Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon

The Great Western Hospital, Marlborough Road, Swindon SN3 6BB
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9.9 150 Reviews
  • Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon, Swindon
Little Pioneers Swindon is a purpose built, modern nursery which is all on one level with large, bright and airy rooms and their supportive practitioners make Swindon feel like one big family.

They have an app, ParentZone, which keeps parents/carers informed about life at nursery with photos from their day, meals eaten, assessments and even toilet training progress! They have 5 Little Pioneers who help share their core values with children such as encouraging them to express their feelings to taking care of the world.

They are big on happy children which is why they have areas for growing food (and eating it), regular visits to local care homes and take care of each other and the world. They are silver eco schools accredited, a programme that sees children lead the way in making little changes that deliver big environmental differences.

They are also big on safety which is why ALL their staff are paediatric first aid trained.

At Little Pioneers Swindon Hospital Nursery there are four age appropriate spacious rooms, nought to one-year-olds, one to two-year-olds, two to three-year-olds and three to five-year-olds. All rooms have direct access and 'free flow' into the secure garden area. Each room is self-contained with a sleep room, nappy and toilet area and a milk kitchen for younger rooms.

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Care Provided by Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon

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

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Tracy Rundle (Nursery Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 44
  • Total Places for Children
  • 105
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 3 months
    • to 5 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 06:45-18:30
    Tuesday 06:45-18:30
    Wednesday 06:45-18:30
    Thursday 06:45-18:30
    Friday 06:45-18:30
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays

Funding & Fees Guide for Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon

  • (0-3) £347.25 Weekly / £81.25 Daily
    (3-5) £337.50 Weekly / £78.75 Daily

  • Fees current as of July 2023
    Full Days only offered
  • Parking

  • Families that work onsite at the hospital can park in their car park for the day or use any staff parking areas (limited). For other families they have a drop off area directly outside the nursery that you can safely park in whilst you are in the nursery.


Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon Reviews (150)

Total of 150, showing 141-150
9.9

Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.870) out of 10, based on 27 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon has 150 reviews.

Overall Experience

  • 142
  • 7
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Date Published

150
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Review from Jessica M (Mother of Child) published on 14 February 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has been at Swindon Co-op from 1 years old and will be graduating from preschool this year. Throughout her time at the nursery staff have given her excellent care and attention and showed genuine interest in her. She has learned a great deal and staff have made every effort to support any
learning needs I have highlighted. I believe the nursery has given her an excellent start to socialising; varying her diet, and learning.

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Review from Tanya (Mother of Child) published on 14 February 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My child has been attending this nursery for nearly 4 years and still loves going. He is now a confident, outgoing child, ready for school. Very friendly staff. They are very knowledgeable and always happy to help.

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Review from Sarah O (Mother of Child) published on 7 February 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I had to change nursery when my daughter was 3. She'd been at her other one since she was 14months old, so I was worried about moving her. My fears were unfounded; she settled in pretty much immediately. The staff are all wonderful with her. They deal well with her 'spirited' personality and she has
flourished there. We are amazed every week by new things she has learnt. It's a fantastic place which she loves. We'll be very sad when she leave for school in September!

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Review from Amy P (Mother of Child) published on 7 February 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I have had two children pass through the nursery in each age class. Both have very different personalities and needs and the nursery has gone above and beyond every day to give them fantastic learning experiences and have fun in the process. The staff are all so friendly and approachable and could not
fault any of them in any way. Children are always well fed and come home telling me stories of all they have done and the friends they have made.

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Review from Nikki D (Mother of Child) published on 7 February 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We went and looked at over 5 Nursery's in the Swindon area and even though The Co-operative Childcare Swindon Hospital Nursery was a little out of our way, we are extremely impressed from the start with the attitude and friendliness of the staff, the rooms and outside area and how happy the children
appeared. Our daughter has now been there for nearly two years and has been in three of the four rooms, all the way from a baby to a happy 2 and a half year old. I credit the nursery with how rounded our daughter is. She loves going and her key member of staff in each room has been brilliant. All the staff from the kitchen to the front office interact and are interested in the children, both in terms of their development and having fun. I couldn't recommend this nursery more if you want peace of mind when you're having to go to work.

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Review from James B (Father of Child) published on 7 February 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

This is my son's first nursery and he went in from the age of one. From the beginning, the staff have all been amazing starting with the taster sessions a few months ago. They were extremely accommodating and really helped him settle in. Since going full time, he has loved going to this nursery and
his daily reports have made interesting reading. The management and staff are always welcoming and personable making the process in the early days much easier. He has now settled into his room, which has loads of activities indoors and outdoors which he loves and they are all well suited to a young boys needs. The menu and food are excellent and he is defiantly getting his fill during the day (I'm having to up my game at home!!). There are no hidden costs, his food and nappies are all included. I would highly recommend the Nursery, and it's been a pleasure to send my boy there.

