Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford)

Old Road, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, Oxford OX3 7JU
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9.9 191 Reviews
  • Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford), Oxford
Julia Durbin Day Nursery is located within the grounds of Churchill Hospital and caters for children both in the local community and the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital Trust.

Homely surroundings and a thoroughly resourced facility allows the nursery's highly trained practitioners to achieve high standards of early years education across the age ranges.

Parent partnerships are promoted and developed whilst long opening hours and a fully inclusive package offer a convenient service to busy families.

Care Provided by Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford)

  • Type of Service
  • Day Nursery – Privately Owned
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Emma Wallbridge (Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 54
  • Total Places for Children
  • 164
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 2 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:00-18:30
    Tuesday 07:00-18:30
    Wednesday 07:00-18:30
    Thursday 07:00-18:30
    Friday 07:00-18:30
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays & Inset Days
  • Parking
  • Free parking is available onsite.


Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) Reviews (191)

Total of 191, showing 141-160
9.9

Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.867) out of 10, based on 32 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) has 191 reviews.

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Date Published

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) is a new place for myself and my family especially our little girl. I was uneasy at first for my daughter to go to nursery but the staff at Julia Durbin have been very supportive and helped a lot with our little girls’ development and bringing her out of her shell.


My

husband and I are very happy with the nursery and would recommend to anyone.


The staff including the management team have been great and my little girl is very happy at the nursery when she comes home I don’t have to worry about her eating she eats everything no fuss, plays and shares and just a happy child.


Thank you, Julia Durbin staff.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We're very happy with Julia Durbin nursery, as is our 1-year-old daughter. The staff are lovely. There's plenty of outside space. And there's always something new going on in the nursery itself. No hesitation recommending to others.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We have 2 children at the nursery, in Bumblebees and in pre-school. We are very happy with the nursery and the care that our children receive.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

A wonderful nursery with very positive and enthusiastic staff members creating a great environment for children to thrive in. My daughter spends a lot of time in this nursery as me and Mum both work full time and it makes a real difference knowing she is being cared for by a brilliant team.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Julia Durbin Day Nursery provides every opportunity for our daughter to learn and develop her communication and motor skills.


There are various activities made available and various equipment are provided to encourage the children's development through play and exploration.


The huge outdoor garden

area is a major plus for the children to participate in outdoor activities.


I find the learning experiences for each classroom are well structured and planned, all the staff are very caring and friendly too.


Key persons for our daughter look after her very well and are doing amazing jobs in supporting and settling her in the class.


The daily reports and assessment reports are particularly helpful which allows us to be able to experience our child's developmental stage.


Words could not express how thankful we are to have our daughter taken care of so well at Julia Durbin Day Nursery, it is truly an outstanding and reliable nursery where children are kept happy and healthy!


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

A nursery with extremely high standards. All the staff are caring and supportive of the child’s needs. My daughter has always been at home with me and settled in incredibly fast with the kindness of her key worker even though she only attends a few hours a week. The nursery itself has very high standards
of cleanliness and is smart. I would highly recommend this nursery.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I have no hesitation to recommend Julia Durbin nursery. Our two boys have attended the nursery over the last 6 years. They have loved every single minute of it!


As a parent you want your kids to be happy and safe when you can’t be with them. I’ve always had 100% confidence with the dedicated and

kind staff of JD.


The nursery is well managed with approachable and helpful staff, always a cheery ‘hello’ in the morning. I have always had the impression that everyone enjoys working there and this feeds into the care and love that they impart to the children.


The outdoor space is fantastic and our boys have loved the opportunity to be outdoors so much.


Highly recommended.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We have had close to 3 wonderful years at Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) and during this time we have been consistently impressed with the care they have given our son. Some of the highlights have been:
We have always felt our son's key person has developed a real interest and bond with our son.
He
has always eaten very well at Julia Durbin, even when not so good at home!
The feedback given to parents is excellent.
I can definitely recommend Julia Durbin Day Nursery.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My Daughter attended the Julia Durbin Day Nursery for about 3 years. I cannot praise the nursery enough. All of the staff over the years have been so caring and considerate. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed attending the nursery and I felt she was cared for so well. The choice of key workers in the 5
rooms she was in was done in such a way to suit my child and I felt thought had gone into that.
In the whole time my daughter was at the nursery I never had a reason to complain or grumble about anything, which is amazing.
From the office staff to the kitchen staff and the staff in the rooms, you were always greeted with a smile and warm welcome.
I can't recommend the nursery enough.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has been very happy at this nursery and will miss the place when she goes to school. The garden is a real asset and the children spent a lot of time outside and exploring the wildlife. The staff are engaging and take a real personal interest in the children they care for. The activities
are well planned and varied. The staff have imagination with new activities examining different themes and skills. The staff turnover appears low compared to my daughter's previous nursery.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our daughter has been at Julia Durbin Day Nursery since we moved to the area 2 years ago and is now heading off to school. She has gained a great deal from her time at the nursery and it has been great to see her grow in confidence. She has been very fond of all of the staff looking after her and has
also made a lovely group of friends. All the staff, both the management and the childcare teams, have been friendly, professional and excellent throughout and it offers great peace of mind to be able to leave her in their care without any worry at all. The facilities are also excellent, in particular the outside spaces and the availability of extended opening hours. I would highly recommend this nursery!

