Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford)

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

I can definitely recommend Julia Durbin Day Nursery.

I can't recommend the nursery enough.

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.

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!

What is nice to see is continued innovation in care, development (child and staff) and parental involvement.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Food is really good too.

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.

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.

We have two kids at Julia Durbin Day Nursery, and it is the most wonderful, caring and exciting place for them. The staff are incredible, the food is great and most importantly both of our boys genuinely love their time there. The back garden is a lovely space, full of interest. I only wish there was an 'exceptional' mark above 'excellent' that we could give the nursery.

Our daughter is in Ladybirds. The staff are friendly to parents and give regular updates about how children are progressing. The staff are amazing with the children. The daily activities engage our daughter and she has really developed in the room. Her language has improved and she is becoming independent due to the attention and encouragement provided by staff. The management provide strong leadership and are very welcoming to parents. The food is good and the staff handle allergies well.