Coco's Pre-School Centre

A maths shed, hatching duck eggs and an annual fire-engine visit give Coco's Pre-School Centre a recognisable character: children have practical things to investigate, handle and talk about. This Cheshunt setting caters for children aged two to five and has 50 places in total. Its outdoor activities connect learning with ordinary experiences, from growing plants to weighing materials at the mud station.

At its 24 May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Coco's Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The main improvement concerned extending learning for the most able children, a useful consideration for parents whose child readily masters an activity and needs the next challenge.

Families can choose term-time or year-round care, with flexible days and hours and additional wrap care. That choice gives the practical offer breadth, rather than tying every family to the same attendance pattern.

Learning and Activities

The curriculum uses the EYFS, linking children's interests and stages of development with its areas of learning. In everyday language, that means planning experiences around what children are ready to practise and discover, with play and exploration providing opportunities to develop skills. Coco's adds concrete resources and experiences to that framework, rather than relying on a curriculum label alone.

Outside Maths brings mathematical activity into the outdoor play space through a maths shed. Our Mud Station gives children materials to squeeze, pile, weigh and use in pretend cooking. These are different routes into learning: one makes room for mathematical exploration outdoors, while the other combines handling materials with imaginative play.

In May 2024, children learnt in groups organised around similar developmental stages and ages. Staff watched for readiness to move forward, with younger children's exploration of environmental sounds forming a starting point for later work on letters and their sounds. The progression was gradual. Conversations with parents and colleagues helped staff plan moves between groups, and children were introduced to their new group in stages.

Outdoor and Community Life

A small garden provides opportunities to plant and harvest, connecting changes in plants with the passing of their growing cycle. A construction area supports pretend play, while adventure equipment gives children opportunities for physical exploration. An outdoor mark-making station also takes drawing and early writing activities beyond the indoor space.

Visitors bring another kind of experience. Tesco's nutrition visit included fruit tasting and discussion of food types; the local fire brigade brings an engine each year for children to climb on and sit inside. Once a year, duck eggs are brought into the nursery to hatch, giving children a close view of the change from egg to duckling and an introduction to handling animals.

Chill-Down is the end-of-term celebration built around fun activities. The summer 2026 event ran for five days from 13 July, with activities on each day. It came with a practical exception to the usual flexibility: children's booked days and times could not be changed during that week.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2024, settling was tailored to each child. When a child needed more help to become comfortable, staff used an activity that interested them as a starting point and offered encouragement as they became involved. Staff also sat alongside children at meals and talked with them about their food, making that part of the day an opportunity for conversation as well as supervision.

Communication extends into home life through newsletters and Story Time, a collection of staff-narrated stories for families to play. The January 2026 newsletter included suggestions for supporting learning at home, while the December 2025 edition addressed independence and self-help skills ahead of starting school. These give parents practical subjects to work on alongside nursery experiences, rather than leaving school preparation as a last-minute task.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support and progressed well, with staff weighing up environmental changes and adjusting routines as children's needs shifted. The useful detail is the attention to the individual child: changes to surroundings and routines were considered together, alongside comfort and reassurance.

School preparation includes road safety, understanding feelings and learning to care for the world, as well as developing self-help skills. In May 2024, staff also exchanged ideas with visiting professionals and colleagues at local schools. This work concerned preparing children for their next stage of learning, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Coco's is on Blindman's Lane, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire EN8 9DW. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 52 weeks excluding public holidays. Those are the opening hours; the attendance offer is flexible days and hours, a choice between term-time and year-round care, and wrap care for additional hours.

Parents can enquire by telephone, email or contact form. The contact-form service aims to reply by the next working day. A registration form can be downloaded and brought to a visit, or collected there and returned after a family has decided to join. Visits are booked by appointment, and children are welcome to play and explore during them.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for two-year-olds, alongside 15-hour and 30-hour funding for children aged three and four. Additional care can be arranged through the wrap-care offer. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation, keeping the attendance pattern and any paid additional hours clear alongside their funded entitlement.

• Challenge for confident learners. The May 2024 improvement action concerned stretching the most able children. During a visit, ask how staff develop an activity once your child has mastered its starting point.
• Flexibility during celebrations. The summer 2026 Chill-Down week kept children's days and times fixed. If changing a booking matters to your family, discuss how that exception applies to future end-of-term celebrations.
• The full cost of your pattern. Coco's combines funded childcare with flexible attendance and additional wrap care. Request a written quotation that identifies the paid hours in your chosen attendance pattern.

Coco's suits families choosing either term-time attendance or year-round care, including those who need flexible hours and additional wrap care. Its strongest character comes from practical experiences: outdoor maths, growing plants, hatching eggs and visitors who bring food or a fire engine into children's learning.

The Good judgement from May 2024 provides a clear inspection position, with challenge for the most able children the point to explore. For parents seeking hands-on preschool experiences and a choice of attendance patterns, this is a setting with concrete reasons to consider it.