Dorchester on Thames Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Wallingford for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £40.80 a day for 2 year olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2024. Open since 1993, with 20 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year.
| Age | Full day | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 year olds2y to 3y | £40.80Combined costs £40.80 whole day | £6.80Lunch Club: £6.80 £13.60Afternoon: £13.60 £20.40Morning – 3 hours = £20.40, 3 hrs | £6.802 year olds – £6.80 per hour | |
| 3/4 year olds3y to 4y | £39.00Combined costs £39.00 whole day | £6.50Lunch Club – 1 hour = £6.50 £13.00Afternoon – 2 hours =£13.00, 2 hrs £19.50Morning – 3 hours = £19.50, 3 hrs | £6.503/4 year olds – £6.50 per hour |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £25.00 deposit
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
15 and 30 hours for 3/4 year olds; 30 hours working parent funding and low income funding for 2 year olds.
Worth knowing. Any hours not funded by the local authority will be invoiced accordingly.
What childcare usually costs in Oxfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Oxfordshire 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
OX10 7HRWhat 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, 7 February 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and enjoy their time at the pre-school. They show they are confident and feel safe in the care of the kind and dedicated staff team as they separate from their parents at the door. This is a continued change that the staff have maintained since the pandemic. Children show they are eager to learn and that they enjoy the activities on offer. For example, as the children play with the puppets, they have fun creating stories with their friends and acting these out.
Outside, children have many opportunities to build on their larger physical skills, as they climb on apparatus and use wheeled ride-on toys.
Children love to explore a variety of sensory textures, such as noodles with chop sticks, wet sand in the construction area and natural resources. Staff offer children a good amount of praise and encouragement, which in turn helps children to share, take turns and play cooperatively. Staff support children effectively to be responsible helpers and to gain independence. Consequently, children are keen to do things for themselves, such as wiping their own noses and changing their shoes.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to understand the importance of giving children the time they need to think about, and answer, questions to enable them to speculate, test their ideas and challenge their thinking n review the organisation of the snack time routine, to ensure that all children stay focused on purposeful learning.
- 7 February 2024Good
- 23 April 2018Good
- 11 June 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Dorchester on Thames Pre-School
- 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 £40.80 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.