Willow Bank Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Reading for from 2 years 6 months up to 5 year olds, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2024. Open since 2001, with 32 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
30 hours funded spaces.
What childcare usually costs in Wokingham
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Wokingham 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
RG5 4RWWhat 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, 6 November 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff warmly welcome children, parents and carers on arrival. They provide a caring approach to children who need support. This helps children to settle quickly and enjoy their play and learning. Children form positive relationships with staff and develop a strong sense of belonging. They understand the daily routines and expectations well. Staff encourage children to remember the behaviour expectations and provide reminders. For example, they remind children about using their 'walking feet' indoors and encourage them to consider where it is safer to run around. Staff praise and encourage children. This securely promotes children's confidence in their abilities. Children build their independence and self-care skills effectively and learn to do tasks by themselves.
There is a clear curriculum that identifies the skills and knowledge children need to gain to prepare them for their next stage of learning. Staff quickly identify children who may need extra support. They promptly take steps to help close any gaps in children's learning and development. There is a strong focus on developing children's communication and language skills. Staff build children's vocabulary and understanding effectively. For instance, they involve children in discussions, reading books and singing songs and rhymes. Staff successfully weave in teaching during play and interactions with children. For example, they support children to recall prior knowledge, including recognising and sequencing numbers. Overall, staff's practice and most organisational aspects of the pre-school are securely implemented
What Ofsted told them to improve
To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: ensure there are effective procedures for all committee members to promptly submit the required information to
Ofsted to check and verify their suitability for their roles. (by 04/12/2024)
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to implement the learning intentions more consistently to promote children's learning and development further n embed staff's understanding of their roles and responsibilities during routine times of the day, to ensure these times are supported effectively and consistently.
- 6 November 2024Good
- 16 January 2019Good
- 11 January 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Willow Bank Pre-School
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
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.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.