The Cradle Nursery
Good★ 4.3 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open a few years
A day nursery in Oldbury, West Midlands 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 January 2025. Open since 2024, with 63 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 Sandwell
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Sandwell 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
B68 8RHWhat 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, 23 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily at this nursery. They smile and give hugs to the welcoming staff. Staff respond with care and warmth and children feel safe and secure in the nursery as a result. Children begin to appreciate the similarities and differences between themselves and others, as they learn about different customs and cultures. For example, children watch videos of dancing dragons as they learn about Chinese New Year. They excitedly work together, using junk materials to make their own dancing dragon. Children use their hands and sponges creatively to find different ways to add paint to their model. Staff promote children's curiosity well, as they are encouraged to explore and think about what will happen when they mix paints. Children watch in awe as the paints they mix change colour.
Children enjoy opportunities to play outside in the fresh air. They are active and develop important physical skills as they ride on bikes, coordinating their way along pathways and chasing after rolling hoops. Children learn about personal safety as staff explain how to climb climbing frames safely, holding the handrail and taking one step at a time. Young children develop fine motor skills as they manipulate soft dough and use tools to create shapes and patterns in the dough. Older children learn about letters and the sounds they make. They use paintbrushes to write and copy letters and numbers in glitter trays. Children's independence skills are promoted well by staff. Children learn to put on their coats and shoes before going out to play and self-select when they will eat their healthy fruit snacks. This prepares children well for the next stage of their education.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance the quality of staff's interactions with children, when they show interest in activities, to fully extend their learning
- implement professional development opportunities to enhance staff knowledge and skills even further.
- 23 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 6 June 2024Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Cradle 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.