Rafles Nursery & Preschool, Cheshunt

Vegetables grown by children make their way into lunch at Rafles, while connected gardens, open fields and a duck pond give outdoor play several different settings. This Cheshunt nursery’s character comes from practical experiences: tending plants, exploring woodland and taking books home to share. Nature is part of the day, rather than an occasional change of scene.

At its January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found that its curriculum helped children build on existing skills and make good progress, although planned activities and language modelling needed greater consistency. That combination matters: there was substance beneath the grade, alongside clear work to do.

Rafles accepts children from 4 months to 60 months, with Nursery Room, Lower Preschool and Upper Pre-School providing different stages of care and learning. Attendance centres on full days or school days, with a minimum booking of three days each week. Families looking for regular care have two finishing times to choose between.

Rooms and Ages

Nursery Room serves children under two, combining sensory exploration with attention to each child’s routines and early physical, social and emotional development. For a baby starting childcare, the emphasis on familiar routines gives the room a practical purpose beyond its activities.

Lower Preschool is for children aged two to three, with play, creative activities and growing independence shaping the room’s emphasis. Upper Pre-School begins at 36 months and encourages children to follow their interests, make discoveries and develop concentration at their own pace. The progression is towards greater independence, rather than rushing children through stages of play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for care and learning: children develop communication, movement and relationships through play, alongside early reading, mathematics, creativity and exploration of the world. Rafles builds activities around children’s interests and developmental needs. The practical question is how an enjoyable activity also helps a child take their next step.

In January 2024, babies explored pretend play and practised dressing, younger children constructed towers, and older children devised a stopping-and-starting game while cycling around a pretend road track. These examples show different routes into independence, conversation and cooperation. Staff encouraged children to keep trying when a task was difficult.

Early mathematics also had concrete forms in January 2024: younger children joined number songs, while older children discussed the characteristics of shapes. However, some activities did not achieve their intended learning purpose. Enjoyment alone was not always enough to deliver the next piece of learning staff had planned.

Upper Pre-School uses Letters and Sounds for phonics teaching, adding an introduction to Jolly Phonics when children are ready. In the year before school, children choose books, read with a practitioner and take them home in book bags. That gives families a specific way to join in with early reading, rather than leaving it entirely to nursery time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Connected gardens lead into a broader outdoor offer, with regular exploration of fields, woodland and the duck pond. Children also plant and tend produce in the on-site vegetable patch, and the cook uses their harvest in meals. Growing and eating are linked. The activity gives children something real to care for and a visible use for what they produce.

Hatching Program runs around Easter, allowing children to watch eggs hatch and handle the young birds; chicks, quails and ducklings have featured. This adds a close-up experience of living things to the nursery’s outdoor interests. It is a seasonal programme, rather than a claim about an activity happening throughout the year.

Annual Sports Day invites parents to watch the children race and sometimes take part themselves. Holi Festival is also celebrated each year, with outdoor powder-paint play and an invitation for children to wear light-coloured clothing. These events give families a role in nursery life and, in Holi’s case, a clear expectation about clothes getting colourful.

Visitors add another kind of practical learning. Cheshunt Fire Station has brought a fire engine to preschool, with opportunities to explore its interior, try helmets and use the hose. Animal Encounter visited for a birthday celebration, giving children opportunities to touch and hold animals. These are examples of visits, rather than a fixed visiting timetable.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts gradually. Sessions increase in length, and the process can include time with parents, flexible starting dates and a familiar comfort item from home. For families managing a first separation, this gives children time to learn the routines before taking on a longer day.

Keeping in Touch evenings are for families joining Nursery Room, bringing parents together with staff to discuss the room and its routines. Communication continues through daily updates, newsletters and parent meetings; during settling, staff also send photographs and updates. These are useful channels for understanding both how a child has spent the day and how they are adjusting.

In January 2024, staff knew children’s interests before they started and involved parents in learning decisions through development reports. Everyday independence was practised through handwashing, coats and gloves. Small tasks mattered: children were encouraged to do more for themselves, with help adjusted to the task.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support good, with professional advice informing individual targets and funding used to increase staffing support where children needed it. This was support organised around particular children, rather than a general promise that every need would be met in the same way.

For allergies and medical needs, staff work with families on individual care plans, and allergy-awareness and emergency-procedure training form part of the arrangements. Medication requires parental consent and clear instructions. These mechanisms matter most when they translate a child’s needs into actions staff can follow during the day.

Fresh meals are cooked on site using seasonal ingredients, including herbs and vegetables grown by the children. Meals and snacks are included in private fees; for funded hours, they sit within a separate consumables charge, with a cold packed lunch offered as an alternative.

School preparation includes links with local schools and an evening Graduation event for children leaving Rafles, where certificates mark the end of their nursery time. The more useful day-to-day preparation is the growing independence and shared reading that precede it. The celebration gives children and parents a clear ending to that stage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Andrews Lane, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN7 6TB. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with a pre-arranged 7am start carrying an additional charge. The booking choices are full days from 8am to 6pm and school days from 8am to 4pm.

A minimum of three days a week applies, including either Monday or Friday. This is a substantial regular commitment, even for families choosing the earlier finish. Swapping booked days is not permitted; requests for extra sessions go by email and depend on space for the child.

Rafles operates across the year, closing for public bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year. Enrolment forms are requested by emailing office@raflesnursery.com. Parents submit their preferred sessions on the registration form, making the intended weekly pattern part of the joining process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for eligible children aged 9–23 months and for two-, three- and four-year-olds, subject to availability. The entitlement is 15 hours a week for 38 weeks, or 30 hours where additional funding is available; a Parent Declaration Form is completed each term to establish the session allocation.

Funded hours carry a separate consumables charge covering meals, snacks and additional activities brought into nursery. A cold packed lunch can be supplied instead of a charged meal. Private care operates on a day rate, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fee information explains the charge structure.

Joining involves a non-refundable registration charge and a deposit refundable on leaving when the required notice is given. Fees are paid monthly in advance. Absence through sickness or family holidays remains chargeable, so the cost of the booking continues even when a child misses a day.

• Three-day commitment. Both full-day and school-day bookings require three days each week, including Monday or Friday. Compare that fixed pattern with your working week, especially if you need care only in its middle.
• Learning consistency. In January 2024, some activities missed their intended learning purpose, and occasional baby-language pronunciation and rushed reading reduced language opportunities. At a visit, ask how staff now pace stories and turn planned learning into practice.
• Contract details. Terms give different notice periods for placement changes and ending attendance, and conflicting statements about charging during closures. Obtain written agreement on the notice and closure charges that apply to your booking before paying the deposit.
• Individual care arrangements. Allergy and medical support is organised through care plans, with parental consent needed for medication. Families affected should discuss their child’s plan and confirm current food and emergency procedures during a visit.

Rafles suits families choosing full days or school days who can commit to its three-day weekly pattern. Its strongest character comes from the connection between outdoor exploration, growing food and hands-on experiences such as hatching birds. Preschool reading also reaches home through chosen books and book bags.

The January 2024 Good judgement provides a useful foundation, with specific strengths in children’s learning and support. The improvement work was equally specific: activities needed to deliver their intended learning, and language modelling needed more care. For parents, the decision combines that educational picture with a firm attendance commitment and contract terms that need written clarification.