Tom Thumb Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.4 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Eastbourne for babies from 6 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. £7.50 an hour for 0-24 months, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2023. Open since 2023, with 56 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Price list dated September 2026.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-24 monthsbirth to 2y | £5.6225% discount £6.7510% discount £7.50Per hour for children aged 0-24 months | |
| Over 24 months2y to 5y | £5.2525% discount £6.3010% discount £7.00Per hour for children aged over 24 months |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £1.00 Breakfastoptional
- £2.00 Teaoptional
- £3.00 School Lunchoptional
Discounts
- 10% 10% discount off of the hourly ratenon-funded bookings, siblings, or single bookings of 40 hours or more
- 25% 25% discount for sibling bookingsboth/all children attend 40 hours or more per week
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
15/30 hours funding, including 30 hours for eligible working families of 9 month olds, 15 hours for disadvantaged 2-year-olds, and universal 15 hours for 3- & 4-year-olds.
Worth knowing. No top up fees; charges are made for meals and extra unfunded hours only, and these are all optional. Parents can send packed meals to access funded hours at no cost. Maximum of 10 funded hours per day.
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
BN21 3YAWhat 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, 21 November 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children settle quickly on arrival and show curiosity to explore a broad range of activities set up for them to engage with. Staff have good relationships with children, providing warm and positive support. They regularly praise children when they practise new skills.
Leaders and staff have a clear understanding of what children need to learn. They prioritise work around children's personal, social and emotional development and communication and language skills. This is because leaders and staff have noticed a lasting impact from the COVID-19 pandemic that directly affects children's development. As such, staff use this information to plan appropriate activities and experiences to counteract the impact and support children's learning and development well. For example, one staff member is assigned to specifically focus on children's emotional health and well-being. Small-group activities are set up for children to support them to explore their feelings. This helps children recognise how to cope with big emotions and contributes towards supporting their selfregulation skills.
Children and babies have plentiful opportunities to develop their communication and language skills. Staff encourage pre-school children to participate in group times and stories. Children confidently contribute what they can recall from much loved books, showing good levels of language. Furthermore, staff sing with gusto to babies and very young children, who delight in joining in with action songs.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: - strengthen the support for junior staff so they have a robust understanding of the EYFS
- develop the key-person approach to ensure communication between senior and junior staff is consistent to meet children's individual needs n extend work on e-safety to support children to learn about how to stay safe online and safe screen time.
- 21 November 2023Good
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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.