Norcot Early Years Centre
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Reading for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2023. Open since 2003, with 50 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Government funded places under 15-hour, 30-hour and 2yr old eligible entitlement.
What childcare usually costs in Reading
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Reading 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
RG30 6UBWhat 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, 24 May 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happy and excited for their day. They separate well from parents and even the young babies settle quickly. Children are greeted warmly by staff who know their individual needs well. Children confidently explore the areas of the setting and choose from a range of activities, both indoors and outdoors. Children build strong bonds with the staff and with other children and feel safe and secure.
The managers and staff have high expectations of children's learning. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with English as an additional language, make good progress in their learning and development. Children enjoy their learning and explore the environment excitedly.
Children make good progress in their preparation for their next stage of learning, including their move on to school.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen staff's skills in challenging children's thinking and providing opportunities for them to solve problems.
- 24 May 2023Good
- 12 November 2018Good
- 24 May 2018Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Norcot Early Years Centre
- What it costs
- 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.
- What does it cost, all in? 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.