Tiny Toes Nursery, Hoddesdon

A Victorian house, a bamboo jungle dome and visits to Chadwick Care Home give Tiny Toes Nursery, Hoddesdon a character that extends well beyond its playrooms. Outdoor exploration and community contact are substantial parts of the offer: children grow food, tackle climbing equipment and spend time with older residents. This is a nursery for families who value experiences beyond the usual toys and activities.

At its October 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and recognised a curriculum that supported children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The important reservation concerned the organisation of toddler space, indoors and outside. That deserves attention alongside the positive judgement.

Tiny Toes has capacity for 38 children, with an accepted age range of 2 to 60 months. Its address is 59 Ware Road, Hoddesdon, EN11 9AB. Full-day, morning, afternoon and school-day bookings sit alongside year-round and term-time attendance, giving families several ways to fit care around work and home life.

Rooms and Ages

Piglets serves the youngest children, with sensory experiences built around light, texture and sound, plus areas for milk preparation and nappy changes. A separate sleep room gives under-twos somewhere apart from active play; its ladybird and butterfly decoration adds a recognisable physical detail. Staff check sleeping babies at intervals of 10 minutes. For parents choosing baby care, the separation of sleep and play is more useful than a general promise of comfort.

Little Explorers, for children aged 2–3, emphasises growing independence, including toilet learning, with regular opportunities to use the garden and practise movement skills. Noah's Ark, for ages 3 and above, uses meals and toilets sized for children to develop everyday independence as part of preparation for school. These are practical skills children can use at home as well as at nursery.

The preschool room connects indoor and outdoor play so children can choose between them. That gives an older child more control over where an activity develops, rather than making every change of space a whole-group decision.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, bringing together language, physical development, literacy, numeracy and creative expression. In Noah's Ark, animal life cycles provide a shared theme for these areas. The framework is the educational foundation; the nursery's additions lie in its approach to activities, visiting instructors and experiences beyond the building.

The Tiny Toes Awe-Inspiring approach starts with a fresh experience or challenge, then uses observation to judge when a child needs help, encouragement or space to continue independently. Its emphasis on real materials and loose parts gives children things to investigate rather than a single prescribed result. That makes the adult's timing as important as the activity itself.

Weekly enrichment includes football through Joe's Small Shooters, music and yoga through Tiny Mites & Yoga Mites, and dance through Zumbini and Tappy Toes. Each brings a different kind of movement or performance into the week. Forest School adds learning about nature, while everyday play uses construction materials, water, sand and playdough to encourage exploration.

In October 2023, babies selected pictures on song spoons to choose what to sing, while older children investigated a reaction between vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Adults extended the language arising from these experiences. The examples matter because they connect communication with something a child is already interested in doing.

Outdoor and Community Life

Front and rear gardens give outdoor play several different forms. The front garden includes a mud kitchen and a bamboo jungle dome for imaginative play, making marks or taking a quiet break. Behind the house, children can use bikes and scooters, act out café or construction play, and reach art materials from a creative trolley. Wall-mounted chalkboards extend drawing outdoors.

Climbing frames, cargo nets, ramps and rope ladders create physical challenges, while sheltered areas and all-weather surfaces support play through changing conditions. Gardening adds a slower rhythm: children plant seeds, grow herbs and food, and explore composting and the use of collected rainwater. Outdoor provision therefore includes both energetic movement and close observation.

Chadwick Care Home visits take place every three weeks, with stories, crafts and games shared with residents. Louise's Florist adds flower arranging and shop play, while Hoddesdon Library provides book activities and reading sessions. These relationships give children concrete ways to encounter people and places beyond their own age group.

Further outings include train trips to Harlow Farm and fruit picking at Cammas Hall. The nursery also supports Marie Curie through an annual Yellow Day fundraiser and Daffodil Appeal. These experiences connect learning with local life, rather than leaving community awareness as an abstract theme.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with two sessions. The first lasts 30 minutes, with parents meeting the key person and sharing information about their child; the second lasts two hours, giving the child time at nursery independently. The initial information goes into the Eylog App for the staff working with that child. This creates a defined starting point for care rather than expecting a full session immediately.

A key person observes development and plans learning. The digital journal lets parents send messages directly to that practitioner, contribute photographs and observations from home, and comment on staff updates. Tiny Toes also works with families to follow children's home routines. The useful combination is continuity of care and communication that runs in both directions.

