Blackberry Lane Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Cowes for babies from 3 months up to 5 year olds, open 07:45 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £7.50 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2022. Open since 2005, with 50 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Holiday club is charged at £7.50 per hour.
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
All 3 year olds are entitled to up to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. We offer expanded funding (up to 30 hours per week) for children aged from 9 months of working parents who meet the government criteria. Early Years funding is available, subject to families meeting the criteria, for 2 year olds of families on low incomes or receiving certain benefits.
Worth knowing. Funded places are available between 9am and 4pm for 38 weeks per year.
What childcare usually costs in Isle of Wight
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Isle of Wight 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
PO31 8HFWhat 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.
- 7 July 2022 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 30 June 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily and are greeted warmly by staff. They are eager to choose from a well-considered mix of adult-led and child-led activities. Children are taught new skills that they practise in their own play. For example, they competently use the hose to collect water in containers and steadily pour it into a water butt without spilling. All children make good progress from their initial starting points and are ready for their move to school.
Children are skilfully supported to develop their speech. This is evident in their growing confidence to share ideas with each other. Children access appropriate resources independently and carry out tasks for themselves. They are respectful and well behaved. Children know what is expected of them and consistently follow the well-established daily routines. The atmosphere in the pre-school is positive as children are busy and positively engaged in their learning.
Children form strong bonds with staff and their peers. They confidently make up their own games and readily invite others into their play. For instance, when balancing on wooden planks, children explain the rules of their game to others joining in. Children develop good body control as they practise their balancing techniques and avoid landing on the floor. They celebrate their successes with each other, giving them a sense of achievement.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- help staff to allow children time to finish their activities, to enable them to respond more successfully to their spontaneous interests and gain a sense of achievement n provide children with the freedom to attend to tasks independently, using their own thinking and creative skills to produce individualised work to help them feel unique.
- 30 June 2022Good
- 6 November 2015Outstanding
- 25 March 2009Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Blackberry Lane Pre-School
- Meals
- Nappies
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
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.