Crosby Nursery
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Carlisle for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in December 2022. Open since 2010, with 57 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Cumberland
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cumberland 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
CA6 4QPWhat 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, 15 December 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff foster children's emotional well-being. Personalised induction plans help to ensure that children are happy and assured from the minute they start. Children clearly enjoy their time at this welcoming nursery. They are confident and independent individuals. Children's good behaviour is demonstrated through their positive actions. For instance, children kindly pour milk for their friends at snack time and clear up any spillages without being prompted. Children are strongly valued. They enjoy 'making their mark' in the form of a handprint on the nursery wall, when moving on to school.
Leaders and staff aim 'to give every child the best possible start in life'. Children are motivated individuals. Babies recall simple phrases, such as 'snap, snap' when looking at a picture of a crocodile within a book. Younger children gain good physical skills, such as when wiggling their fingers and circling their arms during their 'dough disco' sessions. They express a sense of humour when pretending to be a 'scary monster', and carefully check that others are happy before continuing with their play. Older children, including those who attend after school, form recognisable letters when writing Christmas cards. They cleverly use their fingers to subtract numbers during number rhymes, to identify how many are left in a set.
Children who speak English as an additional language develop a sense of rhythm when singing in time with others during songs.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to extend children's early language skills more successfully, to enable all children, particularly younger children, to make consistently high rates of progress in their communication and language development n strengthen the current arrangements for staff supervision and provide more frequent and focused support and coaching to all staff, to help them to continue to build on their good knowledge, skills and teaching practice further.
- 15 December 2022Good
- 24 January 2017Good
- 24 February 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Crosby Nursery
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? 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.