Willow Cottage Nursery (Eynsham)
Willow Cottage Nursery (Eynsham) is a day nursery in Witney for children aged 1 to 4, with 65 registered places. Ofsted report card, 26 August 2026: Strong standard in 3 areas, Expected standard in 3 areas; safeguarding standards met.
Willow Cottage Nurseries, Owls Leat, Eynsham, Witney, OX29 4EH
Key facts
- Type
- Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Ages
- 1 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered places
- 65 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 29 May 2013 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:40 - 17:30
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 26 August 2026
Who runs it
Willow Cottage Nursery (Eynsham) is run by Willow Cottage Nurseries Ltd (Ofsted register).
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
- Achievement: Expected standard
- Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
- Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
- Leadership and governance: Expected standard
- Safeguarding standards met
Source: Ofsted, inspection on 26 August 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are happy, confident and secure at this welcoming nursery. They arrive enthusiastically, separate from their parents with confidence and quickly become absorbed in activities that interest them. Children form warm and trusting relationships with familiar staff, confidently seeking comfort, reassurance or help when they need it. Children benefit from staff who understand them well and value their individual personalities, interests and ways of communicating.
Children experience a secure sense of belonging. They enjoy positive relationships with their peers, cooperate in play and show care and empathy towards one another. They learn to share, take turns, use good manners and manage their feelings with the support of familiar and consistent routines. Children respond confidently to expectations and demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. They sustain concentration when exploring activities that capture their interests, such as hunting for bugs, investigating soil, sand and planting, and developing their physical skills outdoors with a wide range of equipment.
Younger children make meaningful choices about how they spend their time and are encouraged to become increasingly independent. They confidently explore the indoor and outdoor environments, take appropriate risks and persevere when developing new physical skills. Children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed for their next stage of learning. In the pre-school room, children engage enthusiastically in rich conversations, listen to others, make predictions and respond thoughtfully to new ideas. They develop communication, mathematical understanding and independence in preparation for school.
Children who require additional support are included and valued. Staff understand their individual needs and make appropriate adaptations so that children can participate, communicate their needs and develop greater independence. This is particularly evident for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who are supported to engage alongside their peers and make great progress from their individual starting points.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Strong standard
Leaders have established an inclusive culture where every child is welcomed, valued and supported to participate fully regardless of their individual needs or background. Leaders and staff know children well and identify their individual needs, strengths and any barriers that may affect their learning, development or wellbeing. They use this knowledge effectively to adapt teaching, routines, resources and the environment so that all children achieve well.
Children receiving additional funding, benefit from targeted support that is used to promote their learning and development. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive tailored and timely support, with staff making thoughtful adaptations to enable them to communicate, engage confidently and learn alongside their peers. Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of early identification and intervention and can explain the individual support and next steps for all children.
Children facing other barriers to learning or wellbeing are identified promptly and their needs are considered when planning provision. Leaders work with parents and, where appropriate, external professionals to understand children's needs and secure appropriate support. This helps to ensure that children receive consistent support and are able to access the curriculum meaningfully. Leaders have high expectations for every child and continually review the impact of support so that children make good progress from their individual starting points.
Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
Leaders have designed a curriculum that is suitable to support children's learning and development across all areas of learning. Leaders have identified the knowledge, skills and experiences children need. The curriculum is appropriately sequenced so that children have opportunities to revisit and practise important learning. Staff understand children's individual starting points, interests and learning needs and use this information to plan purposeful experiences.
Assessment is used appropriately to identify children's progress and inform their next steps. Staff can explain what children know and can do and identify where further support is needed, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing barriers to learning. However, the quality of staff's interactions is not consistently at the highest level. While some practitioners skilfully extend children's thinking and language by responding to their ideas and misconceptions, there are occasions when valuable opportunities to develop communication, language and mathematical thinking are not fully extended.
Overall, teaching is typically effective in supporting children to remain engaged and make progress. Staff provide appropriate modelling, explanations and support, and they adapt activities and routines to enable children with additional needs and abilities to participate successfully. Staff respond to children's interests and emerging understanding, helping them to make connections and develop new knowledge.
Achievement: Expected standard
Children achieve well from their individual starting points and develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need for their next stage of learning. All children typically develop across all areas of learning through a suitable range of planned and child-led experiences. They increasingly communicate their needs and ideas, develop their vocabulary, mathematical understanding and physical skills, and become more independent in everyday routines. Children demonstrate that they can apply what they have learned with increasing confidence.
Children particularly enjoy the spacious outdoor areas, where they have daily opportunities to develop their skills, confidently explore, take risks and develop their physical skills, coordination and strength. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning receive effective adaptations and targeted support to help them participate and make progress alongside their peers.
