Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool

Curie Avenue, Harwell Int'l Business Centre, Didcot OX11 0QQ
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9.9 61 Reviews
  • Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool, Didcot
A loving and inspiring Nursery in Harwell

Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool is located close to the A34 and the B417 on the Harwell Oxford Science Campus, making it ideally situated for employees situated on the campus and local residents. With great transport links between Didcot Parkway and the campus, commuting to the nursery couldn't be easier. The nursery welcomes all families in the area, supporting and caring for children from the age of 3 months to 5 years.

The nursery boasts dedicated homerooms for each age group including a separate baby unit. The large outside play areas ensure that children's learning and exploration continue outside, whatever the weather.

Bright Horizons' unique Healthy Hearts and Minds activities provide inspirational and engaging learning experiences using the innovative and well-established Boogie Mites active music-making programmes.

With all-inclusive fees, which means less to pack on a busy morning, the onsite meals are prepared with nutrition in mind. From healthy lunches and snacks to the chosen branded nappies and wipes included in the fees.

The nursery has been awarded an Ofsted rating of ‘Good’ (SEPT2018) for their commitment to high quality childcare and education.

The staff are excited to be part of every child’s journey and look forward to showing the nursery and all their facilities during a personal tour.

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Care Provided by Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool

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

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Alison (Nursery Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 38
  • Total Places for Children
  • 94
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 3 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays

Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool Reviews (61)

Total of 61, showing 21-40
9.9

Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.913) out of 10, based on 27 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool has 61 reviews.

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Review from R F (Father of Child) published on 26 April 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our son has been at the nursery for two years now, and we have always been very happy with the level of care he receives, the feedback we get, and his progress. Highly recommend this nursery and the staff, who are always friendly and supportive.

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Review from Amy O (Mother of Child) published on 26 April 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Harwell Day Nursery are an outstanding nursery, we have a 1 year old and 2.5 year old attending and they both have exceptional care from every staff member. Despite the need for additional health support the nursery have supported and adapted to our children's needs so well.
I can't describe how confident
I feel about their ability to care for and educate our children and despite the cost of nursery provision, I would choose them over and over.
The facilities are really good, clean and educational. The food is really lovely and adapted carefully for any dietary needs.
My children have attended since 2021 and I continue to be impressed over and over.
The management team have also supported us above and beyond with the standard questions (costs, day-to-day logistics etc) as well as when something in our family has been challenging.
Really pleased we chose this nursery for our children and very grateful.

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Review from S P (Mother of Child) published on 13 April 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Excellent nursery and preschool. Very friendly and kind, supportive staff. Fantastic facilities and great learning opportunities for my children.

Reply from Amanda, Marketing and Campaigns Executive at Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool

Hello, thank you so much for your positive feedback!


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Review from M A (Father of Child) published on 12 April 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Fully supportive of my wife while I was away working for 4 months, they make your child feel safe for the period they have them.
They provide excellent learning and life experiences. During the day they provide outstanding care and lovely home cooked food.

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Review from Ivan H (Father of Child) published on 6 April 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

An exceptionally well run nursery who have supported us immeasurably - thank you to everyone at Bright Horizons Harwell. The App is also a really useful tool to know what your little one gets up to during the day.

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Review from Ionela D (Mother of Child) published on 6 April 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son is in the nursery since 2021. From day one I was pleased with the nursery, the staff are absolutely amazing in all that they do and they have a lot of patience and professionalism. We are very grateful for what they are doing.

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Review from Thomas J (Father of Child) published on 5 April 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Bright Horizons, Harwell is a fantastic nursery with amazing staff.
My child arrived there approximately 6 months ago with a challenging medical history. His care has been exemplary.
Beyond simply looking after my child, the nursery staff have nurtured and developed him.
My wife and I are always
left with the impression that the nursery staff are doing the utmost to give the children and parents the best possible experience.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this nursery to anyone.
Thank you.

