Food
Optional hot lunch available (term-time only); Packed lunch to be provided from home for holiday club.
Willaston Pre-school
Ofsted: Good
(Sept 2025)
Number of places
24 places
Age range
2–4 yrs
Last inspected
Sept 2025
Local authority
Cheshire East
About this day nursery
Willaston Pre-school, located near Crewe and Nantwich, offers flexible childcare for children aged 2 years to school age, providing care even during school holidays. The pre-school, which emphasises a family-like atmosphere and has a 40-year track record of promoting school readiness, aims to accommodate diverse family needs, including offering flexible drop-off and pick-up times and allowing funded hours to be used in any pattern of attendance.
As a registered charity, its fees are set to cover costs, and it also welcomes older siblings in its holiday club. The facility boasts spacious indoor and outdoor play areas, including a wildlife garden, and is not affiliated with any religion or primary school.
The pre-school accepts various funding options, including government-funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare, and offers optional hot lunches, with specific provisions for disadvantaged children. It also recommends using Stikins labels for children’s belongings, with a percentage of sales going to the pre-school.
What it's like
Leaders and staff create a calm and nurturing environment where children feel safe, secure and valued. Staff greet children personally and gather information from parents to ensure children's needs are met. Children settle quickly, show positive relationships with staff, and are supported to become independent and confident.
Flexible sessionsHoliday clubAccepts 2-year-oldsCharity-run
Pricing & funding
Fees are charged on an hourly basis for standard sessions and holiday club bookings. Additional charges apply for hot lunches and a per-session consumables fee, with various discounts and exemptions available for children qualifying for EYPP or disadvantaged funding.
Funding accepted
15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)Tax-Free Childcare
Good to know
- Rates apply from September 2025.
- Holiday club bookings qualify for a 20% sibling discount, which includes children in reception.
- A consumable fee of 45p per session covers snacks and resources but is free for EYPP children.
- A discounted rate for hot lunches is available for EYPP-eligible and disadvantaged two-year-old children.
Key facts
Opening hours
Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 5.30pm
Age range
2 years to school age
Term time / All Year
Term Time
Established
1985
Ofsted Inspection
Ofsted rating for Willaston Pre-school
Last inspected 18 September 2025 · Kelly Little
Overall effectiveness
Good
What it's like to attend
Leaders and staff create a calm and nurturing environment where children feel safe, secure and valued. Staff greet children personally and gather information from parents to ensure children's needs are met. Children settle quickly, show positive relationships with staff, and are supported to become independent and confident.
Inspector highlights
- Staff support children to develop early mathematical skills across the nursery, incorporating counting into daily routines and using number songs and rhymes.
- Staff promote healthy lifestyles effectively by providing daily access to outdoor play, physical activities like dance and yoga, and a range of healthy meals and snacks.
- Parents speak highly of the nursery, praising the excellent communication and home-from-home environment, and valuing how approachable and friendly leaders and staff are.
- The committee plays an active and supportive role in the nursery, working closely with staff and having clearly defined roles to support leaders and drive improvements.
- Staff support children's communication and language development well by consistently narrating play and introducing new vocabulary.
Areas to develop
- 1provide children with English as additional language with even more opportunities to be able to communicate their wants and needs to fully promote their emerging speech and language skills
- 2strengthen the planning of group times to ensure individual learning needs are met and to support children to maintain higher levels of engagement
- 3further develop behaviour management strategies to support children to understand the impact of any unwanted behaviour and how their behaviour may impact on others.
Inspection #10399301 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report
What parents say
Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection
Parents speak highly of the nursery, praising the excellent communication and the home-from-home environment.
They value how approachable and friendly leaders and staff are.
Inclusion & environment
How they support every child
SEND provision
Leaders and staff provide timely and targeted support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work effectively with external agencies to ensure children are fully included and make good progress from their individual starting points.
Outdoor space
Children benefit from daily access to outdoor play and regularly engage in physical activities such as dance and yoga, which support their physical development and overall well-being.
EAL / language support
However, while staff make efforts to learn some key words from children's home languages, they have not yet developed effective strategies to fully support children with English as an additional language in expressing their needs and developing their speech and language skills.
Inspection history
Date: November 2011
- September 2025Good
- November 2019Good
- January 2015Outstanding
- November 2011Good
Frequently asked about Willaston Pre-school
About the setting
Willaston Pre-school registered in 1985 and is situated in the Willaston area of Nantwich, Cheshire. The pre-school is managed by a voluntary committee. The pre-school employs nine members of childcare staff, six of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The manager holds early years professional status. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 5.30pm, during term-time only, and provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.
- URN
- 305438
- Registered person
- Willaston Pre-School Committee
- Day care type
- Full day care
- Register
- Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register
- Establishment type
- Childcare on non-domestic premises
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