children move between activities to ensure all children are engaged and continue learning.
- 30 January 2024Good
- 16 March 2018Good
- 6 November 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St Mary's Pre-school Shortlands
- Youngest age taken
- Nappies
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 £23.00 a session 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.