Day Nursery
The Wolfson College Day Nursery is based within the College grounds in North Oxford. It aims to provide a safe and stimulating educational environment in which children aged 6 weeks to 5 years can develop their knowledge and skills at their own pace. We aspire to produce happy, well-adjusted and confident children by working in close partnership with parents.
Our Aims and Objectives
The Nursery believes in creating a ‘home away from home’ for children and families. We believe that by providing children with an environment where they feel safe, secure and supported they will be confident enough to explore the world around them and learn naturally through this exploration. We acknowledge the critical importance of children, parents and staff as partners in a learning community that promotes the wellbeing, education and development of all children. We encourage family and parent participation and believe this is a key part of running a successful childcare program. Play is an important part of a child’s development. Through play children learn about the world around them and it is, therefore, important to understand how valuable toys and play are in the development of the child.30
Oxfordshire provides a choice of daycare nurseries, but few can offer an environment nestled between Summertown and the city centre, in the heart of a peaceful College environment.
By adopting the key-person system, we ensure consistency of care for the child and a two-way partnership between parents and carer to establish close links between home and nursery.
The day nursery provides:
- a relaxed, safe and stimulating atmosphere;
- an encouraging, consistent and positive attitude towards all children;
- a welcome for children of all abilities and from all social and ethnic backgrounds;
- a recognition that children have individual needs and may therefore develop at different rates;
- freedom from stereotyping of any kind.
The Nursery prides itself on being self-reflective and working alongside educators and parents to create a ‘Continuous Improvement Plan’. This plan is reviewed quarterly and updated where applicable. It allows the nursery practices to stay relevant and developing to coincide with industry developments and any regulation or legislation changes.
The Day Nursery Handbook is available to download here.
Our 2023-24 policies are available for download here.
The Wolfson College Nursery is a registered carer and all staff are required to undergo thorough DBS checks. The Nursery is subject to inspection by OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education), a Fire Safety Officer, and by Environmental Health Inspectors. We are proud of the Nursery’s excellent record and good reports resulting from these inspections.
Click here for the results of our most recent OFSTED inspection.
Hours of Operation
The full Nursery day runs from 08.30-17.30. Mornings are from 08.30-13.00 and afternoons from 13.00-17.00.
The Nursery is open for 49 weeks a year excluding all UK Bank Holidays and College Closures; the Nursery has an additional closure for 2 weeks in August (closure dates on request).
Application
The Nursery operates a waiting list; priority is given to members of Wolfson College, although others are welcome. To apply for a place, applicants should complete the application form and return it to the Nursery Manager either by post or email.
On receipt of the application form the child will be placed on the Nursery’s waiting list. At intervals the Nursery will contact you to update your details and to keep you up-to-date with the status of your application – if no response is received the child’s name will be removed from the waiting list.
Successful applicants will be formally offered the Nursery place in writing detailing the type of place offered and the formal start date.
Fees
Fee information is provided on application. A 10% sibling discount is available. The discount will be set against the older child’s fees as long as both children remain in the Nursery; the discount will be shown as a deduction on the fees invoice.
Fees are invoiced in advance and in calendar months. Fees will not be charged for UK Bank Holidays, Nursery and College closures.
Vouchers
The Nursery accepts vouchers as payment or part-payment of Nursery fees; parents should note that voucher payments will not be shown as a deduction on fees invoices and it remains the responsibility of the parent(s) to ensure that Nursery fees are paid in full by the due dates.
Salary Sacrifice
The scheme is available to parent(s) who are employed at Oxford University. For more details about the scheme visit the Oxford University Salary Sacrifice Scheme website. The Nursery fees will be calculated from the month that the child joins the Nursery up to the end of the Nursery’s financial year (July) and divided into equal monthly payments.
Early Years Funding
The Nursery participates in the government-funded scheme to provide subsidised child care; parent(s) are entitled to claim up to 15 hours per week over 38 weeks per year. Remaining hours and weeks that are not covered by the funding will be charged at the Nursery’s current fees rate. For more details about the scheme please contact the Oxfordshire early years funding team.
Contact us
For more information on Wolfson Day Nursery, please get in touch with the nursery manager:
Email: daynursery@wolfson.ox.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1865 274085
