Opening hours
8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4pm on Fridays for 50 weeks a year.
Oak Cottage Nursery
Ofsted: Good
(Mar 2025)
Number of places
55 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Mar 2025
Local authority
Brighton and Hove
About this day nursery
Oak Cottage Nursery CIC, located in Woodingdean near Brighton, offers early years care and education for children aged 9 months to five years. The day nursery focuses on providing a safe and nurturing environment where children can learn through play and fun.
The highly trained and qualified staff are dedicated to supporting each child's learning and development, fostering confidence and well-being in every individual. Oak Cottage Nursery values treating all children as unique, and its commitment to quality childcare is reflected in its "Good" Ofsted grade.
The day nursery is open for 50 weeks a year, closing for two weeks over the Christmas period and on Bank Holidays. They offer various session times, including early sessions with breakfast, morning, afternoon, short day, long day, and late sessions with dinner.
Oak Cottage Nursery is also registered to receive nursery education funding, including universal 15 hours and extended 30 hours funding, with different options for term-time and all-year-round attendance. Parents can find more detailed information about daily routines, opening times, fees, and policies in their prospectus.
Our ethos
Oak Cottage Nursery CIC aims to provide a safe, nurturing environment where children learn through play and fun! We believe in treating all children as unique individuals, fostering confidence and well-being in each and every child.
What it's like
Children play joyfully and receive a kind welcome from staff. They engage in various activities, from exploring soil to imaginative play. Staff build sensitive and meaningful relationships with babies, offering cuddles and songs to reassure them, ensuring children feel safe and secure. Positive behaviour is promoted through conversations, helping children understand expectations like "good sitting" and "good listening" during story time.
Play-based learningNurturing environmentGood Ofsted ratingAccepts government funding
Pricing & funding
Fees must be paid in advance and are valid from September 2025. Funding is offered on both term-time (39 weeks) and all-year (50 weeks) schedules, with some self-funded weeks applying to the differences. Additional daily charges apply when using funding for specific 6-hour sessions between 9am and 4pm.
Funding accepted
15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
Good to know
- Fees must be paid in advance.
- Term-time is 39 weeks, funding is available for 38 weeks (1 week to pay).
- All Year is 50 weeks with funding stretched over 47 weeks (3 weeks to pay).
- Maximum of 15 hours or 30 hours term time, 12 hours or 24 hours stretched.
- Additional daily charges apply for 6-hour funded sessions between 9am and 4pm.
Key facts
Age range
9 months - 5 years
Term time / All Year
All Year
Ofsted Inspection
Ofsted rating for Oak Cottage Nursery
Last inspected 5 March 2025
Overall effectiveness
Good
What it's like to attend
Children play joyfully and receive a kind welcome from staff. They engage in various activities, from exploring soil to imaginative play. Staff build sensitive and meaningful relationships with babies, offering cuddles and songs to reassure them, ensuring children feel safe and secure. Positive behaviour is promoted through conversations, helping children understand expectations like "good sitting" and "good listening" during story time.
Inspector highlights
- Leaders have implemented successful improvements since their last inspection, and staff confidently discuss children's learning, knowing their key children's interests and abilities well.
- Staff support babies to develop their language skills through songs and rhymes, promoting their communication effectively.
- Children are immersed in exciting stories, and staff use various voices to inspire their imaginations, promoting a love of reading.
- Leaders have high expectations for children's skills, planning for older children to manage their own hygiene needs.
- Staff speak highly of the training and support they receive, which enhances their professional development and continually raises the standard of teaching.
Areas to develop
- 1support staff to fully implement the curriculum for developing and extending children's independence skills
- 2manage routines to reduce disruptions to children's focus and learning during interactions with staff.
Inspection #10359660 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report
What parents say
Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection
Parents explain their delight in the staff at the nursery.
They feel informed about activities and receive frequent communication about how their children are progressing.
Inclusion & environment
How they support every child
SEND provision
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support. Leaders ensure all staff understand each child's needs and liaise with professionals like auditory and speech therapists to create collaborative plans, supporting children to achieve the best outcomes.
Outdoor space
Children use chalk outside when they draw around staff and their friends, demonstrating how the outdoor space is used for developing writing and drawing skills.
Google Reviews of Oak Cottage Nursery
5.0
(1 Google review)
Muthumanickavel Swaminathan
7 years ago
Reviews from Google for Oak Cottage Nursery. See all on Google Maps
Inspection history
Improved from Requires improvement → Good in 2025
Date: August 2009
- March 2025Good
- June 2024Requires improvement
- September 2019Good
- April 2015Outstanding
- August 2009Outstanding
Frequently asked about Oak Cottage Nursery
About the setting
Oak Cottage Nursery registered in 2008 and is located in Brighton, East Sussex. The nursery operates 50 weeks a year, open each weekday from 8am to 5.30pm. It employs 21 childcare staff, 13 of whom hold an appropriate early years qualification. The nursery receives funding for government-funded early education for children aged nine months to four years old.
- URN
- EY385269
- Registered person
- Oak Cottage Nursery CIC
- Day care type
- Full day care
- Register
- Early Years Register
- Establishment type
- Childcare on non-domestic premises
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