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Review from K A (Mother of Child) published on 28 March 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has loved his nursery experience so far, in particular the opportunity to cook. The staff are always friendly and helpful.

Reply from Amanda, Marketing and Campaigns Executive at Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool

Hi, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us.


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Review from Victor F (Father of Child) published on 1 March 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our 3-year-old daughter is having a great experience in the nursery. She is still learning English as a second language and that did not make her any unsafe going to the school. Amazing staff, truly caring for the wellbeing of the kids. Amazing facilities, clean and well established. Only good things
to share about it.

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Review from Caroline C (Mother of Child) published on 2 December 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am so glad that we chose this nursery as opposed to the one almost directly opposite our house.
My son loves attending the nursery and I leave him there knowing he is going to have fun and be well looked after.
I love how friendly the staff are and the fact they all know my son even if they do not
directly care for him.

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Review from C G (Mother of Child) published on 3 November 2021
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We have had a fantastic experience with this nursery for my son. The staff in the two to three room were great and fantastic at helping him settle. He has recently moved to the preschool and all the staff are also brilliant. The one issue we had was dealt with straight away. The leadership team is fantastic
and very supportive. The detailed summary report I have just received is very detailed and shows how much they know the children. I would really recommend this nursery to others.

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Review from Lee M (Father of Child) published on 20 October 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Words can not express how brilliant the staff are here, the facilities for the kids are fantastic, the place is always clean, I'm actually shocked that our child comes back so clean, especially feeding time. I have noticed a vast improvement in sending our second child here over the first one who had
a full-time nanny. The staff are so accommodating with any request I have. They are always happy to give tips to help parents if they are struggling. I wish we knew about this place for our first son. Highly recommended.

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Review from P P (Mother of Child) published on 10 June 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I have not got the words to express my gratitude to all the staff at this nursery. Due to negative past experiences, I was beginning to feel so guilty and that I'd have to give up work. However, within a couple of days, my toddler could not stop talking about the staff. She soon became quite attached
to all members here. I can go to work without this worry which makes life so much easier. They are given nutritious meals, they take the time to personalise that care for the child e.g they work with parents and help with potty training. In my observations, I can see that the team here have good management. If the teachers are happy and looked after the morale is good and the team have the energy and patience to handle a room full of toddlers! I don't know how they do it. I do feel our children pick up on this. Mine definitely has and gets excited to go. The activities seem really fun too. Also, it's in a rural setting so you don't have to compete with parking and traffic!

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Review from Simon G (Father of Child) published on 25 May 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Amazing nursery, brilliant caring staff. Both of our kids have attended Harwell Day Nursery, and loved it! Our youngest is currently at the nursery and gets so excited he runs in each morning. The staff help him with all his care and development needs and give regular feedback with his milestones.

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Review from Charlotte H (Mother of Child) published on 25 May 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5

I currently have 2 children at this nursery. One in Oaks and the other in Acorns. The nursery has been fantastic for both of our children. I would like to give a special shout out to one member of staff, currently working in Acorns. She took on the care of my eldest son when he went up to Saplings and
we were amazed by her then. She also carried on to be his key person in Oaks before moving to Acorns and taking on the care of my youngest. My youngest has a hearing impairment and she has gone above and beyond in her research and adapting for him. During the current situation with Covid, I couldn't have wished for better for my youngest and it has certainly helped to put my mind at rest. I couldn't praise her enough for stepping up to the challenge. All the staff have been helpful and the customer service has been brilliant. Pricing is a little high but certainly worth every penny. Both of our children have benefitted from learning from their peers and the staff.

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Review from Antonia (Mother of Child) published on 24 May 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I’d like to say how wonderful the team is in Harwell Day Nursery. Our daughter has been there since 8 months old and she loves it. She gets excited every morning especially if she gets welcomed by the manager and her staff. From her daily notes, we can see what her day was like, the food she eats and
the activities she’s been doing. It’s a great way to reinsure us she’s looked after and cared for. Throughout the last 12months with Covid, we felt our daughter was safe and well cared for. Thank you for all you are doing for our children.

