The Meadows Nursery School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Eastbourne 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 February 2023. Open since 1989, with 36 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
BN22 9PXWhat 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, 27 February 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are enthusiastic, happy and excited to see staff. They are eager to start the day, confidently find their friends and settle quickly into play. This shows that children feel safe and secure. Furthermore, children show high levels of independence. For example, they spread toppings on crackers and peel bananas at snack time. This helps to prepare children well for their next stage in learning.
Children are beginning to understand about the world, including the local community. For example, they enjoy visits from the police and fire service. This helps them to recognise people in society who help to keep them safe.
Furthermore, children look at books and listen to stories about people in other countries. This helps them to learn about and respect other cultures.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- improve sharing of children's learning with parents, including targeted plans, to enable them to further build on children's learning at home n review daily routines to ensure that children do not wait for long periods between activities.
- 27 February 2023Good
- 4 April 2017Good
- 8 April 2015Good
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.