Business Details
9 Years
experience
Welcome to Fundamentals Childcare
We established Fundamentals Childcare in the heart of Bicester, Oxfordshire in December 2017 to provide exceptional early years education. Our nursery has operated for over 28 years, with comprehensive refurbishments over the last seven years creating a warm, nurturing environment where children thrive. Our family teaching approach enables children of all ages to learn collaboratively, supported by dedicated professionals who foster their awareness and curiosity. We focus on balanced adult and child-led activities aligned with children's interests, delivering rich learning opportunities through play.Our team maintains the highest standards in early childhood education, ensuring every child develops skills like concentration, curiosity, and appreciation for the natural world while feeling respected and loved. As specialists in early years development, we implement observation-based planning to meet individual needs while operating in compliance with sector requirements. Our vision remains providing challenging learning environments where children flourish with dignity, respect, and understanding.
Services
Early Childhood Education
Play-Based Learning
Outdoor Activities
Indoor Play
Baking Sessions
Dressing Up
Gardening
Meal Services
Media Play
Story Time
Details
- Year established: 2017
Highlights and features
- We operate with 28 years' experience in early years education
- Our family teaching approach enables cross-age learning experiences
- No age-related group separation supports natural child development
- All meals, nappies, and outdoor clothes are included
- Staff hold extensive training backgrounds and relevant qualifications
What people say
Amazing staff
Safe and friendly place
Thriving environment
Peace of mind
Well-organized facilities
Services
Early Childhood Education
Our structured curriculum delivers outstanding early years education through play-based activities. We combine observation-based planning with child-led exploration to develop concentration, curiosity, and natural world appreciation. Our approach helps children become confident learners ready for next educational stages.
Play-Based Learning
We offer balanced adult and child-led play activities that support holistic development. Our purpose-designed facilities enable creative exploration across multiple learning areas. This approach nurtures social skills, problem-solving abilities, and foundational educational concepts through natural discovery.
Outdoor Activities
Our outdoor spaces feature specially designed play areas that encourage physical development and nature exploration. Children engage with plants, weather patterns, and environmental changes while developing motor skills through climbing, gardening, and outdoor games.
Indoor Play
Our indoor facilities provide diverse learning stations for imaginative play, media exploration, and structured skill development. Children access resources for art, construction, role-play, and sensory activities that support cognitive and creative growth.
Meal Services
We provide nutritious meals and snacks following dietary guidelines while catering for special requirements. Our menu includes fresh ingredients, balanced portions, and educational opportunities around healthy eating habits in a supportive dining environment.
People
Sonja Fenton-Pryor
Early Years Director
Sonja brings extensive experience leading nurseries to outstanding practice. She designs and implements high-quality educational programmes aligned with best practices in early childhood development.
Lorraine Wheatley
Operations Director
Lorraine ensures compliance with staffing standards and delivers professional development training. Her expertise maintains sector-leading quality across all operational aspects of the nursery.
Questions
What age groups do you accommodate?
We care for children aged 0-5 years without age-related group separation, enabling cross-age learning and social development.
What does the daily schedule include?
Daily activities blend structured learning with free play, including outdoor time, creative sessions, gardening, and story time between 7:30am-6pm.
What items do you provide?
We supply meals, nappies, wipes, and outdoor clothes. Specific requirements are addressed individually through parent consultations.
How do you support language development?
Our family teaching approach enables non-native speakers to learn naturally through peer interaction and targeted support from multilingual staff members.
Are there separate learning areas?
Yes, we maintain dedicated spaces for indoor play, outdoor exploration, media activities, and sensory experiences with appropriate equipment for all age groups.
Reviews (4)
Matt Glass
Jul 15, 2021
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Our daughter has attended Fundamentals for almost 3 years. She absolutely loves it there. We have seen continuous improvements in her development and she surprises us every day. Shes always excited to attend and comes out with a spring in her step! The staff are brilliant. Our daughter is always speaking about them away from nursery. They are always really friendly and informative on pick up and drop off. During the pandemic, they supported all parents with changes and restrictions and were very flexible in their approach. Which helped us massively. We cant thank them enough for their
Cristina Tarantino
Jun 15, 2021
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Understaffed maybe? What I know is that my sons confidence went down the hill. Every day I felt told off for not being a good enough parent and my son would come home telling me that he is a bad creature because nobody wanted to play with him.
Thankfully we left and my son is thriving in the new setting.
Thankfully we left and my son is thriving in the new setting.
John Luke
Jan 23, 2020
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Staff not so friendly to parents. Not sure about to kids. My son didn't enjoy. Small nursery max. 25 kids. They call this "family environment" - yes of course! Good for young babies they can learn from older ones. But for 3/4 yrs old - all they can do is to learn how to take care of younger babies. not so much learning they can give to 3-4 yrs old - it is simply too small. Some staff never smiles, they are always in a rush - they are too small, to short of staff.
Matthew Clark
Dec 30, 2019
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Having loved our previous nursery, moving to Bicester and choosing Fundamentals Childcare for our youngster was not an easy decision to make. We as parents were anxious about another change in our child's life and how unsettling this could be for them. I am delighted to say it was the BEST decision we could possibly have made. From the management to the key workers, all the staff showed their genuine care and interest in our child from the outset. Knowing they were happy, safe and well cared for is such a huge comfort when parent-guilt strikes. We could see intellectual, emotional and character