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Review from Jane H (Mother of Child) published on 19 May 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My lockdown baby started nursery two days a week at the beginning of May. I was exceptionally anxious about leaving him due to the intense Maternity Leave that I had experienced, the fact that he only sleeps on me for naps and has a cows milk allergy too. Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool
have been amazing. They offered more settling in sessions than normal which meant that my baby was happy by the time he started properly and more importantly two members of staff have got him to sleep, on a bed! The team in Acorns are just wonderful and the whole team have been incredibly supportive and understanding with me. I honestly can’t recommend this nursery highly enough.

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Review from Louise R (Mother of Child) published on 21 April 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My youngest child attends Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool, following in the footsteps of her two bigger brothers. She loves the staff and talks with enthusiasm about the things that she has done and the friends that she has made. The support provided by the team for toilet training,
reading and preparation for school is super and I know this is setting her up to flourish when she transitions to primary school after the summer. As our third child attending this nursery, I have seen it go from strength to strength with a really solid management team who know all of the children and take their roles and responsibilities incredibly seriously. This has been particularly visible throughout the last year with all of the additional factors and practicalities that infection control and social distancing has required. Thank you for all of the help, support and dedication that you continue to provide.

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Review from James F (Father of Child) published on 22 February 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The nursery is warm and welcoming and all the staff have worked exceptionally hard during the current COVID situation.
My child is always greeted on arrival with a welcoming smile.
They have developed both my children’s speech and learning abilities and prepared them for school. Thank you.

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Review from Daniel R (Father of Child) published on 4 January 2021
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

This nursery is superbly run by a manager who is devoted to the nursery staff and children while evidently running it very well. The room leaders are of a high standard and the facilities/curriculum are great. My daughter especially enjoyed the STEM, French language, music and art sessions, as well
as general play! Thanks to all the team and I wish you the very best for the future.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.913)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.913) out of 10 for Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool 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 27 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 27 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 4.913 for Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool is calculated as follows: ( (295 Excellents x 5) + (28 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 323 Ratings = 4.913

  • 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 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool is based on 27 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 94 number of registered child places is 18.8, which has been reached with 27 Positive reviews. Points = 1

  • 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.

Child Vacancies

Please Contact Us for Latest Vacancies

Awards / Recognitions (4)

Top 20 Large Nursery Groups 2019

Recipient: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Ltd

Date: Tuesday 30 Apr 2019 More details

Top 20 Large Nursery Groups 2018

Recipient: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Ltd

Date: Thursday 01 Mar 2018 More details

Top 10 Large Nursery Groups 2017

Recipient: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Ltd

Date: Wednesday 01 Mar 2017 More details

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Meet the Team (2)

Alison

Alison

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Joined: 2018

Child care has always been a passion since I was a teenager, I qualified with my NNEB in 1992 and was a uniformed nanny for many years before I completed my NVQ level 3 and worked in the nursery environment as a Nursery Nurse. Over the years of working with Bright Horizons I have been lucky enough to have had senior roles with flexible working to support my own children through school.


I joined the Senior Harwell team in 2015 and became Manager in November 2018. Providing inspiring education and care at Harwell is a drive and passion of mine, it's wonderful to see the children thrive in our nursery environment and support busy working families, seeing many of them progress through the nursery and flourish in school.


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Sarah

Job Title: Deputy Manager

Joined: 2018

I qualified with a BTEC in Childcare and Development in July 2004 and then studied to complete my Foundation Degree in Early Years in July 2017. For 11 years I worked in nursery environments with a variety of age ranges before relocating from Stock-on-Trent to Oxfordshire in 2015 where I joined a nursery as their preschool room leader until joining the Harwell Senior Team as Third in Charge and Room Leader of Saplings (toddlers) in April 2018.


Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Bright Horizons Harwell Day Nursery and Preschool has a Platinum Service – more info.