Widcombe Acorns Pre-School and Forest School
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Bath for children from birth to 5, open 08:15 to 16:00, 5 days a week. £6.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in July 2025. Open since 1975, with 25 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £6.00Extended Hours*, Wrap around care, Early Start £15.00Breakfast Club | £5.00voluntary £6.00Late Finish £12.00non-funded |
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £5.00 an hour voluntary contribution per funded hour
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Up to 6 flexible funded hours per day, 30-hour scheme.
Worth knowing. Voluntary contribution of £5 per funded hour; no mandatory top-up fees.
What childcare usually costs in Bath and North East Somerset
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Bath and North East Somerset 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
BA2 4PAWhat 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, 8 July 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
There is a wonderful atmosphere at 'Acorns'. Staff show genuine interest and affection for the children. They build strong supportive relationships with them, knowing how important these are for children's well-being and confidence. These bonds form an incredibly solid foundation for children's further learning. Children thrive on the attentive support they receive and learn excellent character traits from staff, who value and respect them.
Staff know the children exceptionally well. They align their activities closely with children's abilities, interests and individual needs. The skilled team form a highly progressive curriculum, beneficially sequencing the experiences that they provide for the children. For example, staff offer focused projects to introduce key concepts, such as maps. Children form maps with staff assistance for routes to local venues and their journeys from their homes. They then create their own maps independently, making clear marks to represent the landmarks, such as the pond and forest school base camp.
Staff make learning fun, offering children rich, exciting activities and experiences.
- 8 July 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 5 December 2019Outstanding
- 16 December 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Widcombe Acorns Pre-School and Forest School
- 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.
- Is £6.00 an hour still the rate? 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.