Heron Day Nursery
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Wigan for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 May 2022. Open since 2007, with 148 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 Wigan
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Wigan 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
WN1 1XHWhat 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, 31 May 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy, feel safe and settle well at nursery. Children are provided with lots of reassurance and cuddles as and when needed. Staff rock babies in their arms and soothingly talk to them. As a result, they develop good bonds with the attentive staff. Toddlers show good concentration and coordination skills when they fill and empty containers. Pre-school children are busy learners and show good levels of independence. For example, they help themselves to resources, such as paints, and hang their coats on named pegs. Managers continuously adapt the nursery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help keep children safe. They soon hope to restart visits to schools with children and parents. Parents can now enter the nursery with their children. This helps children to be confident and prepared to enter the next phase of their learning.
Children make good progress at this nursery. They demonstrate a positive attitude to learning and are motivated to investigate the stimulating learning environments.
For example, children play with dough of progressively firmer consistencies. They enjoy exploring coloured dough and pipe cleaners. They roll and squeeze the dough, and shape it around the pipe cleaners. They stretch and pull the dough, helping to gradually strengthen the small hand muscles needed for them to become capable writers.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- adapt teaching to extend children's learning further during free-play activities n support all staff to model new vocabulary to enable children to consistently hear and practise new words.
- 31 May 2022Good
- 30 March 2017Good
- 2 May 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Heron Day 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.