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Review from Rebecca C (Mother of Child) published on 11 October 2016
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5

Being a first-time mum leaving my baby was quite scary. The staff in the baby room were all very good and made me feel comfortable with leaving him, I like having the review when I pick him up, by knowing what he has eaten, slept and played with. There's a good variety of food at meal times. He has
learnt lots of new things and got lots of new interests through playing with all the toys and activities. The variety of toys in the garden, outdoor space is also good too.

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Review from Kathryn W (Mother of Child) published on 24 March 2016
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I have had 2 children attend this nursery and they both love it. They always have taken part in a range of activities. The staff have always been very supportive and offer advice when required. They are always happy to talk through any concerns and my girls have had a wonderful relationship with all
that have looked after them. The food is always good too.

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Review from Sam B (Mother of Child) published on 18 February 2016
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

This is an outstanding nursery - my daughter is now in the pre-school room having been at the nursery since she was under a year old. My daughter loves the nursery and is always keen to go and be with her friends and take part in the activities - she's happy and so I am happy.


I am particularly

impressed with the management team as they are currently dealing with a crisis (out of their hands) where a suspected gas leak has meant that they currently have no heating or the ability to cook meals, but they have risen to the challenge hugely - the children are warm and still get their hot dinners - as far as my daughter is concerned there is no problem at all. (In addition to which we have been kept informed of the situation)


As a mother with a disability (deaf) I have also been very pleased with their methods of staying in touch with me as I do not use the telephone - email and text is not a problem at all - I have always been made to feel welcome and can chat with any member of staff about any issues I might have.


I truly recommend this outstanding nursery - I know that my daughter will miss it when she starts school this September.


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Review from Ed L (Father of Child) published on 8 September 2015
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Last summer I knew nothing whatsoever about nurseries or preschools, or even whether they were the same thing. Having just moved to Swindon, I had the task of organising a nursery place for my daughter to start in the September, so I began ringing around. Some of the nurseries I spoke to seemed rather
shocked at the idea that I would be applying for a place so late in the day (as if I had a choice in the matter), while others dismissively said they'd put my daughter's name at the bottom of their very long waiting list. Then I called the Cooperative Nursery, which is conveniently placed next to the hospital where my partner was working, and they could not have been more helpful. They got a place sorted out that very day, answered all the silly questions I had about how everything from payments to pick-up times worked, and arranged a visit for us to look around. As she was unused to being left anywhere without me or her mum, the staff at the nursery encouraged me to stay and play for a bit during the first few sessions whilst she got used to the place; to be honest, I needn't have stayed after the first one, as she settled so quickly. By allocating one of the staff as a 'key person' for her, it was clear that my daughter very quickly felt at home, and always had someone to go to with her problems.


As the year progressed, I would regularly get to hear about how she was progressing at nursery. Despite how busy pick-up and drop-off times could be, the teachers always had time to share a quick word about the kids and how they'd got on each day, and on top of that we periodically received reports on her development relative to the standards expected for her age group. The food provided in the afternoons was fairly simple, but sufficiently varied to ensure that she would stop playing long enough to eat something most days.


As an aside, I genuinely think that the staff deserve some kind of medal for the combined hours that they must have spent applying suncream over the summer months; every day when I dropped my daughter off one of the teachers had the bottle, and they were scrupulous about ensuring that none of the kids went outside without proper protection from the sun (or rain - this is the UK after all).


When the time came to say goodbye, and all the leavers had trooped up in their gowns and mortar boards to collect their certificates (with varying degrees of aplomb), I felt nothing but gratitude to the wonderful staff at the nursery who gave me a few valuable hours to myself each week; and who had made both myself and my daughter feel so welcome. If the teachers at her new school are half as good as the ones we've left behind, we will consider ourselves very fortunate indeed.


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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.870)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.870) out of 10 for Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon 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 4.870 for Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon is calculated as follows: ( (290 Excellents x 5) + (27 Goods x 4) + (6 Satisfactorys x 3) + (1 Poors x 2) ) ÷ 324 Ratings = 4.87

  • 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 Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-school, Swindon 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 105 number of registered child places is 21, 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.

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Awards / Recognitions (2)

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Meet the Team (2)

Tracy

Tracy Rundle

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Joined: 2003

I have worked at the nursery since the day it opened in 2003 and have loved developing it into the amazing place it is today! I have over 30 years of experience in childcare and use my knowledge and experience to build the team and the nursery to be the best.


As a mum of 2, I know what things are important to families and cascade these thoughts and feelings to the team so they get a true understanding and empathy towards our families.


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Hayley Fletcher

Job Title: Deputy Manager

Joined: 2003

I have worked alongside Tracy as the Deputy at the nursery for the past 20 years. Together we have built the nursery into the outstanding facility we have today. I am a mother of a teenager so can empathise and can offer advice from the point of you as a mum as well as a professional with lots of experience! I am very proud to work here and am always around for a chat!


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