Bright Horizons Witney Day Nursery and Preschool, established in 2023, provides care for children aged 0–4 years. Open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm for most of the year, it closes only between Christmas and New Year.
The nursery received a 'Good' rating in its latest Ofsted inspection on 18th March 2025, an improvement from its previous 'Requires Improvement' rating, reflecting the dedicated management team's efforts. The nursery offers a welcoming environment where children arrive happy and eager to learn.
Staff arrange activities and toys thoughtfully, allowing children independent access to resources that align with their interests and developmental stage. The curriculum is child-led and ambitious, covering all seven areas of learning, with a strong focus on fostering independence.
Children benefit from ample opportunities for physical activity, with all ages enjoying daily access to the garden for exploring different textures and engaging with play equipment. The nursery effectively promotes children's communication and language through discussions about play, singing, and storytelling.
Parents commend the support received from staff, who work closely with them to identify interests and encourage consistent learning at home, providing daily feedback and updates via an online app.
What it's like
Children arrive happy and are eager to start their learning. Staff provide a welcoming environment and arrange activities and toys well, enabling children to have independent access to resources that suit their interests and development. Children benefit from plenty of opportunities to be physically active.
Settling-in sessions are offered free of charge to help children transition. These sessions can begin up to six weeks prior to the official start date.
Funding accepted
Good to know
Waitlist
Bright Horizons offers non-chargeable settling-in sessions for up to six weeks before a child's start date, working with families to ensure a smooth transition into nursery life. These sessions are designed to allow children to become familiar with their new surroundings and build a strong relationship with their key person, fostering a sense of emotional safety and a secure base for exploration and learning.
Opening hours
Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, for most of the year. Closed between Christmas and New Year.
Term time / All Year
All Year
Established
2023
Last inspected 18 March 2025
What it's like to attend
Children arrive happy and are eager to start their learning. Staff provide a welcoming environment and arrange activities and toys well, enabling children to have independent access to resources that suit their interests and development. Children benefit from plenty of opportunities to be physically active.
Inspector highlights
Areas to develop
Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection
Parents state that they are very pleased with the support they receive from the staff at the nursery.
Inclusion & environment
Children benefit from plenty of opportunities to be physically active. All ages access the garden throughout each day, and they thoroughly enjoy exploring with different textures and climbing and balancing over play equipment.
My daughter has just left the nursery after 2 wonderful years and I am so sad to no longer be part of such a nurturing setting - the whole team really acted as our "village" and each staff member was so calm and compassionate and took time to know each and every child. We felt at total ease having our daughter in their care and were pleased with the daily updates provided each day both verbally at handover and on the app. The meals provided were of great quality and nutritional value. The garden was what first drew us to the setting alongside the convenience of the location and I love that they spend so much time outside in fresh air. Thank you BH - we will miss you!
Read on Google
We registered our child on 27th Jan, to start full time from September. We paid the deposit (which no other provider has set so high, and to be retained as an ‘admin fee’). We asked about availability for September and were told it looked absolutely fine. They would confirm the place soon. Skip to mid-April, we were getting anxious as nursery places are reallly difficult to get, and impossible at short notice, I went in to get an update twice and emailed the manager with no response other than just to hold out and we’d be contacted in the following week. When I called this week (mid-May) I finally got the manager who told me that they could offer a space for 3 days a week. This is absolute madness, a manager that’s impossible to get hold of, false expectations and a hell of a lot of being kept in the dark. We are now a few months away from the required start date and having to desperately search for a provider with availability. I was told “we only have to give a months notice but we were trying to give people more time”. Thanks for nothing, waste of time and now going to struggle to find a place.
Read on Google
Oh my god, I was so glad to see another review revealing the truth about preschool! At this point I thouhgt I was this crazy parent, constantly knocking on Management's door and asking, demanding, begging to look after my child and to keep him safe! - and not receiving results, or just a temporary relief. Our experience with Bright Horizons has been deeply concerning and disappointing. Over the past six months, my son has repeatedly been bitten, scratched, and hit by another child. In our case, our son always names the same one. Despite raising these issues with management, the problems persist. Our son, who was previously gentle, now mimics aggressive behavior he witnesses at the nursery. At age of 3 he already has 2 scars on his face left from scratching, close to the eyes btw. Not sure who will be responsible when the said child has one of those "bad days" as staff calls it and scoops someone's eye out?! When discussing this with management, the responses have been dismissive and inadequate: "we are already doing all we can", "staff don't have eyes on the back of their head" or "you can't expect it to be like at home." If the child is not diagnosed, they keep the 1:8 ratio and do not seem to get any extra help even though it is obvious it's needed. They seem unable to effectively manage the behavior of this child, who I have personally witnessed being disruptive and aggressive daily. Furthermore, our son's emotional health has deteriorated. He has started stuttering, experiencing more frequent accidents, and shows drastic behavioral changes at home after these incidents. There have been times when he comes home with new marks on his skin that staff are unaware of. We have reduced our son's hours and will be leaving this nursery because we no longer feel he is safe there. The staff appears stressed and exhausted, and the nursery's strategies are ineffective. This was our first experience with early years education, and it has been disheartening and exhausting.
Read on Google
I am so pleased that I found this gem of a nursery for my son! The whole place is so welcoming but every member of staff goes above and beyond to make it a happy, positive experience for both children and parents. My son has needed a lot of support and they have been brilliant looking after his needs. I couldn’t imagine a better place for him!
Read on Google
This review is only with regards to the pre-school group… they have a few children with special needs with no shadow or someone to deal specifically with them so my son was coming home every day with new scars, bruises etc. up to the point where he just refused to go in anymore although crying about missing his friends and teacher. We brought this up to the management team and to begin with, they were very dismissive and denied everything. Then when his key person admitted in front of the manager that this was indeed happening almost on a daily basis, they said they will look into it… nothing ever changed so I wouldn’t recommend taking your kids there.
Read on GoogleReviews from Google for Bright Horizons Witney Day Nursery and Preschool. See all on Google Maps
Date: July 2024
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