Hickory Dickorys Day Nursery & Nursery School

A Regency building spread across four floors, a secluded garden and a room dedicated to dance give Hickory Dickorys a recognisable town-centre character. At 19 Cambray Place in Cheltenham, the nursery combines separate spaces for babies with shared places for movement, books and meals. Its appeal lies in how those spaces are used: children can explore physically, retreat to quieter play and take an active part in everyday routines.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, while requiring sharper learning aims and more consistent communication support. Those improvement points matter alongside the positive judgement. They concern how well staff turn activities into learning for individual children, rather than how much equipment is on offer.

The nursery has 40 places in total and caters for children from birth through its Pre-School stage for ages three to five. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance patterns provide different ways to organise care; the details and funded arrangements need reading together.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Suite, for children from birth to two, combines sensory and movement play with a self-contained kitchen, sleep room and activity rooms, allowing familiar routines to sit alongside exploration. The separate sleep space is a useful practical feature for families whose baby still needs daytime rest. Babies also have access to the garden and the Soft-Play Room, giving movement a place beyond their main activity space.

Toddler Groups, for ages two to three, use sensory trays, theatre play and a design corner in large playrooms with direct garden access, supporting conversation, imaginative play and growing independence. Pre-School Groups, for ages three to five, combine experiments, puzzles and construction with a separate messy-play room and bathroom, linking investigation with practice in looking after themselves.

These are different stages of the day, rather than simply different age labels. A baby’s personal routine receives explicit attention, while older children have more opportunities to choose equipment, handle practical tasks and discuss ideas. That progression gives families a concrete picture of how the offer changes as their child grows.

Learning and Activities

EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) provides the common framework: children learn through play, movement and exploration, with activities covering language, physical development, relationships and other areas of learning. It is the foundation here, rather than an extra programme. For preschool children, mathematical puzzles, scientific experiments and stories put that framework into recognisable activities instead of leaving it as a curriculum label.

Boogie Beat adds fortnightly music and movement sessions for toddlers, using songs, dancing and instruments to retell stories. The Physical Development and Dance Studio also provides space for balance activities, obstacles, drama and musical exploration. These give movement both a structured session and a place within the ordinary nursery day.

Little Bookworm's Library brings together puppets, story sacks and books in more than one language. Its Share-a-Book scheme lets children choose books to take home, extending story time into family life. The choice belongs to the child, which makes the scheme more participatory than simply sending a book home.

In September 2025, babies reached for seasonal natural materials, toddlers used story props for counting and preschool children played healthcare roles with dolls and medical equipment. The examples show learning taking different forms at different ages. They also make the improvement requirement easier to understand: an engaging activity still needs a clear idea of the particular skill staff want a child to practise.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden supports den building, nature observation and play with sand and water in different weather. Toddlers can use a tree-house and a mud-kitchen, bringing climbing and pretend cooking into their outdoor play. Direct access from their playrooms makes the outdoor space part of the toddler environment, rather than a separate facility elsewhere in the building.

In September 2025, staff supplemented the smaller outdoor area with community outings, and a climbing wall had been installed using donations. That is a useful counterweight to the town-centre setting: outdoor provision included both equipment on site and experiences beyond it.

Relationships and Communication

Babies have a key person, and settling sessions give families time to discuss routines and expectations before attendance begins. Individual routines guide their care. For a parent arranging the first separation from a young baby, these are practical mechanisms for sharing what the child needs, rather than a general promise of reassurance.

Daily diaries record babies’ routines and significant events, while Tapestry, the online learning journal, records development and allows parents to contribute photographs and news. Preschool families can also discuss progress through Zoom meetings. The communication serves different purposes: everyday information helps parents follow the day, while the journal and meetings provide ways to discuss learning over time.