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Julia Durbin is a modern green and well-run nursery full of excellent staff headed by a wonderful manager.
Both our boys actively look forward to attending and both speak fondly of their key workers.
The programme is diverse and parent involvement is excellent.
What is nice to see is continued innovation
in care, development (child and staff) and parental involvement.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Julia Durbin Day Nursery has been a really positive part of our family life over the past years. We have found the staff approachable, helpful, and willing to talk through and to resolve any questions or concerns, and both of our (very different!) children have loved being there. Our children love
the outdoor area and the structured days, and we have really appreciated the thought that has gone into the positive management and care for the children. THANK YOU to all the staff who have poured time and energy into thinking about every aspect of the care of the children, and making the space one of growth, exploration, fun, and laughter.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has had a wonderful two years at Julia Durbin - the staff are caring and attentive. They prepare activities according to the children's interests and links to home are strongly encouraged. We will miss everyone there as my son starts school in September.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am always impressed with the level of kindness and care that Julia Durbin Nursery has for my two children who both attend half days, 3 days a week. My children are thriving within the environment provided and my only negative is that we have to leave to move back to Australia and I'm nervous I won't
find anything to match the warmth and high standards set by our experiences here.
The staff are amazing and have been a wonderful safe and supportive structure for us, who are only in Oxford for a year.
I chose Julia Durbin after seeing other places based on the warm vibe I received when viewing the nursery. I based it on the outside space, the freedom for kids to go outside if they wished, and for the space and setup of each of the rooms. For me, they maintain the right balance for providing a safe, warm hearted, fun, educational environment for our children, and as parents, we have been impressed every step of the way. We just wish we could transport the whole nursery to Sydney.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has been at Julia Durbin since November 2013 and will be leaving to go to primary school at the end of August. The care that he has received during his time at nursery has been exceptional. My son loves going to nursery and talks happily about his day when we collect him.


Julia Durbin has

a friendly and welcoming atmosphere and the nursery practitioners have helped my son develop his independence enormously. A huge range of different activities are available for the children, my son has enjoyed learning some French words, yoga on Wednesdays in Pre-School, messy play and much more. I have been particularly impressed by the way in which all of my son's key workers have worked with us to support his development. When my son was very young we used baby signing to communicate and his key workers made sure that the signs we used were consistent. More recently we have worked together to address 'challenging' behaviour by offering consistent rewards for good behaviour.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Julia Durbin is a wonderful nursery where our children are very happy. Our eldest has been through from caterpillars (baby room) to preschool, and we will all be very sad when she leaves. Her key worker at pre-school has done a fantastic job of growing her confidence prior to leaving. All of the staff
know her very well, and actively encourage her interests; she comes home every day full of excitement and stories. Our youngest daughter started caterpillars in January and settled in very quickly. She has a lovely relationship with the staff there, especially her key worker, whom she adores. The atmosphere in caterpillars has been very nurturing and full of enthusiasm. We are moving abroad for a year in August but won't hesitate to bring our youngest back to Julia Durbin when we return.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has been with Julia Durbin since September 2016 to the present.
The staff are great, they looked after my daughter really well. She didn't speak English when she started pre-school and the first few days were stressful for her but her key person and other staff did everything to help her
settle.
She made progress with her English, made some friends and really enjoys it. They do a lot of activities, spend a lot of time outside.
Food is really good too.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Both of our children have been through the Julia Durbin Nursery. It provides a wonderfully stimulating, nurturing environment that helps them to learn whilst having fun. Despite the fact that in our family both parents work long days, this has not been a problem as the Julia Durbin nursery is able
to offer breakfast through to evening meals, and big long sleeps in the day as needed, so children carry on in their usual home routine. We also value the fact that the nursery is 100% reliable and will always be open on non-bank holiday days.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has been with Julia Durbin since August 2014 to the present.
As a parent, all you want to do is the very best for your child and one of the best things we did was enrol him here. We shall be very sad that his time will soon be coming to an end as he has made numerous friends with not only
other children but also the staff.
It is the wonderful staff that work here that has given him the confidence to express himself through his communicating. Throughout his time at Julia Durbin my son has experienced very few settling in problems and any small issues have been addressed swiftly and the actions communicated back to us. As a full-time working parents, we have had very little time to become involved with Julia Durbin.
We have stayed with Julia Durbin with the knowledge that our son is learning, being well cared for and ultimately is in safe hands - what more could we want. This is a credit to all the room staff, reception and the management.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.867)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.867) out of 10 for Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 32 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 32 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.891 for Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) is calculated as follows: ( (344 Excellents x 5) + (38 Goods x 4) + (2 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 384 Ratings = 4.891

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 4.976 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) is based on 32 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4

    • ii) 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 164 number of registered child places is 32.8. 32 Positive Reviews ÷ 32.8 = 0.976

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

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Awards / Recognitions (18)

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Meet the Team (1)

Emma

Emma Wallbridge

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Joined: 1996

Emma is the Manager of Julia Durbin Day Nursery in Headington and has a wealth of experience, having worked in the early years sector for 24 years. Emma has numerous qualifications, including an NNEB, Management NVQ's and a Foundation Degree in Early Years. Emma has worked for Childbase Partnership since 1996.


What is your favourite feature of Julia Durbin?
Despite being on the hospital grounds we are almost secretly hidden within a lovely natural space and a huge natural garden. I also like our entrance and reception area as we get to greet all the families and visitors as they arrive.


What are you most proud of about your nursery/team?
Our ongoing recognition from Ofsted and amazing day nursery reviews from our parents. The staff have exceptional relationships with the families and each other which leaves a great morale across the nursery. The children are the heart of our Julia Durbin family.