Little Birches in Sonning Common Ltd
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Reading 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 March 2023. Open since 2004, with 128 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 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
RG4 9BTWhat 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.
- 27 September 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 28 March 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children settle well in this calm and nurturing nursery. They form strong bonds with staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Children are happy and confident. Children engage in the activities on offer, which often trigger their curiosity. For example, babies smile and giggle as they enjoy exploring sensory toys. Children develop a love for reading. Staff create ample opportunities for children to look at books. Older children enjoy recalling familiar stories and using their imagination, recreating dens that link to the familiar stories they have read.
Staff have created a nursery library to encourage children to borrow books to read at home. This further supports children's early literacy skills.
Staff encourage children to be increasingly independent. They offer them lots of praise as they try to do things for themselves, helping to build their sense of responsibility effectively. For example, Children put on their coats for outdoor play and help to serve themselves food at lunchtime.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- ensure the implementation of planned activities within the curriculum is consistently effective and that all staff understand what they want children to learn n review staff's use of vocabulary when interacting with children to use clear words to help children build on their already good communication skills n review the organisation of mealtimes, so that the needs of all children are considered, and the length of time children spend waiting is reduced.
- 28 March 2023Good
- 23 October 2017Good
- 13 April 2017Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Birches in Sonning Common Ltd
- 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.