In September 2025, staff gathered family information during flexible settling sessions, and children’s coat pegs carried photographs, names and home-language wording. These details gave children recognisable cues and brought their family language into the nursery space. They are more informative than a broad claim that every child feels included.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staffing structure includes a deputy SENDCo role and deputy designated safeguarding lead roles, and staff undergo vetting and DBS checks before deployment. These describe arrangements and responsibilities; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the basis for assessing effectiveness.

The Mood Zone provides a quieter part of the playroom, with sensory materials and subdued lighting for children to pause and explore. It adds a different pace to a day that also includes music, movement and outdoor play. For babies, the dedicated sleep room and attention to individual routines address rest more directly.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that visual prompts, signing and home-language words were used inconsistently, and that staff needed more specific learning aims so their interactions better support each child’s learning. This is the most useful caution for families considering language development or additional support: having resources in place and using them consistently are different things.

A nursery chef is employed, and seasonal menus incorporate children’s choices during tasting activities; in September 2025, food was prepared by a full-time chef and coloured plates distinguished meals for children with allergies. In the separate Dining Room, children practise laying tables, serving themselves and helping each other, making meals part of their growing independence.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8.15am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with closure on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Morning attendance runs from 8.15am to 1.15pm, afternoon attendance from 1pm to 6pm, and the full-day pattern from 8.15am to 6pm for the Baby Suite and Toddler Group fee bands. Additional hours require prior arrangement.

Earlybird breakfast club is a separately charged extension from 8am to 8.15am. It is useful to distinguish this short additional booking from the ordinary opening window when planning work commitments.

Getting There

The address is 19 Cambray Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1JS. The nursery car park is accessed from Rodney Road, with GL50 1JJ given as the nearest postcode for that entrance.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01242 574362 or by email at enquiries@hickory-dickorys.co.uk. The nursery also supplies a full prospectus on request.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes up to 15 hours of funding from the term after a child’s third birthday, qualifying two-year-old funding and extended entitlement of up to 30 hours from nine months, subject to eligibility. The 15-hour offer can run over 38 weeks or be stretched across 51 weeks. The extended 30-hour entitlement is stretched across 51 weeks and is not offered on a term-time basis.

During funded sessions, food and beverages are charged separately through a voluntary package; nappies, wipes and cream are also separately charged for babies and toddlers. Families can opt out and supply the full applicable food and non-food package themselves. Other activities, parties and outdoor pursuits are complimentary during funded sessions. This distinction matters when comparing funded care with privately paid hours: entitlement and extras are separate parts of the arrangement.

A non-refundable registration charge applies when securing a place, except for a fully funded place. Deferring a secured start for more than three months triggers a second non-refundable registration charge, and only one deferral is permitted before cancellation. Changes or cancellations require at least four weeks’ notice. Fees are paid monthly in advance, and absences are charged at the normal rate, while the bank-holiday and Christmas closures carry no fee. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fees and funding terms explain the charge structure.

• Communication support. In September 2025, visual prompts, signing and home-language words were not used consistently. Ask how practitioners now use these throughout the day and how support is tailored to your child.
• Purpose behind activities. The September 2025 improvement requirement concerned learning aims that were too broad. During a visit, ask staff to explain the particular skill a current activity is intended to develop.
• Funded attendance and extras. Extended funding runs across 51 weeks, while the food and consumables package has an opt-out arrangement. Discuss the attendance pattern and what you would need to supply before agreeing the booking.
• Outdoor space and allergies. Community outings supplemented the smaller garden in September 2025, and coloured plates were used for allergy meals. Explore the current outdoor routine and, if your child has an allergy, confirm the meal-handling arrangements.

Hickory Dickorys suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance as well as full-day care in central Cheltenham. Its strongest practical attractions are the self-contained baby facilities, separate spaces for movement and quieter play, and tangible ways for families to share routines and learning.

Boogie Beat and Share-a-Book give the offer recognisable detail, while funded care has an explicit choice between purchasing the applicable package and supplying it from home. The decision should also take account of the September 2025 improvement priorities: clear learning intentions and consistent communication support matter as much as a busy programme of activities.