Cold Ash Pre School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Thatcham for children from birth to 5, open 09:15 to 14:45, 5 days a week. £7.50 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2025. Open since 2019, with 29 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Our hourly rate is £7.50 per hour (effective 1st September 2025) .
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
Universal 15 hours and the Working Parent Entitlement (previously known as 30 hours extended funding); from April 2024 we will accept valid 2 year old codes for those children who will be three during their term of entry.
Worth knowing. Any hours outside of a parents entitlement will incur fees. Parents must apply for funding every term, in the term before the child is entitled to it, by returning a West Berkshire Council 'Declaration Form' (for 15 hrs entitlement) and/or their Childcare Tax Code & National Insurance Number (for 30 hrs entitlement). Failure to do so may mean we miss the deadline and are unable to claim Government-Funding – in which case we will have to invoice parents directly.
What childcare usually costs in West Berkshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in West Berkshire 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
RG18 9JHWhat 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, 24 March 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
This exciting outdoor setting gives children an abundance of hands-on opportunities to freely explore and investigate by themselves, with staff or friends.
Children play with curiosity and excitement. For example, they roll, flatten and squash playdough with sand and coffee mixed in. These types of sensory experiences intrigue children and help them develop sustained concentration and great imaginations. This is illustrated when children make a pretend cake for a friend's birthday, using twigs as candles. Staff facilitate and create situations that deepen children's interests. For instance, they enthusiastically join in with children, running around wearing superhero costumes and pretending to 'save the world'.
Leaders and staff value children's unique personalities and connect warmly with them. They build trusted relationships from the start, which positively impacts children's ongoing development. There is a strong emphasis placed on developing and promoting children's personal, social and emotional needs. Children generally behave well and make strong friendships. If minor disputes do occur, staff address this unwanted behaviour in a calm and sensitive manner. They consider each child's viewpoints and collectively agree on a more favourable outcome. This helps to create a respectful, safe and productive environment for all.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the sharing of information between key person and the staff team to further promote and extend individual children's learning n support staff to embed internet safety into the curriculum to enable children and parents to learn how to keep themselves safe online.
- 24 March 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 12 July 2019Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Cold Ash Pre School
- Youngest age taken
- 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 £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.
- Is there a place for my child's age? 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.