Willows Educare
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Penzance for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 17:30, 7 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 2001, with 52 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 Cornwall
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cornwall 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
TR18 3JZWhat 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, 1 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happy to see their key person and settle quickly, demonstrating how secure they feel. They have good opportunities to learn where they prefer, with free access to the garden. Staff plan the environment well and with openended resources. These enable children to use them in own way. For example, they use tyres as roundabouts or to climb into or balance on. Children develop good skills through staff supporting their independence. For example, toddlers take off their coat and boots, and older children peel fruit, use knives to put spreads on their pancakes and pour their own drinks at snack time.
Children explore the interesting environment and lead their learning. For example, older children spontaneously count up and down a number line and toddlers complete inset jigsaw puzzles. Young children learn from the older ones, for example by copying their emergent writing and using magnifying glasses to hunt for tiny bugs. Staff demonstrate to children how to use tools and give them enough time to practise their new skills.
Parents do not enter the premises as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- focus staff training on ensuring that they use correct words with babies and toddlers, and build on questioning techniques to enhance older children's thinking skills n help children to solve problems and find out what works, through trial and error.
- 1 March 2022Good
- 23 February 2015Good
- 8 December 2010Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Willows Educare
- 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.