The Meadows Nursery School
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Hailsham for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in August 2022. Open since 2001, with 45 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 funded hours per week: The 'universal entitlement' for all children available from the term after they turned 3 years old and Available for Families with children aged 2 years receiving some form of assistance. 30 funded hours per week - Working Parents' entitlement: Available for children from 9 months old meeting Working Parents' eligibility criteria.
Worth knowing. The funded hours are available from the term after the child's relevant birthday. These are for 38 weeks per academic year ('Term Time attendance'), alternatively the hours can be stretched with reduced weekly funded hours across all full weeks of our operating year ('Stretched or Full Year attendance').
What childcare usually costs in East Sussex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in East Sussex 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
BN27 2BWWhat 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, 4 August 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy to arrive at the setting. They are welcomed into their room by their key person and quickly settle in. Children form close relationships with the staff. Babies enjoy sitting on adults knees for a cuddle, helping them to feel secure and safe. Children immerse themselves in the variety of sensory play experiences.
For instance, they watch with fascination as the gloop mixture changes texture in their hands. Younger children explore cooked spaghetti. They squeeze it through their fingers, helping to develop their fine motor skills. Children play alongside their friends, splashing in the water tray. They use different-sized containers and watering cans to fill, empty and pour.
Children learn to play cooperatively with their peers. When children struggle, staff support their behaviour well. They help children to understand the impact their behaviour has on others. For example, staff talk to children about what might make their friends happy or sad. Staff give children ample opportunities to express themselves creatively through open-ended art activities. For instance, children enjoy using paint to make marks, labelling what they have made. Staff praise them for their efforts, commenting on how much they like their work. This helps to build children's confidence and self-esteem.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: - build on partnerships with parents to ensure even more information is shared, so that they are fully involved in their child's learning and development and know how to support them at home n ensure that staff embed their understanding of curriculum intentions, to improve the quality of interactions and help children make even more progress.
- 4 August 2022Good
- 7 October 2016Good
- 19 April 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Meadows Nursery School
- What it costs
- Meals
- 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.
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.