Thurston Childcare
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Long established
A pre-school in Bury St. Edmunds for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 17:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in July 2022. Open since 2012, with 18 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
30 hours funding from the term after your child turns 9 months; All 3 and 4-year old children are entitled to 15 hours funding.
What childcare usually costs in Suffolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Suffolk 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
IP31 3RUWhat 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, 5 July 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Babies and toddlers thoroughly enjoy their time in this exceptionally calm, caring and nurturing setting. They come in readily. As parents pass their babies over to staff, the babies snuggle comfortably into staff, demonstrating how settled and secure they feel. Babies confidently snuggle into staff's arms to have their bottles.
Staff continue with established routines for feeding and sleeping, supporting children to feel safe and develop a strong sense of belonging. Staff are extremely alert to ensuring that all children are fully included in all events and activities of the day.
Children play alongside each other harmoniously. They are safe and busy as they explore the varied and interesting range of activities available to them. Staff provide a lovely range of activities, both indoors and outside, that promote all areas of learning. They pay exceptionally good attention to planning for outdoors.
- 5 July 2022Outstanding
- 29 September 2016Good
- 17 September 2012Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Thurston Childcare
- What it costs
- 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Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date.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.