Why choose our nurseries

Small
Bristol Childcare is a family run business with three nurseries across Bristol: The Court House in Knowle, Mornington House in Clifton and The Priory in Filton. We have over 48 years of running nurseries and our core values remain the same. Our ethos is small, homely and flexible and we achieve this through our focus on child-led care.

Homely
Our nurseries feel like home from home with cosy rooms and the welcoming smell of meals cooked on the premises using homegrown fruit and veg; we promote life skills using traditional arts and crafts; we choose natural resources, encourage a love of the outdoors and champion a focus on the traditional ways of doing things to reduce our environmental impact.

Flexible
With us you don’t have to do fixed sessions; hours are booked at times to suit you. All we ask is that your child attends for a minimum of eight hours over at least two days, as it is our experience that any less makes it difficult for a child to settle. Fees are calculated on a sliding scale so the more hours you do the less we charge per hour.
Why come to Bristol Childcare?
The Court House – “Our children have thrived”
“Our children have thrived at The Court House Day Nursery. The staff are very friendly and care for our children so well. The nursery are constantly making improvements including upgrading the room environments and investing in natural, open ended materials and toys. We appreciate the regular photo updates via the app. The preschool room offers lots of enrichment activities to help prepare the children for school. The food is excellent and prepared on site. E, mum
Mornington House – “A family environment, not a corporate operation”
“Mornington House look after my 1 year old daughter and previously looked after my son who was in pre-school. I honestly can’t fault the nursery, the care they have given both of our children has been exceptional. They are lovely to deal with, genuinely care for the children and are very fair when it comes to drop off/pick up. It’s a family environment, not a corporate operation.” Review from M, dad.
The Priory – “A strong culture of helping children learn and develop through expressive play”
“The team provide a warm, welcoming and family friendly setting for our children. Activities such as circle time have had a noticeable effect on our children’s interest in stories, expressing themselves and expanding their vocabulary. Regular trips to the library have opened up a whole new world for them to explore. A strong culture of helping children learn and develop through expressive play is apparent at all stages. A first-rate team” Review from L, dad
The Priory – “The staff are lovely, caring and friendly”
Absolutely fantastic nursery and highly recommended. The staff are lovely, caring and friendly. The manager is great also, she has been great sorting out the hours, always present and friendly. The nursery is really great on flexible hours which was key for us. They are always outdoors all year round which my son loves and have different activities each day. They serve lovely food to the children in a family environment. Review from L, mum
The Court House – “Attention is paid to the little details”
“We have been delighted with the level of care our daughter has received at The Court House Day Nursery. She has been there for almost a year and she has flourished and really grown in confidence. She loves the staff and talks about them often at home, along with making lots of friends. Staff always seem to be on top of things like dietary requirements, belongings don’t get lost, and there’s always a good handover at the start and end of day – it shows attention is paid to the little details. It has also been great to see effort…
The Priory – “A real family like atmosphere”
“We have been sending our children to this nursery since 2020, starting with our eldest, and we couldn’t be happier with the care they’ve received. The positive experience with our first child led us to send our two younger children there as well. The staff are absolutely brilliant, offering incredible support to children, parents and each other. There’s a real family like atmosphere. From helping tiny little ones settle during those tricky first few weeks of separation, to helping toddlers develop independence and new skills, the nursery staff are warm, kind and proactive. Our kids love all the activities, stories,…
Mornington House – “Our daughter is safe, healthy and happy there”
“It’s an excellent team at Mornington House. We selected Mornington because the staff gave us a strong sense of confidence that our child would be safe, healthy and happy there. Our daughter has now been there since she was 6 months old, all the way to preschool, and we look back and think that we’re so glad we chose Mornington. Our daughter is so happy there that she frequently asks, on her own accord, to go to preschool. Every time we drop her off we have total confidence she will be safe. We have come to know she’ll be learning…
Court House – “Great at keeping us updated”
“Friendly, attentive staff who really seem to love what they do. They’re always more than happy to answer any questions and do such fun activities with the babies every day. Our little girl took some time to settle but they were great at keeping us updated and trying different things to help her. She now loves it! We’re very happy with the nursery and glad we chose it. K, mum
Mornington House – “Staff are dedicated and clearly enjoy their jobs”
“Both children have attended Mornington Nursery for a number of years. It’s a fantastic nursery with caring staff. The manager runs the nursery and does an excellent job. The vast majority of staff have been at the nursery for years and years. They are dedicated and clearly enjoy their jobs – this is reflected in the loving and nurturing environment they create for the children. Fresh food is prepared by the wonderful Louise daily and the children can watch her cooking! Considering it’s a city centre nursery there is still a lovely garden which they spend lots of time in.…
Latest News

Chinese New Year at The Court House
At The Court House we recently celebrated Chinese New Year. We talked about the celebration and looked at the animals that represent the years. This year is the year of…

Weather watching at The Court House
At The Court House, the Baby Room participates in morning group time in which we sing ‘hello’ to everyone. We also look at the day of the week and the…

Children’s Hospital visit
We have been talking in Preschool at Mornington House about people who are kind and some of the children remembered when they had to go to hospital and how kind…

Woodland Makery at The Priory
Recently at The Priory we had another visit from Elise at Woodland Makery. The theme for this session was winter. We rescued pompom birds, made wild bird feeders and birds…

‘The Smeds and the Smoos’
Recently the twos at Mornington House have been really enjoying our core book ‘The Smeds and the Smoos’. We’ve used junk modelling to make rockets, play dough to make aliens…

New toy animals
The Twos Room at The Priory received some lovely new animals recently. These resources were introduced at circle time and it was explained to the children the importance of respecting…

Junk Modelling Fun!
Over the Christmas break, Sue, one of our founders, collected some items for junk modelling at The Priory. Sue took the items in and the children loved searching through the…

Nativity at The Priory
We have no words to say to our amazing preschool children except WOW! What a show they put on for everyone. They have been so excited practising, rehearsing, singing, dancing…

Julian Trust Night Shelter
Twice a year the staff and families from Mornington House kindly donate food and clothes for The Julian Trust, a night shelter here in Bristol. Bristol Childcare support this by…