Willow Cottage Nursery (Bletchingdon)
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Kidlington for children from birth to 5, open 07:30 to 17:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 2016, with 60 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
We deliver the government's Early Education Funding stretched across 50 weeks of the year.
Worth knowing. Core funded hours are 100% free of charge, including all meals, snacks, and consumables. Sessions taken during our core funded hours have no hidden extras or supplementary charges. Funding is applied strictly during our designated core hours each day (up to our setting maximum).
What childcare usually costs in Oxfordshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Oxfordshire 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
OX5 3DHWhat 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, 17 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happy and are greeted warmly by the welcoming staff. Staff show genuine interest in the children and their families and form strong bonds with them. Experienced staff create a calm, cosy and homely environment, which children adore. Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum for all children. This is based on the secure knowledge of children's current skills and interests and takes account of what they want children to learn next.
Staff regularly introduce new language and resources to extend and build on children's previous learning. For example, older children are curious to learn about different birds in winter. Furthermore, they are excited to observe a 'red kite' fly into the neighbouring field. Children learn how to use all their senses to understand the properties of different materials and objects. For instance, younger children become deeply engaged in their play as they scoop, pour and transfer sand, water and coloured oats to different containers. Children make good progress and demonstrate an eagerness to explore and learn more.
Staff reflect a positive and respectful culture and have high expectations for children's behaviour. As a result, children demonstrate very good levels of selfconfidence and self-esteem and behave impeccably well. Children display exceptionally positive and mature behaviours. They are motivated to explore and play extremely well together. Staff sensitively support and promote children's emotional security, resilience, independence and development. Children thrive in their nurturing environment. They build very strong emotional bonds with their key person.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance opportunities for children who are less confident in speaking to talk and express themselves.
- 17 January 2024Good
- 29 May 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Willow Cottage Nursery (Bletchingdon)
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- 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.