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East Dereham Day Nursery

Ofsted: Good
(Jun 2025)
·
5.0(12 parent reviews)
·The East Dereham Day Nursery, 4 Theatre Street, DEREHAM, NR19 2EW · Norfolk
Number of places
63 places
Age range
1–5 yrs
Last inspected
Jun 2025
Local authority
Norfolk

About this day nursery

East Dereham Day Nursery, situated in the heart of Dereham, boasts over three decades of dedication to providing quality childcare. The nursery prides itself on fostering a warm, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere, a sentiment reflected in its positive Ofsted reports.

The environment is thoughtfully designed to inspire learning through numerous natural resources, aiming to create memorable experiences for children. Recognising the unique qualities of each child, the nursery emphasises strong relationships between adults and children as fundamental to their happiness and security.

Each child is assigned a key worker who ensures they feel valued and special, while also building a supportive partnership with parents to aid both the child's and family's nursery journey. The nursery utilises a secure app for communication, billing, and sharing updates, and also provides access to an online learning journal, allowing parents to actively engage with and contribute to their child's developmental progress digitally.

Additionally, East Dereham Day Nursery actively cultivates parent and family partnerships through various planned events like story cafés and activity mornings. They have also invested in a free online library to promote early literacy and a love of reading.

What it's like

Children arrive happily at the nursery and feel safe and settled due to positive relationships with staff. The leadership team has developed a clear curriculum, leading to engaging activities that spark children's interests, such as observing butterflies. Children behave well and understand expectations, building strong friendships and playing respectfully.

Over 30 years experienceSecure parent app & online learning journalStrong parent partnershipsFree online library

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

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Key facts

Opening hours

Monday to Friday from 7.30 am until 6 pm, all year round

Age range

0-5 years, plus Reception onwards for After School/Holiday Club

Term time / All Year

All Year

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for East Dereham Day Nursery

Last inspected 10 June 2025

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 arrive happily at the nursery and feel safe and settled due to positive relationships with staff. The leadership team has developed a clear curriculum, leading to engaging activities that spark children's interests, such as observing butterflies. Children behave well and understand expectations, building strong friendships and playing respectfully.

Inspector highlights

  • Children demonstrate a love of books and stories, showing a clear understanding of story structure and content.
  • Staff prioritise children's physical development by creating an environment that encourages exploration and risk taking, including indoor climbing apparatus and outdoor play equipment.
  • Children are familiar with daily routines and develop a sense of responsibility.
  • Staff effectively support children's communication and language development by modelling clear speech and exposing them to a wide range of words.
  • Partnerships with parents are strong, and parents appreciate the communication and book-lending library.

Areas to develop

  • 1support staff to build on their teaching and interactions by providing more opportunities for children to solve problems and think independently during play.
Inspection #10388596 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

Outdoor space

Staff prioritise children's physical development by creating an environment that encourages exploration and risk taking. Children enjoy digging and building in the sandpit and using age-appropriate play equipment outdoors.

Parent Reviews of East Dereham Day Nursery

5.0
(12)
Shannon Murphy
10 months ago

The staff here have been phenomenal in comparison to a different nursery we used to use in Dereham. My son has been going here for years, even when we moved away, when we returned I made sure he could get a space here. We have never experienced any worries or concerns. Nothing is too much trouble. Communication has been amazing! He used the after school club facility. He has now had his last day today and they have took the tine to present a lovely handmade card with pictures of him when he was young. Thank you for the time you have spent with my son, you have all been amazing.

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Katie Callaby
6 years ago

As a family we cannot rate East Dereham Day Nursery highly enough. Since our son has been attending the nursery he has been brilliantly looked after. He has been given support and encouragement throughout his time there. He loves going to nursery. There is always a variety of well planned activities and learning on offer, the staff are always really caring and attentive. The flexibility offered to us all is invaluable and the staff are all trustworthy and reliable. Also the help we have received from the office staff has been great. In all we'd recommend the nursery highly and are grateful for all they offer us as a family.

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joe walden
5 years ago

Very Kind and nurturing staff. Always welcomed with a smile, always focused on welcoming our child and referencing all the pictures we add to tapestry and engaging our child instantly and making something that can be distressing into a great start of the day. Our child speaks very highly of ALL adults in his room at East Dereham. He is very happy at this nursery and has made some lovely friendships with the children in his room too. The staff are nurturing kind and genuinely care. Also they are always quick to respond when we need help or have any questions and their communication through the family app is fantastic. They are also really active on tapestry and its great to see what our child gets up when he goes to East Dereham. We would highly recommend.

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Janine Wilkinson
6 years ago

My son has been cared for by the staff at Dereham Nursery for over three years. We can wholeheartedly recommend both the nursery and the breakfast/after-school club as a place where the children are very well cared for by responsible, friendly and reliable staff. I am always amazed at the enthusiasm and energy the team show everyday! The daily activities that the children take part in are well thought out and are age appropriate, the facilities have been constantly improved and important health details (ie food allergies) are diligently catered for. Overall, a very happy place!

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Maisie-Ann Caplan
4 years ago

Our little one has been at East Dereham for about 5 months now in the sunshine room and is always mentions her friends and the staff saying ‘Fun’. We couldn’t be happier with how happy she is to go to nursery, and with being first time parents it was quite daunting the fact of her leaving to be in other peoples care for the day but All staff have been a dream on making us feel at ease with warm welcoming smiles and how they take the time to listen + give amazing feed back at what our little one has been up to in the day. We get to see pictures and little observations on the app to let us know how well she’s getting on which is so lovely to see. This is all reflected on how she runs in to nursery so excited and comes home with a big smile on her face talking about her ‘Nursery day’. Which as a parent is so reassuring that she is getting the best care we could hope for.

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Reviews from Google for East Dereham Day Nursery. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: June 2010

  • June 2025Good
  • July 2019Good
  • February 2017Good
  • May 2013Good
  • June 2010Outstanding

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