The Cradle Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.4 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Wigston for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2023. Open since 2012, with 72 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Working parent funded childcare for eligible working families; Universal 15 hours for all eligible 3 and 4 year olds; 15 hours for eligible 2 year olds receiving additional support.
Worth knowing. Funded hours are allocated in line with their booking pattern; charges relate only to services or attendance that fall outside the funded entitlement, or to optional extras chosen by parents/carers. Depending on your child's booking pattern, this may include additional childcare hours, meal provision, sports sessions, enhanced activity charges, or other optional services offered by the nursery. Funded only places can be accessed without selecting any additional services, subject to availability.
What childcare usually costs in Leicestershire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Leicestershire 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
LE18 1JXWhat 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, 21 April 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily and are eager to play at this safe and welcoming nursery.
They quickly settle and find their favourite activities. Children are helped to build their large-muscle skills as they perform yoga poses and dance moves. They grasp scarves, watching as they twirl, and move their bodies in time to the music.
Younger children delve into soapy water. Staff carefully show them how to use pipettes, using their small-muscle skills to squeeze up the water. They begin to develop their coordination skills as they scramble up the steps to the slide and laugh happily as they travel down. Children develop their imaginative skills as they are supported by staff to make imaginary dinners in the mud kitchen. They use pots and pans as they pretend to create different foods. Staff support this interest as they ask children what their favourite food is. Children answer, 'I like pizza best.'
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to build on opportunities for children to develop their independence skills and make choices during their play n strengthen staff's questioning skills with younger children so that children have to think for themselves and respond.
- 21 April 2023Good
- 28 September 2017Good
- 12 August 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Cradle Nursery
- What it costs
- 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
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.
- 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.