In October 2023, staff surveys informed decisions about workload and wellbeing, and development opportunities included lead responsibilities. Current staff support includes a weekly stress tracker and the Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme, which provides confidential advice and counselling. These are practical mechanisms for supporting the adults who care for children, rather than grounds for assuming a particular staffing level.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a lead coordinator and deputy, with individual education plans reviewed every 4–6 weeks alongside parents, the key person and relevant professionals. Square 1 (DSPL) can provide observation and guidance, while the AET Progression Framework helps identify needs and set targets. Changes of room or key person are introduced gradually, and a Transition Report carries relevant information to a new setting.

At the October 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND benefited from quieter spaces, individual attention and sensory resources when group activity became overwhelming. In October 2023, toddler space was less effectively organised during busy mornings, making it harder for staff to engage children in play. Both findings make the organisation of the day worth examining closely.

Operation Encompass links the nursery with Hertfordshire Police so staff can support children following a domestic abuse incident attended by police. This is a specific communication arrangement, rather than a general assurance about safeguarding.

Kitchen staff prepare meals on site for the individual rooms, and menus rotate across three weeks, with substitutions sometimes made to reduce waste or accommodate changes. Registration collects details of allergies and dietary requirements, giving families a formal opportunity to explain their child's needs.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, including school holidays. Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm; Morning from 7.30am to 1pm; Afternoon from 1pm to 6.30pm; and School Day from 8.30am to 4pm. Shorter bookings are subject to availability, with a minimum of two sessions on different days each week.

Year-round attendance and a term-time option are offered. The latter covers 39 school-term weeks and carries a holiday retainer, so it is not simply payment for attended term days. Morning, afternoon and school-day bookings have session supplements; full-day, year-round bookings avoid those supplements and the term-time retainer.

Bank holidays and the Christmas closure week are uncharged. Monthly fees are payable in advance and spread across equal instalments. Illness and family holidays do not remove the charge for booked sessions, and reducing attendance or ending the contract requires one month's written notice or payment in lieu.

Admissions priority runs from looked-after children to children known by the local authority to have SEND whose needs can best be met at Tiny Toes, then children with a Child Protection or Child in Need Plan or other local authority support, temporary emergency childcare following sudden changes in family circumstances, siblings and finally order of application. The requested pattern also matters: a full-time request or one that fits the timetable can take priority, and an unaccommodated request joins a waiting list. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or on 01992 450437.

Getting There

The entrance is on West Hill Road, with designated parking and nearby on-street spaces. Rye House and Broxbourne stations are the named rail options; families can assess which works with their usual journey.

Funding and Paid Extras

Tiny Toes offers 15 and 30 Hours Funded Childcare and funded places for children aged 2, 3 and 4. Private childcare is also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and sessions page explains the different attendance options and charge structure.

Private fees include meals, snacks and non-food essentials such as wipes, nappies and sun cream. For funded hours, food and consumables are charged separately through an extras bundle that also covers instructed activities, outings, events and parent support; under its opt-out terms, an excluded bundle item attracts its individual charge rather than becoming free. Formula is supplied only up to 12 months, and parents must supply it after that age if they want it used.

The registration charge is non-refundable, with a reduced charge for additional siblings and an exemption for children attending only funded hours. These distinctions matter when comparing the total commitment for a term-time booking, a year-round booking and a funded-hours arrangement.

• Toddler space. The October 2023 improvement point concerned how indoor and outdoor space supported toddler learning, especially during busy mornings. On a visit, ask to see how Little Explorers manages that part of the day and enables smaller-group activity.
• Attendance costs. Term-time bookings carry a holiday retainer, and shorter session patterns have supplements. Compare a written quotation for your actual days with a full-day, year-round pattern before deciding which arrangement suits your budget.
• Funded-hours planning. Food, consumables and other extras sit outside the funded childcare hours. Ask how the entitlement would be allocated across your chosen sessions and how the bundle and individual-item charges would apply.
• Individual care. Settling has a defined two-session starting pattern, while SEND plans have regular reviews. Discuss how those arrangements would be adapted for your child, including current allergy practice where relevant.

Tiny Toes suits families who want a play-based nursery with substantial outdoor activity, weekly instructed sessions and recurring contact with the wider community. The gardens, Chadwick visits and parent journal give that judgement concrete substance. Its choice of morning, afternoon, school-day and full-day patterns also serves different working routines, with both term-time and year-round options.

The Good judgement from October 2023 provides a positive inspection position, balanced by a specific concern about toddler space. The strongest decision will bring together how that space now works for your child and the written cost of the attendance pattern you need. There is plenty here to evaluate beyond the length of the nursery day.