Bolitho Nursery
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Penzance for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 17:00, 5 days a week. £77.20 a day for 2-3 years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2016, with 44 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Price list dated 1st April 2026.
| Age | Full day | Session | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-2 yearsbirth to 2y | £79.52s | £39.76Morning, 4 hrs | |
| 2-3 years2y to 3y | £77.20s | £38.60Morning, 4 hrs | |
| 3+ years3y to 5y | £72.72s | £36.36Morning, 4 hrs |
Funded hours
30 Hours for eligible working families with a child from 9 months; 2 year olds up to 15 hours free childcare; 3 and 4 year old children are eligible for 15 hours funded childcare; additional 15 funded hours.
Worth knowing. Term Time only: free sessions for up to 15/30 hours a week. Full Year: 11/22 hours per week.
What childcare usually costs in Cornwall
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cornwall 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
TR18 4JRWhat 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, 20 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in this rich learning environment where highly skilled staff guide them with respect and understanding. Children's well supported curiosity and engagement foster a keen desire to learn. The ambitious curriculum is well embedded and effective. All children make exceptional progress. In the nurturing baby room, babies receive plenty of cuddles. They smile and babble, developing hand to eye coordination, lying on their backs, they touch wooden items hanging from a mobile frame. Children feel safe and secure. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported by the staff team.
Staff have high aspirations for what children can achieve for their age and help children build exceptional personal care and problem solving skills. Pre-schoolers assess the weather and decide what they need to wear when outdoors. Children confidently announce what day it is and the starting letter of many words. After meals, toddlers look in a mirror and wipe their faces clean. Staff serve lunch in a café style, allowing children to choose when to eat. They can continue playing or join others in small, chatty groups enjoying lunch. Staff skilfully challenge children to develop their own ideas, table manners, and social skills.
Staff superbly guide children to develop rich intergenerational relationships through weekly visits to a nearby nursing home. During visits from the fire service, children are supported to build those relationships further, learning about the fire service together with the care home residents. Staff plan activities with ambitious learning aims. For example, children explore their emotions with the nursing home residents during shared therapy pony sessions. Daily walks in large outdoor areas guide babies and toddlers to build their understanding of animals and plants. In the 'duck garden,' pre-schoolers learn how to care for animals. They ask questions, like 'Why do ducks like to eat wet grass?'. The 'duck garden' unites the nursery community, for example parents take turns to help care for the ducks on weekends.
- 20 January 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 14 March 2019Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Bolitho Nursery
- 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
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 £77.20 a day 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.