A very warm welcome to The Co-operative Childcare.

Here you will find lots of general information that should be useful in getting a feel for the setting, however every child is individual and you will undoubtedly have lots of questions that relate specifically to your child’s needs, interests and their development. A tour of our quality facilities would be highly recommended in order to fully appreciate how the nursery operates and to see first hand the care and attention that each child receives. To arrange a tour, simply use the contact details on this page or pop in to the nursery itself.

At The Co-operative Childcare we never underestimate how difficult a decision it is to leave your child in the care of others and our aim is to ensure that you have all the information you need to make this very important decision.



“Children are cared for in a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment where good attention is paid to meeting their individual needs. They offer a good range of activities which are carefully planned to ensure their individual learning styles are catered for. The nursery meets each child’s needs well through effective information sharing systems, partnerships and assessment arrangements. The management team implement effective strategies and systems to ensure all staff engage in reflective practice and continuous professional development. This effectively drives and secures improvement, raising the overall quality of the provision and positively impacting on the outcome for the children.

Latest Inspection Date 29/11/2010. To view the full report click here


Our nursery team are friendly, approachable and have attended numerous training courses to enhance their knowledge, enabling them to provide the best care and enjoyable learning experiences for our children. All colleagues are qualified or working towards their qualifications. Our Nursery Manager Leanne has worked at the nursery for over 15 years and there is a dedicated, loyal team of 25 colleagues who help our children to have the best start in life in a brightly refurbished modern nursery setting.


The Co-operative Childcare nursery is a stimulating, safe and secure environment for your child and we pride ourselves on our warm and welcoming atmosphere. We have four spacious rooms, 0-1 year olds and our 1-2 year olds are located downstairs with our 2-3 year olds and 3-5 year olds located upstairs. We have a video entrance system, as our children’s safety is paramount. We also have our own kitchen on site to prepare healthy and nutritious meals for our children. All rooms are self contained with a nappy change/toilet area and a milk kitchen for our younger room.


The nursery has its own garden area, which is well equipped including a children’s playhouse and slide. There is also a wooden shelter to provide shade and cover and to ensure that our children can access the outdoors in all weather conditions. We aim to provide plenty of opportunities for physical play with a large range of outdoor toys and activities available for our children to access at all times. Reading Railway Station is a five minute walk away and the nursery is conveniently located for most main bus routes.


There are many activities in addition to the core learning and play that takes place at the nursery and supports the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework. These activities are planned in advance and very often with parent participation. All our children have activities suited to their specific age groups, planned by their own key worker and that link to their individual learning plan. The children also enjoy visits to the museum; library and local parks.


At The Co-operative Childcare we offer a comprehensive package and provide all nappies and food (breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack, tea). Our experienced chef prepares a home cooked lunch every day using fresh produce sourced from local suppliers where possible. This supports our ethics and values of being a co-operative and gives the children the nutrition they need to ensure they grow healthily whilst in our care. We also cater for all dietary requirements, allergies and cultural foods and our food is freshly made on a daily basis. Children always have access to fresh drinking water.


There is an Parent Information Board located in the reception area to ensure our parents are kept informed at all times of all key activities and notices. In the various 0-3 year olds home rooms our parents receive a daily feedback sheet which provides them with information on their child’s activities that day including sleep, food, nappies and anything that they have particularly enjoyed during the day. The 3-5 year olds carers give verbal feedback to the parent on a daily basis. Regular newsletters are sent to parents to keep them updated on up and coming events and we encourage parent participation in many of them. Parent evenings are offered at regular intervals throughout the year where the key person discusses their child’s development with their parents and there is also an annual survey for parents to give structured feedback on all areas of the nursery.


“We have a friendly, well established team who are dedicated and passionate about childcare. The nursery has a warm and welcoming atmosphere and provides exciting and educational activities that are individually planned for each child. Each child attending has a detailed development folder completed by their key worker on a regular basis.

We encourage all of our children to be independent and learn new skills with support from my loyal, experienced and dedicated team. We work closely with our parents to ensure that our children’s development is achieved through a partnership approach enabling us to build strong relationships with both our children and parents”