Older children show curiosity and engagement as they make observations, predict what might happen and listen carefully to each other during a whole group story session. They are introduced to new vocabulary, and their understanding is typically extended, creating rich opportunities for communication, language and thinking. For example, children explore and understand the difference between a 'cantaloupe' and the 'antelope' in the book. Consequently, children develop the age-appropriate knowledge, skills, confidence and independence they need for a successful transition to school.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
Leaders establish a positive culture where high expectations for behaviour, attitudes and learning are understood and applied consistently across the nursery. As a result, children consistently remain highly engaged throughout the day. They understand the rules and boundaries that help them to feel secure and show empathy, kindness and consideration towards their peers. Children cooperate well, share experiences and listen to others, developing confidence in managing their feelings and behaviour.
Staff model respectful interactions and provide calm, consistent support that helps children to understand expectations and regulate their emotions. Children show positive engagement in their learning. They are curious, sustain their attention and willingly try new experiences and challenges. Familiar routines are well established, and children respond confidently to them, moving between activities and parts of the day with increasing independence. For example, younger children understand that music signals tidy-up time and willingly help to put resources away before going outside. Routines also support children's developing independence in readiness for school.
Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance and maintain robust systems to monitor children's attendance. Inclusive approaches ensure that children's individual needs are recognised and adaptations enable all children to participate confidently. Consequently, children are settled, cooperative and purposeful throughout the day, demonstrating the positive behaviours, attitudes and self-regulation that support successful learning.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
Leaders establish a culture where children's physical health, emotional wellbeing and safety underpin daily practice. As a result, children feel safe, secure and valued. They benefit from consistently warm, trusting relationships with staff, which support their emotional security and confidence in the setting. The key person arrangements are effective, ensuring every child has a familiar adult who knows them well and responds sensitively to their individual needs. Children's voices and choices are respected throughout the day. They choose activities, pursue their interests and are encouraged to develop independence, take appropriate risks and manage their feelings. Staff support children to understand expectations, share, take turns and show kindness and respect towards others.
Children learn about healthy lifestyles and healthy choices through everyday routines and experiences, such as planting and growing. Children develop an understanding of the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Regular sports and forest-school sessions make a significant contribution to children's welfare and wellbeing. Children learn to assess and manage appropriate risks. They develop confidence, resilience and physical competence as they explore the natural environment, and strengthen their balance and coordination skills. These experiences promote emotional wellbeing, perseverance and healthy lifestyles.
Leaders work closely with families and external professionals to understand children's individual circumstances and provide appropriate support. Inclusive practice is well embedded, with staff adapting provision to ensure all children can participate fully. Overall, children thrive in a caring and inclusive environment that prepares them well for future learning and life.
Leadership and governance: Expected standard
Leaders have a clear vision and provide direction for the staff team. They have a secure understanding of the setting's strengths, children's needs and priorities for improvement. They have made purposeful changes since the previous inspection, including restructuring the nursery so younger children remain with their key person for longer, supporting secure relationships and greater confidence. The introduction of team leaders has strengthened oversight of practice and this has begun to make a positive impact on staff performance.
Leaders maintain robust recruitment arrangements with appropriate checks in place. Overall, they support staff through regular supervision sessions, training, mentoring and opportunities to develop their roles, including further qualifications development. However, arrangements for staff's personalised professional development opportunities are not yet fully developed to further improve teaching quality. Staff speak positively about the support they receive from leaders. They value having an approachable leadership team and appreciate the opportunities to develop their knowledge and confidence. Overall, leadership and governance have a positive impact on children's experiences, welfare and outcomes.
Leaders know children well and make decisions in their best interests, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those receiving additional funding. They work closely with key persons and families to identify individual needs and ensure funding is used appropriately to provide targeted support. Leaders maintain effective partnerships with parents, who report that communication is effective and that their children make progress in confidence, social skills, vocabulary and communication.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders should strengthen staff's skills across the wider curriculum, building on personalised professional development opportunities and evaluating how effectively this improves children's outcomes, so that the quality of teaching continues to an even high level.
- Leaders should continue to coach and support staff to make the most of opportunities to extend children's learning and ensure consistently high-quality interactions.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 26 August 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)
Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.
The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.
Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.
Source: Ofsted reports
Funded childcare hours in England
All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.
Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.
Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.
The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.
Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)
Other nurseries nearby
- Hanborough Meadows Pre School - Pre-school, Long Hanborough OX29 8FL, ages 2 to 4, 24 places, 1.3 milesOfsted, 6 October 2021: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Hanborough Pre-School - Day nursery, Witney OX29 8JG, ages 2 to 4, 23 places, 1.5 milesOfsted, 25 May 2023: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
- Clubzone CZ Limited - Pre-school, Eynsham OX29 4LJ, 1.7 miles
- The Oxford Nursery Eynsham - Day nursery, Witney OX29 4PL, ages 0 to 4, 52 places, 1.8 milesOfsted, 9 March 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Schools nearby
- St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Cassington - Primary, 1.5 miles
- Hanborough Manor CofE School - Primary, 1.5 miles