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Best Friends Day Nursery Chester

Ofsted: Good
(Feb 2025)
·
4.7(14 parent reviews) ·Carlton House, Lightfoot Street, Chester, CH2 3AD · Cheshire West and Chester
Number of places
51 places
Age range
1–4 yrs
Last inspected
Feb 2025
Local authority
Cheshire West and Chester

About this day nursery

Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited, established in 2021, provides a "Good" rated early years experience for children aged 1-4 years. Open all year round, from 7:15 am to 6:15 pm, the nursery focuses on creating a safe, friendly, and nurturing environment.

The curriculum blends planned activities with spontaneous play, enriched by specialist teachers for music and sports. Children are encouraged to be energetic and motivated learners, engaging with toys and activities with enthusiasm.

Staff skillfully support children's all-round learning, including a strong emphasis on reading and literacy through inspiring story sessions. The nursery prides itself on fostering a home-from-home atmosphere where children and their families can flourish, even providing a dedicated family room for parents.

Leaders and managers have diligently improved standards, implementing a rigorous professional development programme for staff which includes training, coaching, and mentoring, contributing to consistently high-quality teaching. The nursery also prioritises staff well-being through designated "well-being officers," fostering a dedicated and valued team.

What it's like

Children relish the time they spend in this safe and friendly nursery. They are energetic and motivated learners, exploring toys and activities with enthusiasm. Staff prepare an engaging environment to support children's all-round learning, helping them to enjoy reading and literacy through inspiring story sessions.

Good Ofsted ratingNurturing environmentSpecialist teachersStrong literacy focusStaff well-beingFamily-focused

Pricing & funding

This nursery offers weekly, full-day, and half-day sessions, with fees structured across two age bands spanning 3 months to 4 years. Out-of-school care and holiday clubs are also available. Funded sessions are subject to separate hourly rates for extra hours, alongside daily charges for meals and consumables.

Funding accepted

15 hours — working parents (9 months–2 yrs)15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
  • Nursery Children (3 months – 2.5 years) - Weekly Rate£360.00 / week
  • Nursery Children (3 months – 2.5 years) - Daily Rate (8.00am – 6.00pm)£77.00 / day
  • Nursery Children (3 months – 2.5 years) - Half Day (8am-1pm / 1pm-6pm)£50.00 / session
  • Nursery Children (2.5 years – 4 years) - Weekly Rate£346.50 / week
  • Nursery Children (2.5 years – 4 years) - Daily Rate (8.00am – 6.00pm)£72.00 / day

Good to know

  • A 10% sibling discount is applied to the oldest sibling.
  • Early starts from 7:30am are available if booked in advance for an additional charge.
  • Funded hours can be taken term-time over 38 weeks or stretched all year round.
  • Funded places are subject to additional charges for meals, snacks, and consumables.
  • The consumables charge is waived for sessions of two funded hours or less per day.
  • Parents must reconfirm their 30-hour funding eligibility with HMRC every three months.

Key facts

Food

Healthy, home-cooked meals and snacks provided

Age range

0-11 years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Best Friends Day Nursery Chester

Last inspected 5 February 2025 · Michelle Jacques

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children relish the time they spend in this safe and friendly nursery. They are energetic and motivated learners, exploring toys and activities with enthusiasm. Staff prepare an engaging environment to support children's all-round learning, helping them to enjoy reading and literacy through inspiring story sessions.

Inspector highlights

  • Leaders and managers have improved standards with support from outside agencies, moving the nursery forward to consistently good quality.
  • Leaders implement a rigorous professional development programme for staff, including training, coaching, and mentoring, which builds confidence and raises teaching quality.
  • Staff plan a broad and balanced curriculum with a mix of planned activities and spontaneous play, enriched by specialist teachers for music and sports.
  • Staff's well-being is nurtured by designated 'well-being officers', creating a valued culture and contributing to staff dedication.
  • The nursery fosters a home-from-home, nurturing space where children and family members can flourish, with parents benefiting from a dedicated family room.

Areas to develop

  • 1ensure that staff identify age-appropriate next steps to support children's sequenced learning, building on what they already know and can do
  • 2develop systems to enable staff to share their expert knowledge about children when they move from one room to another to enable the new key worker to support learning without interruption.
Inspection #10343557 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

As a parent, I couldn't ask for a more enriching and caring environment for my child. The nursery feels like and extension of our family, providing a setting where my child is truly thriving.

Parent Reviews of Best Friends Day Nursery Chester

4.7
(14)
Vandana Sharma
2 years ago

Best friend's nursery is amazing, I would highly recommend it to everyone. They take care of kids and monitor their growth very closely. The nursery team is very efficient and humble. My daughter loves the staff. Jen, Kelly, Helen, Lyndsey,Wendy, and all the guys( sorry I don't know their name) but they all are very nice. There are so many activities they don't have on a weekly basis. Thank you for supporting us.

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D Lavery
2 years ago

Having experienced a range of nurseries and childminders over the years, I can confidently say that Best Friends is an excellent childcare provider. Most importantly, my child is always happy (and often excited) to go there, and experiences something new and enriching every day. The staff are creative with how they approach play, and keep parents informed about activities via an app at least once a day. The food is great quality and prepared on site by their in-house chef. The staff our friendly and professional. The outside space is not huge, but is well-used, including for gardening/plant growing in the warmer months. Throughout the year, the space is supplemented (for the pre-school class) by use of the forest and fields at the adjacent primary school.

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georgia newton
a year ago

An amazing family run Nursery. This nursery went above and beyond looking after our little one for just under 3 years. They made the transition for her from nursery to primary school so much easier and smoth. My little one learnt so much here, and built her confidence. They really treated her like their own family, and she was excited every morning to go in. The staff are all amazing, nothing is ever too much for them. The food is always freshly cooked and has such a delicious choice of balanced meals. Big thanks to Jenny, Kelly, Lyndsey, Wendy, hayley, Jake and many more! We can't thankyou enough for helping our little one grow!

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Nadine Johnson
3 years ago

Fantastic family-run nursery. My Son has been attending for 10 months and loves it here. The staff are easy to talk to and very attentive with the children; the majority are long-standing staff with children of their own. They involve the children and their families as much as possible and support other local businesses. I love that they have an open-door policy so you can turn up for any issues, but be mindful of nap times. My Son has dietary requirements, and they went above and beyond to meet his needs. I also had regular catch-ups once he was on the ladders to reinduce these foods.

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Victoria Wood
a year ago

The best nursery! Our daughter has been here for over a year now and we couldn’t fault it. Everyone who works there make such an effort with all the children, and my daughter loves going and has loved all her key workers and room staff (and often talks about them at home). We couldn’t be any happier with the care she receives. Thank you so much everyone 🩷

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Best Friends Day Nursery Chester. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history
Improved from Requires improvement → Good in 2025

Date: April 2024

  • February 2025Good
  • April 2024Requires improvement

Frequently asked about Best Friends Day Nursery Chester

About the setting

Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited registered in 2021. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.15am until 6.15pm, for 51 weeks a year. The nursery offers government-funded childcare places. It employs 15 childcare staff, with three holding a level 2 early years qualification and nine holding level 3 or above.

URN
2683500
Registered person
Best Friends Day Nursery Chester Limited
Day care type
Full day care
Register
Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register
Establishment type
Childcare on non-domestic premises
Previous rating
Good

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