Stowey Bears Preschool
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Bridgwater for babies from 9 months up to 5 year olds, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2021. Open since 2010, with 24 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15/30 hours free funding sessions for children aged 9 months, 2, 3 or 4.
Worth knowing. Government funding can be applied to all morning and afternoon sessions, a lunch session supervision fee of £2.50 per session applied, this can be included in funded hours if all hours are not already claimed, as we do a flat rate fee for lunch half hours we will endevour to use all your funded hours on full sessions before charging you for any extra and ultimately the lunch fees will be the first 2.5 hours a week (full time) that will be chargeable to parents. Please note that this fee covers s.
What childcare usually costs in Somerset
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Somerset 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
TA5 1NXWhat 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.
- 28 April 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 23 November 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children benefit from a well-resourced and welcoming environment. They are keen to engage in enticing experiences, such as making dough. They confidently make decisions about their play and add resources to their chosen designs. Children listen attentively to instructions, such as to fill the cup halfway full of water, which they do so independently. Children communicate their ideas well, describing the mixture as looking like porridge. Children persevere in self-chosen tasks. When writing letters to Santa, children test different ways to fold the paper until it can fit in the post box.
Children gain good independence. They understand they need to put their slippers on after playing outside. Children willingly help to tidy away before lunch and understand that toys left on the floor can pose a risk. After sweeping the leaves from the path outside, children know to put the brooms away, so that others do not trip over them.
Staff have recognised the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children and work closely with parents to support children back to the setting. Children receive excellent support from nurturing staff to help them settle back into daily routines.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: - give children time to think and solve problems for themselves n consistently apply behavioural strategies that help children understand expectations.
- 23 November 2021Good
- 19 April 2016Good
- 8 May 2015Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Stowey Bears Preschool
- What it costs
- 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
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.