Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford)

I have sent both my sons here and they have been extremely happy here. The standard of care is faultless and all staff make every effort to ensure the children’s journey through nursery is an enjoyable one.

This is a gem of a nursery! We were absolutely blessed to find this wonderful nursery for our wonderful daughter, after much research around Oxford nurseries. Our daughter was born just around the start of the pandemic. Covid restrictions impacted her socialisation but found with the support of the dedicated, caring, and capable team of staff at Julia Durbin Nursery, our daughter made the transition successfully. Our daughter really enjoys going there and her confidence has soared. The nursery celebrates diversity and also has a fantastic range of age-specific activities for the children. Thank you Julia Durbin Team, especially the caterpillar's team, for taking such great care of our daughter and all the other children you look after. Ofsted has acknowledged that this nursery is outstanding and we second this opinion wholeheartedly!

My son is so happy at Julia Durbin. He absolutely loves it and has a very special bond with his current key worker. He enjoys the activities and is definitely learning a lot from day to day. Thank you for all the hard work that goes with making it such a happy and positive environment. His keyworker is awesome!

My daughter has been at the nursery for almost two years now and she absolutely loves it. The staff are wonderful with the kids and really engage with them and help them learn. My daughter has progressed and learnt so many new skills since being here. There are always fun things for them to do and a great play area outside for them to explore. The food seems healthy and tasty. Overall I would definitely recommend this nursery to others!

We are moving and therefore we have to find somewhere else.

I continue to be blown away by the support the staff at Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) are giving to my daughter and us. She has many sensory and anxiety issues but the staff in preschool have been nothing short of remarkable with their tireless efforts to help our daughter, constantly trying new ideas, bringing in new sensory toys, clothes and also giving us huge volumes of feedback via the app. Sometimes we find our daughter incredibly trying, frustrating and I know she has her moments at nursery but we are so amazed by everyone's willingness to help. Our daughter is having support from various therapists but we feel that the support that she is receiving from Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) is far more valuable than all of this therapy put together. Everyone is just making her so relaxed and comfortable in the room which is just great for helping her anxiety levels. Thank you!

Our daughter who is one years old has been at Julia Durbin Day Nursery (Oxford) for just over two months and we are delighted with the nursery. The staff in the Caterpillar room are friendly and approachable, they always make time for clear, concise communication at pick up and drop off and are knowledgeable in answering any questions. Furthermore, the team have clearly got to know our daughter and have made an enthusiastic effort to incorporate whatever are her current interests. We have been pleasantly surprised at the level of personal attention she has received, as evidenced in feedback, both verbal and through the app and our daughter's development. At home she has 'made up' games which relate to things done during nursery and it has been lovely to see her grow in this way.

We highly recommend Julia Durbin Day Nursery. Our eldest attended preschool, and now he is in Reception he still talks fondly of the staff and friends he made there. The preschool team were fantastic at getting to know our son's strengths and difficulties and supported all his keen interests (lots of dinosaur activities!). He absolutely loved the fun activities preschool included, such as yoga, discos, hatching chicks in spring, sports day, bonfire sparklers, Christmas shows, the list goes on! Julia Durbin did a brilliant job helping him prepare for starting school. Our youngest is now starting her settling in sessions and it is wonderful to see the team again.

Extremely engaged and caring staff, flexible and helpful management and it's all really fun and safe environment for our daughter. Very pleased and impressed!

Thank you again, ladies.

Julia Durbin is fantastic! Our son loves it, he gets lots of stimulation, fun playtime as well as learning, and there's a great variety of nutritious food. The kitchen was really helpful and accommodating when we had some changes to dietary restrictions. The staff are really great, especially two members at Preschool. Last but not least, the safety procedures they put in place for Covid have been a huge success.

The Julia Durbin Day Nursery for us is a wonderful place with excellent staff and we are very happy to have our children in the Pre-School. My son goes everyday very happy to enjoy all day. We have a great experience with the nursery.

Our daughter has been at Julia Durbin from the age of 9 months, up to going to school. She has had an incredible experience, and we highly recommend this nursery. All the staff are very fantastic - they really care about the children and teach them so much. They give them amazing experiences, both in the nursery and on trips out (including to the library, theatre, and further afield including the hedgehog hospital!). In the nursery, they focus on age-appropriate skill development, and our daughter is now confident in starting to read, early maths, role-play, whiteboard work and art. The outdoor space is fantastic, with loads of resources in the garden to play. The team has been incredible during the COVID pandemic, supporting those of us who needed to continue to use the nursery, and keeping everyone safe when more children returned. I am so pleased we sent our daughter here, the range of experiences she has been given has been amazing, and it's prepared her extremely well for school.

Our daughter has attended Julia Durbin since she was 10 months old. We’ve been extremely happy with the care that she had received during that time. She has acquired countless social skills and grown in confidence. She’s always had a lovely bond with her key workers and we’ve always felt that they have understood her character and encouraged her in the things that she enjoys. She’s made some great friends and will miss it greatly when she starts school next week however I feel that Julia Durbin and more recently her time at preschool has prepared her well and put in place solid foundations for her to start school and for that we are extremely grateful. I've always found staff to be helpful and reassuring. There is excellent communication from both key workers and management. We would without hesitation recommend this nursery to parents. Thank you to all the staff for their care and kindness for the last nearly 4 years!

Our son really enjoyed his time at the Julia Durbin Day Nursery and we'd like to thank all the staff in Butterflies room, especially his key worker, for all their excellent work and for really caring about the children. It was a bit too expensive for us in the end and we had to go for another childcare option after 10 months or so of attendance, especially as prices normally go up every year. However, I would still recommend Julia Durbin as an excellent nursery, primarily because of the people working directly with the children and the admin staff, who are very understanding. The outdoor space of the nursery is really fantastic and that was the thing that really sold it to us to begin with.

Overall we are very thankful to have chosen Julia Durbin.

Our son has had a wonderful time at the Julia Durbin Nursery. He started in the Butterflies room when he was aged 2 and a half. He had never been looked after by anyone other than a close relative, so it was a big transition. All the staff were very kind and welcoming and helped him to settle in. His key worker was really enthusiastic and joyful and he talked about her a lot at home. Our son particularly enjoyed the daily music sessions, activities in the big garden, and playing with the plentiful array of toy construction tools. We highly recommend Julia Durbin as a welcoming and stimulating nursery.

However, the best thing about Julia Durbin for me is that each of my children have always been happy. I will miss the nursery and the amazing staff so very much and can not thank you all enough for being our second home for so long.

Julia Durbin is a fantastic nursery. I say this based on over seven years' experience of sending my three children there. Over the years, my kids have been through each of the different age-based rooms and we have experienced firsthand the love, care and dedication that all of the staff pour into their work. The daily activities are lovely and educational, the atmosphere is fun and the huge garden is a massive bonus. It can be nerve-wracking choosing a nursery, especially if it is a child's first time being away from home, but Julia Durbin really is a second family and I recommend them whole-heartedly!

We're also touched by the level of effort made during the pandemic. While our son hasn't been at nursery due to lockdown, the staff have been really proactive at keeping in touch at a time when they're stretched, and we know that when they say they can't wait to see him come back, that they really mean it. It's that attitude that sums up why, as a family, we're so happy with the place.