St Joseph's Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.4 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Barnsley for babies from 9 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 February 2025. Open since 1998, with 80 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Funded places are available for children from 9 months old to 4 years old for 15 hours and 30 hours using the free childcare scheme.
Worth knowing. During your child's funded sessions there is an additional cost for Nursery meals, however, you are welcome to bring your child a packed meal from home.
What childcare usually costs in Barnsley
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Barnsley 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
S70 3QYWhat 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 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are eager to come to the setting and are well cared for. Staff greet children and welcome them into the setting. Children feel safe. They have a sense of belonging and happily wave goodbye to their parents and carers. Staff sit on the floor among children as they arrive and settle. Children learn to listen and respond in two-way interactions with staff. Children learn to take turns and develop social behaviour. Staff tune into children's language and repeat key words, such as
'yellow', so that children hear the correct pronunciation. The environment is stimulating and well organised. Staff create a wide range of experiences and activities for children to explore so that they become enthusiastic learners.
Leaders understand children's needs. They carefully design a sequenced and ambitious curriculum that focuses on children's communication and language. Staff offer a clear routine so that children know what is happening now and next. They share core stories and rhymes with children. Staff read with enthusiasm so that children become involved and engaged. Children learn language, rhythm and vocabulary through repetition. They develop a love of reading and books and are eager to learn. Children choose stories, ask staff to read to them and handle books with care. They play outside each day and experience guided activities in small groups. Children learn to balance and ride bicycles on the track. Staff playfully teach them the signals and signs to 'stop' and 'go.'
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- give children more opportunities to hear words clearly, process information and recognise familiar words and names n support staff to sequence children's learning more precisely during planned activities.
- 7 February 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 17 June 2019Good
- 2 August 2013Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St Joseph's Nursery
- What it costs
- 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.