The Cottage Day Nursery
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Bristol for children from birth to 5, 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 August 2022. Open since 1997, with 50 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 South Gloucestershire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in South 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
BS36 2LGWhat 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, 5 August 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happy and eager to play. They confidently explore the wide range of activities available with interest and curiosity. For example, the children laugh and giggle as they explore the cars and tubes. They play well alongside each other as they watch to see whose car can go the furthest. Children benefit from meaningful interactions with staff, which stimulates their learning and builds on what they already know. Staff demonstrate that putting the tubes up higher can make the cars go faster. This sparks curiosity and children begin testing other surfaces and angles to see if they can make the cars go faster.
Staff offer children lots of praise and reassurance to build confidence and selfesteem. This supports children to build secure attachments with their key persons.
They openly engage staff and others in their play. Older children listen to each other and share ideas. They formulate a plan to rescue their friends from the moon. The children build a car out of crates and large junk modelling. They call staff by their names to join in with their play. The children discuss what tools they would need for the rescue. The children use their imagination to rescue their friends. Staff praise the children for their bravery and the children all cheer.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- further support younger children to understand the impact their behaviour has on others to help them manage their feelings and behaviours effectively n enhance the professional development and training of staff to focus on improving the quality of teaching further.
- 5 August 2022Good
- 15 September 2016Good
- 17 April 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Cottage 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.