The Beehive Montessori
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Alton for from 1 year 6 months up to school age, open 08:45 to 15:45, 5 days a week. £7.50 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2025. Open since 2007, with 20 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
All additional hours are charged at a rate of £ 7.50 per hour
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Universal 15 hours free Childcare for 3 and 4 year olds; 30 hours funding for 3 and 4 year olds; 2 year-old funding; New 9 month+ funding for working parents, up to 15 hours per week (38 weeks per year).
Worth knowing. The Beehive does not currently charge additional fees for consumables.
What childcare usually costs in Hampshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hampshire 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
GU34 4DXWhat 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, 8 May 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily at this inviting and homely setting, eager to begin their busy day ahead. They confidently wave goodbye to their parents at the door and are greeted by enthusiastic and friendly staff. Several children peer over the garden fence and show their sheer excitement when they see the interesting outdoor activities already prepared for them. They quickly seek out their friends and choose an activity to engage in. To get to know new children and their families, leaders successfully arrange bespoke settling-in sessions and home visits. Parents speak highly of this personalised approach and note the positive impact it has on children's confidence to form secure relationships.
Any gaps in children's learning are identified at the earliest opportunity, through regular and detailed assessments. Knowledgeable and capable leaders are instrumental in securing appropriate additional support, such as from external agencies. They work closely with dedicated staff and parents to ensure a consistent and shared understanding. This collaborative approach is highly effective for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children make consistently good progress from their individual starting points.
Children fully understand the well-established routines and high expectations for their behaviour. Staff diligently offer age-appropriate explanations to gently guide children, for example, to share and take turns. This is beautifully illustrated at snack time, when children thoughtfully discuss the importance of sharing out the variety of snacks fairly. They display empathy, thinking about others who have not had their snack yet, hoping there is enough. This helps create a respectful and cooperative atmosphere where children thrive socially and emotionally.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance systems for monitoring the delivery and impact of the curriculum, so that opportunities to further develop staff's practice are consistently identified, to ensure best possible outcomes for all children.
- 8 May 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 10 September 2019Good
- 5 June 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Beehive Montessori
- 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
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.
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.