The Willows Private Day Nursery
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Rochdale 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 April 2022. Open since 2005, with 66 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 Rochdale
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Rochdale 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
OL11 5BXWhat 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, 22 April 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive at the nursery happy and excited to enter. In response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, children had been dropped off and collected from the friendly staff at the door. However, parents have recently started coming back inside the nursery. Children respond well to this. They show their parents where their peg is for their belongings and confidently wave them off, before finding the activity they want to join.
Children are safe in this nursery. They seek out staff if they are upset or tired. Staff are close by to respond to children's needs. Children have a positive attitude to learning. They enjoy joining in with a 'dough disco' activity where they model dough in time to music. Children manipulate the dough between their fingers. They also make larger movements with their arms. This helps children to develop the small muscles in their hands and the larger muscles in their arms, ready for writing activities.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support all children to engage in high levels of participation and concentration during group activities n strengthen systems used to support children to regulate their own feelings and start to understand how their behaviour has an impact on others.
- 22 April 2022Good
- 5 August 2019Good
- 12 August 2014Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Willows Private 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.