Meadows Day Nursery
Good★ 4.2 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Cheltenham for children from birth to 5, 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 September 2025. Open since 1996, with 70 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 Gloucestershire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Gloucestershire 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
GL51 4TXWhat 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, 26 September 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are greeted at the nursery door by the kind and caring staff team. They provide gentle support and reassurance to help children separate from their parents or carers. Children move into their rooms and are supported to explore and engage in their play. Staff plan a broad curriculum, enriched by children's interests and next steps in learning. This helps children to develop their knowledge and make good progress in their learning and development.
Children benefit from daily outdoor play, which promotes their health and wellbeing. Toddlers enthusiastically join in with a colour treasure hunt prepared by staff in the garden. They persevere as they look for the objects. Staff extend this activity, encouraging problem-solving skills as children find objects and match them to coloured cards. They effectively support children's communication and language skills. Staff ask children to name the colours and count how many objects they have found. Pre-school children build on past learning, when exploring different habitats through sensory play. They are eager to investigate sand, 'snow' and water trays and make links to the animals that live in these environments. Staff encourage care for the natural world. For example, they help children to gently handle a ladybird. Babies explore age-appropriate resources, such as rattles. Staff sit alongside them to support their play. They introduce simple words, such as
'shake', and follow their lead. Babies develop their physical skills and confidence.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen monitoring procedures to help leaders swiftly identify and address minor weaknesses in practice and provide targeted support to staff to secure consistently high-quality outcomes for all children n strengthen the key-person system and use daily routines more effectively so that children build secure relationships from the moment they start or move between rooms.
- 26 September 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 28 January 2020Outstanding
- 26 May 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Meadows 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.