The Willows Preschool

Portland Court, Sherwood, Nottingham NG5 6EX
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9.0 7 Reviews
  • The Willows Preschool, Nottingham
Nestled in Sherwood, Nottingham, Willows PreSchool warmly welcomes children aged 3 to 5 on a journey of discovery and confidence, building. An inspired curriculum is shaped around each child’s curiosity, blending core Early Years Foundation Stage goals, such as literacy, numeracy, communication, and expressive arts with child-led, interest-driven learning experiences.

A standout feature of Willows is the rich Forest School programme, where children freely explore natural environments building dens, investigating minibeasts, creating sensory art, and developing resilience through gentle risk taking all while cultivating environmental awareness and creativity.

Willows is more than childcare, it’s a nurturing learning community rooted in nature, creativity, and child-centred excellence. Contact the nursery to arrange a visit and discover how your family can thrive here at the nursery.
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Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Paige Byrne & Sarah Westby (Managers)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 6

Total Places for Children

  • 37

Age Range

  • from 3 years 0 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, 1 week at Christmas & 2 weeks in Summer

The Willows Preschool Reviews (7)

9.0

The Willows Preschool has a Review Score of 9.0 (9.045) out of 10, based on 7 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time The Willows Preschool has 7 reviews.

Overall Experience
  • 6
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Date Published
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Reviewer Connection to The Willows Preschool
  • 7
Total of 7, showing 1-7
Review from Gemma A (Mother of Child) published on 30 October 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son moved up to the Willows preschool in September, and in the short time he's been attending, we've been absolutely blown away by our experience. The staff are phenomenal - their welcoming and bubbly nature is so comforting, and my son settled in instantly without a single tear. The facilities,
both indoors and outdoors, are fantastic. We love that all of our son's favourite activities are available for him to enjoy - from playing in the mud kitchen and experimenting at the potion table to climbing and balancing on the stepping stones.


Our son has several allergies, and the way the staff have handled them has been impeccable. The variety of food offered is brilliant, and he always clears his plate. What I value most is the wonderfully homely atmosphere - it radiates warmth and acceptance. This has allowed my son to feel secure and confident to be himself.
I am extremely happy the my boy gets to attend such a fantastic preschool with incredible staff.

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Review from S P (Mother of Child) published on 16 September 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The Most AMAZING Nursery, My Son really enjoyed his time there and i cant thank the teachers enough for how amazing they were through the whole time of him being there, I would 100% recommend this nursery to everyone, the setting and the staff, I will be also sending my youngest their as I wouldn't
be able to find a nursery like this
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Review from Grace P (Mother of Child) published on 15 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I have bought both of my daughters to this nursery. They both have special needs and the nursery have worked very closely with them and myself. I can't fault anything that they have done. They've been absolutely amazing with both children. They've given myself and my family the support I needed and
they've gone above and beyond to ensure that the right procedures have been put into place for their schools. Every member of staff are very well trained and I put all my trust into them. I get excellent feedback every day and I could tell a massive difference within my daughter's developmental progression. I recommend this nursery to all of my friends as it is fairly small. Staff are very on board. I've created a great relationship with all the staff and you can see how passionate they are about their job overall a perfect nursery.
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Review from R L (Mother of Child) published on 11 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Let's just start by saying that my son absolutely loves going here! From his first visit he was asking to go back.
The staff are great with him, always positive and set up some lovely activities daily. His confidence had grown not that he was shy to begin with but I think thats down to the staff
being reassuring and calm when it comes to letting him express his interests.
Since the change in ownership I really feel as though management really care about each and every child and parents experience as well as wellbeing. Where as before it was if your face fit.
I enjoy getting daily updates on the activities he's taking part in as well as the feedback we get face to face at the end of the day too.
Overall as long as my boy is happy im happy and trust me he's very happy there. Would recommend.
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Review from Laura S (Mother of Child) published on 5 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Long term members of The Willows Preschool family (formerly Poplars) and would really recommend as a home from home environment for the children.
Lovely staff, many who have been there a number of years.
Recently there has been some renovations and updates, which have really given the building a fresh
new look, especially the outside area which the children love. Wonderful Preschool!
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Review from Karolina H (Mother of Child) published on 4 August 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The staff have a very good approach to the child. Lots of developmental activities. Fresh, locally cooked meals. Tailored meals to your child in case of allergies. Daughter always comes back happy which is very important to me. You feel at home there.
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Review from Paige P (Mother of Child) published on 2 July 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 2.0 out of 5
Outside facilities are great and my son loves being outdoors. He's nearly 4 and has been there 3 years but still can't count to 10 properly or say his ABCs, and struggles with some words. I don't feel he gets much one-to-one care, though he seems happy with his friends. He talks about one of his teachers
but no one else. Some staff can be rude and I don't feel reassured about his day or that he's loved there. Management has been poor since the changeover, with no personal touch, high staff turnover, and they're hard to contact. They rely on an app which often doesn't work properly and sends too many notifications. Safeguarding is an issue - I've raised concerns about the outdoor gate not being secure and a skip has been outside for months. Fees have increased but it's not worth it. I'm not a fan of the nursery anymore but my son loves his friends, which puts me in a difficult position.
Reply from Lisa Rowland, Director at The Willows Preschool
Thank you for your feedback. We're glad your son enjoys the outdoors and has strong friendships. We understand your concerns and want to reassure you that children aged 3 are supported under a 1:8…read more
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Current Review Score: 9.0 (9.045)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.0 (9.045) out of 10 for The Willows Preschool is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.6 out of 5 from 7 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.4 out of 5 from 6 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:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.634 for The Willows Preschool is calculated as follows: ( (70 Excellents x 5) + (3 Goods x 4) + (2 Satisfactorys x 3) + (5 Poors x 2) + (2 Very Poors x 1) ) ÷ 82 Ratings = 4.634
  2. 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 4.411 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for The Willows Preschool is based on 6 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 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 = 3.6
    2. 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 37 number of registered child places is 7.4. 6 Positive Reviews ÷ 7.4 = 0.811
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

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Frequently Asked Questions about The Willows Preschool

What is the Age Range of Children that The Willows Preschool accepts?

The Willows Preschool accepts Children aged from 3 years 0 months to 5 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is The Willows Preschool Open?

The Willows Preschool is open: 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.

How many Children does The Willows Preschool have capacity for?

The Willows Preschool has capacity for a total of 37 Children.

How far is The Willows Preschool to the centre of Nottingham?

3.0 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact The Willows Preschool to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. The Willows Preschool has an Enhanced Service - more info.