Nursery Advice
Claim Your Nursery

Keep Guard Day Nursery

Ofsted: Good
(Oct 2022)
·
5.0(2 parent reviews) ·The West Wing, The Keep, Kempston, MK42 8SJ · Bedford
Number of places
60 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Oct 2022
Local authority
Bedford

About this day nursery

Keep Guard Day Nursery, located in Kempston, provides a stimulating learning environment within a unique castle setting, featuring twelve distinct playrooms and three outdoor spaces. Established in 1996 by Lynn Carmichael, a qualified Nursery Nurse with over 46 years of experience, the nursery caters to children aged from 6 weeks to 5 years.

The nursery operates 48 weeks a year, Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm. The ethos, "Keep Guard, Keep Safe, Keep Playing," reflects a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children through child-centred play.

The nursery emphasises play as a primary learning process, fostering development, skill acquisition, and social interaction. Staff members, referred to as Early Years Practitioners, are dedicated to creating warm and trusting relationships, encouraging confidence, independence, and readiness for school.

Ofsted has awarded the nursery a "Good" rating, highlighting the children's motivated learning, good progress, and strong key person relationships. Keep Guard Day Nursery also offers various funding options for eligible families, including working families, those requiring additional support, and universal 3 and 4-year-old funding.

Our ethos

The nursery's ethos is "Keep Guard, Keep Safe, Keep Playing," emphasising child-centred play as the primary learning process to foster development, skill acquisition, and social interaction. They are committed to safeguarding children and building warm, trusting relationships to encourage confidence, independence, and school readiness.

What it's like

Children are happy and eager to attend the nursery, separating easily from parents due to kind and nurturing staff. They settle quickly into activities, behave well, and are confident talkers who actively engage with staff and explore their surroundings curiosity.

Castle settingPlay-centred learningOfsted "Good" ratingExperienced leadership

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

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

Request pricing →

Key facts

Opening hours

8am - 5pm Monday to Friday, 48 weeks a year

Age range

6 weeks to 5 years

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Keep Guard Day Nursery

Last inspected 11 October 2022

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 are happy and eager to attend the nursery, separating easily from parents due to kind and nurturing staff. They settle quickly into activities, behave well, and are confident talkers who actively engage with staff and explore their surroundings curiosity.

Inspector highlights

  • Insightful and experienced leaders provide staff with a clear curriculum that helps children build on what they know and can do.
  • The manager and staff team effectively consider how to close gaps for children, who start the nursery with less experiences than others.
  • Leaders place a high priority on helping children to develop a love of books and build the foundations to support their literacy skills at school.
  • Staff notice and act quickly when children need additional support.
  • Leaders cascade relevant training they have experienced on local courses to help strengthen the quality of education for all.

Areas to develop

  • 1help staff working with babies understand how to ensure babies' needs are promptly met
  • 2support staff to enable children to follow their spontaneous interests and choices of activity without unnecessary restrictions.
Inspection #10258080 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

They say that they feel involved in their children's learning and feel that support over aspects, such as toilet training, helps to reduce stress at home.

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Staff notice and act quickly when children need additional support. The special educational needs coordinator is highly qualified and experienced to support staff to implement targeted interventions that enable children to make progress in their learning and development.

Outdoor space

Older children explain to visitors how to safely cross the car park to play in the outdoor area.

Parent Reviews of Keep Guard Day Nursery

5.0
(2)
Priya Bangey
a year ago

My daughter attended in 2022, and I must say I can truly see the difference between Keep Guards and other nurseries. The positives about this nursery are: they are excellent at maintaining appropriate child-to-staff ratios, and they are consistent in their approach to discipline and maintaining a structured routine. Their toilet training routine (every 20–30 minutes) is particularly commendable. While the playground could benefit from an update, it does encourage children to use their imagination. Compared to a chaotic environment that lacks structure and discipline in managing children, this nursery stands out for its organisation and care.

Read on Google
Brandon Eusden
10 months ago

My little one attended preschool here. All the staff are amazing and the facilities are great. They seem to have an excellent balance of play and learn and myself and my partner have seen our son reap the rewards of being in such a great preschool. We are confident that he will flourish in school so a massive thank you to all the staff especially preschool.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Keep Guard Day Nursery. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: April 2013

  • October 2022Good
  • March 2017Good
  • August 2013Good
  • April 2013Good

Frequently asked about Keep Guard Day Nursery

Nearby day nurseries in Kempston

Other Ofsted-registered day nurseries close to Keep Guard Day Nursery.

Are you the owner of this nursery? Claim this listing to manage photos, hours and contact details.

Claim listing

Share this nursery

Send to a partner, friend or family member.

This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more