The Willows Daycare Limited
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Ipswich for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in June 2025. Open since 2007, with 46 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
In the term after your child's third birthday, they are entitled to 15 hours free education.
Worth knowing. A declaration form needs to be completed with proof of your child's date of birth by an allocated date each term to ensure your child gets a place for their funded sessions.
What childcare usually costs in Suffolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Suffolk 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
IP2 9UXWhat 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, 25 June 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in this nursery because staff use their expert knowledge and skilful interactions to create a safe, rich learning environment for all children attending. A
meticulously planned, ambitious curriculum captures children's interests and growing skills. Children demonstrate they are self-assured, confident and eager to explore activities available to them. Children arrive eager to start their day. They are greeted by kind, happy staff who are genuinely pleased to see them. Children quickly become engrossed in their self-chosen tasks. The nursery curriculum has a strong focus of supporting children's personal, social and emotional development.
They follow children interests and also promote some principles of the curiosity approach. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make sustained progress from their starting points. They rapidly develop the skills they need to be ready for the next stage in learning and the move to school.
- 25 June 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 23 August 2019Outstanding
- 3 June 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Willows Daycare Limited
- 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.