UCL Nursery
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in London for children from birth to 5, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 2011, with 24 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 Camden
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Camden 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
WC1H 0NUWhat 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, 16 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff have close, very nurturing relationships with children. They take great care to find out as much as possible about children's interests, home routines, likes and dislikes. Staff make excellent use of this information to provide familiar routines and activities that help children to settle very well. It is clear that children are happy and feel safe. They are very keenly motivated to learn and highly confident.
Children have excellent attitudes to learning and their behaviour is outstanding.
Children take part in a range of creative and interesting activities. For example, they enjoy exploring the effect of roller painting brightly coloured paint onto a plastic screen. This supports their creative skills well. They also enjoy a wide range of stimulating activities in a dedicated sensory room. Staff place high priority on children's physical development. There is a dedicated gym room where young children balance over hump bridges, climb across frames, crawl through tunnels and learn to pull themselves up. There are further challenges in the well-designed outdoor area. Children have a very good understanding of their feelings and the feelings of others. Staff help them to see their reflections in the mirror and talk about their expressions. They teach children the names of different emotions.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- give children more time to think and respond to questions to support their thinking and language development further.
- 16 March 2022Good
- 9 October 2015Outstanding
- 13 February 2012Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for UCL Nursery
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? 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.