The Sandcastle Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in High Wycombe for children from birth to 8+, 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 March 2024. Open since 2011, with 80 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Buckinghamshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Buckinghamshire 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
HP12 4JFWhat 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, 18 March 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are welcomed by friendly staff as they arrive for their day at the nursery.
They confidently separate from parents. Staff promote children's well-being effectively. They provide comfort and cuddles if children need reassurance or are upset. Babies happily explore activities planned by staff. They confidently pull themselves into standing positions to reach the activity wall.
Staff have high expectations for children's learning and development. Children make good progress from their starting points. The curriculum successfully supports children's development, preparing them for the next stage of their learning. Knowledge gathered from children's parents supports planning to meet the individual needs of the children.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen support for staff to organise the routine more effectively to meet the needs of all children n support staff to be consistent in their behaviour management strategies, to build on older children's understanding of behaviour expectations.
- 18 March 2024Good
- 9 July 2018Outstanding
- 11 August 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Sandcastle Nursery
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.